How to Customize Wooden Bats
If you love the game of baseball, then you probably love your bat as well. The baseball bat is a player's essential tool for scoring runs and driving other players toward home plate. In the major leagues, aluminum bats aren't allowed, and players are required to use wooden bats. Since most wooden bats look the same, players tend to customize their bats to distinguish them from other bats and to add a bit of personal style. Customizing a wooden bat is as simple as adding your number or other designs unique to you, and can be done using a wood burning tool.
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Things You'll Need
- Unfinished wooden bat
- Tracing paper
- Tape
- Thin tipped permanent marker (black or brown)
- Wood burning tool or kit with interchangeable tips
- Clear wood sealer
Instructions
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1
Draw your design out on a piece of tracing paper. This could be your uniform number, name, nickname or any other symbol that is unique to you.
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2
Place the paper onto the area of the bat where you want your design to be and tape it onto the bat.
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3
Trace over your paper using a marker, then remove the tracing paper. The ink from the marker will transfer to the bat.
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4
Use the wood-burning tool to burn your design into the bat. Press firmly but not too hard, and drag your burner along your stenciled lines. Ensure that you have a thick, fluid, blackish-brown charred lines to make your design stand out. Change wood burner tips as needed to stay in sequence with the contour of your design.
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5
Finish the bat with your preferred clear wood sealer.
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Tips & Warnings
Stencils are available from arts and crafts stores if you prefer to use them.
Exercise caution while using a wood-burning tool. Change tips using pliers to remove them. Never touch the tip with your fingers.
Unscrew the tip prior to unplugging the wood burner. Leaving the tip in can cause the tip to freeze into place.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Eight year-old boy holding a baseball bat. image by Lisa Eastman from Fotolia.com
