A number of sports around the world today call for not only a ball, but specialized equipment for self-protection or moving a ball around. Tennis is known for its racquets, and hockey features distinctive sticks that are used to move around the puck across ice. And of course, baseball is world-famous for its white balls, wooden or metal baseball bats, and leather catching gloves. Baseball has many followers and players around the world today, especially in the United States and Japan, and over 100 nations have joined the International Baseball Federation. Softball, which dates all the way back to 1887, is also popular alongside baseball and has seven innings compared to baseball’s nine. But what about rolled and shaved softball bats? Baseball bat shaving is an option for players who want a little more performance in their wooden bats, and a bat shaving service may be used for metal baseball bats. There are some solid reasons for using rolled and shaved softball bats and approaching roller or shaver services.
Rolling a Baseball Bat
Overall, rolled and shaved softball bats offer increased performance compared to unmodified bats, and these rolled and shaved softball bats may be altered when taken to the right services. In the case of baseball bat rolling, this is an option for wooden bats, which are typically made out of ash wood. Ordinarily, a wooden baseball bat is not yet at peak performance when first used. These wooden bats are broken in as they strike baseballs repeatedly, and this blunt force will break and bend the fibers in the wood to make the bat slightly more flexible. Once a wooden baseball bat has been fully broken in, it is flexible enough to send a ball further than a fresh bat might.
However, this process takes time, and in some circumstances, a player will turn to bat rolling services to artificially (and quickly) break in a baseball bat. This is done by sending that wooden bat through a number of rollers that will break and bend the bat’s fibers. Care should be taken, though, so that the bat is not overly stressed and broken. But if done correctly, bat rolling results in a wooden bat ready for optimal performance, and this bat may be quite useful for practice sessions or a casual, non-official game. A player may have a naturally-broken-in wooden bat for games, but they may want to use other wooden bats during practice to avoid accidentally breaking their prized bat. Wooden bats can be rolled to make them on par with the broken-in bat for this very reason. But someone who owns rolled bats is discouraged from using them during official games, since rolled bats are not allowed and sports officials can recognized them on sight. Rolled bats are thus best kept on the practice field instead.
Shaved Bats
Other baseball bats are made out of metal rather than ash wood, and they may have a wide variety of colors and patterns on them. Naturally, these bats cannot be rolled like wooden ones can, so instead, these metal bats are subjected to shaving. And like bat rolling, this process should only be used for bats in practice or casual games, since shaved bats are not allowed for use in official baseball games.
How is this done? An interested customer may look up and visit bat shaving services, whose facilities may include a lathe table. A lathe is a machine table with an assembly for holding an item, and grinding surfaces can be applied to whatever is being held there. In this case, a metal bat is secured on the lathe table, and its end cap is removed to reveal the hollow interior. A grinder will be inserted and shave away a few ounces’ worth of the padding inside, and the cap can be replaced. As a result, the bat will be more flexible and, like rolled wooden bats, it can send a baseball further with a strike. Care should be taken with this; if too much material is shaved away, or if the handle gets shaved, the bat may shatter when use in a game. And shaved bats should not be used at temperatures lower than 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
