Bat Making - Timber Properties

Quality of timber is considerably affected by the general habit of the tree. Cricket bat willow is characterised by extremely rapid growth and a shapely habit, these two factors combine to produce straight grained lightweight wood which is without equal for cricket bats, but under less favorable conditions timber of inferior quality may be produced.

Colour: Heartwood - Pinkish

Sapwood: Nearly white. Width of sapwood varies according to species and growth conditions, being particularly wide in fast grown willow and white willow.

Grain: Straight textured fine and even.

Weight: Average about 450kg/m3 seasoned. High quality cricket bat willow is rather lighter in weight - 340-420kg/m3

Cricket bat willow values

Moisture content Bending strength Modulus of elasticity Compression
Green 31N/mm2 5600N/mm2 13.6N/mm2
12% 62N/mm2 6600N/mm2 27.3N/mm2

There is little movement in cricket bat willow - 0.5% radial movement in 60% relative humidity. The willow dries well and quite rapidly, but local pockets of moisture are apt to remain in the timber. Special care is needed when testing the moisture content to ensure that reasonable uniformity is achieved.

Only the best boles of cricket bat willow are used for cricket bats. Other material of this species and timber of other willows is used for a variety of purposes requiring a lightweight, easily worked timber. Uses include artificial limbs, toys, chip baskets and other basketwork.

Cricket bat willow is grown mainly in the Eastern and South Eastern counties of England, though it will grow successfully in other parts of the country if the site is carefully selected. It grows well near running water, but not in marshy, waterlogged ground. This species of willow is fast growing, and it is possible to obtain trees of suitable diameter with a 7 - 10ft clear bole in 18 years from the time of planting the sets, which is the usual method of propagation. The trees are tended very carefully as they are subject to disease and defects which detract seriously from the quality of the timber for bat making, buds are rubbed off the stem regularly to prevent the formation of lower branches which causes knots in the timber.

After felling, the lower 3.5m length of the trunk is sawn into 3 or 4 rounds each of about 700mm long, these are then split longitudinally into clefts in a process known as riving. This process is highly skilled and only experience will determine the best way to split the timber so as to avoid any imperfections and maximize the amount of top quality timber that will eventually make up the finished bat.

The cricket bat industry differs from most other timber users in requiring abnormal width of white or light coloured sapwood that is produced by an exceptionally fast rate of growth on rich moist soils. The other quality most desired is freedom from defects, because straight grain combined with resilience, toughness and lightness are essential. Major defects that occur in the billets can be avoided when it is cleft, but others such as small knots are allowable in second quality bats.

Seasoning

Most manufacturers obtain their willow from suppliers in the south of England the largest of which are J.S Wright and Sons. The willow is supplied as clefts; nowadays usually kiln dried, although J S Wright & Sons offer traditionally air-dried willow, which is seasoned for about a year. When first cut, the clefts can weigh up to 10kg but they lose more than half that weight through the drying process.

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