Ripping timber just became a whole lot easier.

After going back and forth a hundred times and having to consult a helpful individual on UK Workshop Forum (Thank you Jaywhoopee) I managed to make a decision on a bandsaw.

A full day of tweaking later and we have...

The cabinet below was a flat pack nightmare to assemble, my advice is to get someone to help. It's all about fine tuning it now and seeing what we can get. I'll be investing a better bandsaw blade as the generic monstrosity that comes with it couldn't cut butter.

Once extensively tested I'll review it properly but at this point ripping timber has once again become fun.

Pin It

Follow @BeachcricketWWW

A trip to see bat maker Charlie French

Last week I phoned Charlie French and asked if I could visit and have a chat with an eye to writing an article for the blog. Well the day turned out to be more than I expected, in a very good way. After a quick drive up the motorway I found myself in Mansfield Woodhouse at the CF workshop. Charlie wasn't there.

He was instead at the radio station for Mansfield 103.2 recording the Nottinghamshire Cricket Review Show. I was kindly invited into the studio to listen to them recording the roundup of the local cricket leagues. Hosted by Tony Delahunty and ably supported by Alan Rowley of "The Follow On" and Charlie French, it's a fantastic show that gives some exposure to the local clubs, players and some of the unsung heroes of village cricket. I was perfectly content to hang around but they kindly invited me onto the airwaves and included me in the show. Have a listen to this LINK as you can skip to 1:04:38 and 1:41:18 if you feel like punishing yourself, however I'd listen to the whole thing as it's very entertaining.

With the show "in the can" as we say in the industry I headed back to Charlie French's workshop to begin discussing how he got started and bat making in general. We sat down, each with what can only be described as bucket of tea in hand, and he began to recount his journey into bat making. Before CF Sports started in 1992, Charlie was employed at Cresswell Colliery as a Methane Drainage Officer, responsible for keeping the mines gas free. After they closed the mine he made the decision to make leap over to his current career. He was introduced to bat making by Bernie Facer, who was a slow left arm bowler playing for Huntingdon at a time when both played in the Notts Amateur League. Bernie was working for County Sports in Little Paxton before he left to form his own company "Double B" who eventually joined forces with Hawk Cricket, working there until his retirement.

Charlie served a brief apprenticeship with Bernie and immediately began making bats, the first one for himself which he still has to this day. I asked Charlie if he had a woodworking background that may have helped his career change to which he confirmed he hadn't but he didn't feel bat making was woodwork. This was interesting as it always seemed that my bat making was the inevitable amalgamation of my love of woodwork and cricket. His view was that woodwork is precise and bat making is less so, the fine tuning associated with hand crafting a cricket bat is done within a broader spectrum of work. I understand what he's saying, half an ounce is a lot of willow, whereas a precise joint can be the difference of a 0.005 of an inch shaving.

For Charlie the quality of a cricket bat starts at the pressing. Whilst a good piece of Willow helps get things going it's the attention to detail when pressing that means the difference between an average bat and a great bat. His bat press has a story of its own. It was built in the workshop of Cresswell Colliery using spare bits and pieces and was the talking point amongst employees, with enquiries as to its progress always flying around. Whilst I've seen electrically powered and hand cranked, Charlie's is the only hydraulic press I've ever seen and I have to say I'm not sure why. It's a great piece of kit - control, subtlety and simplicity all rolled into one and he was able to get it made for a bargain price. You wouldn't believe me if I told you!

A visit to his website and you'll see he's a supporter of hand crafted cricket bats and makes all his own bats by hand. We seemed to share views on the importance of a craftsman versus a machine, the skills and the hard work involved in bat making. It was interesting to hear his opinion on bat shapes and middle positions amongst other things. To me this is fascinating, every bat maker has their own shapes but many share the same views on what works. In other words, what makes a good bat seems to be a common view but the bats we see are more a reflection of what the consumer wants.

I mentioned in passing that I used to watch James Laver make bats in the shop at Grace Road, Leicestershire whilst he was serving his apprenticeship with Millichamp and Hall. At this point Charlie informed me that he'd been asked by Henry Greswell to take up the position early in his bat making career but had declined to focus on his own venture. The six degrees of separation theory is probably closer to 1.5 in the small bat making world.

Something I was surprised to hear was that he makes his own handles. He said that if you're going to make a cricket bat you may as well make all of it since there are only two parts. The hardest part is getting hold of the cane but I suspect he's being modest and there's more to it than meets the eye.

Charlie French seems to be exactly that, modest. He just gets on with making cricket bats without expecting a big pat on the back. I've been a fan of his bats for a long time and after meeting him it's with good reason. He has an enthusiasm for bat making and is openly grateful to Bernie Facer for helping him get started. I am grateful to Charlie French for allowing me to visit and it was very kind of him to chat with me about bat making.

Pin It

Follow @BeachcricketWWW

Do you know anyone else who'd do this?

The natural variation in Willow is both a blessing and a curse. Within one tree we can have clefts that represent both the Beauty and the Beast and no matter what we're at its mercy. I've gone from the most unpleasant piece of willow to work that I've ever come across to this one.

A few other ideas and projects have taken me down other avenues that are allied to White Willow Cricket, but haven't necessarily meant I've been at the workbench making cricket bats. It was nice to find myself back in action with an inviting looking cleft of willow.

Just inviting me in with the drawknife.

I had a target weight in mind but decided to not let the scales guide me too heavily and see what happened, in reality I was fairly confident there was plenty of willow to work.

 As usual the toe gets the treatment first.

Out comes the Hand Plane and generous curls of Willow are peeled away from the cleft.

Tidying up the rough edges left a perfect window for a cup of Tea and a weigh in.

Admittedly there's a small amount of shaping missed out here in the photos. This is because the above picture shows cloudy weather and the one below shows sunny weather. I took my camera inside when I went for a cup of Tea and was unable to go back for it due a torrential downpour. Rather than risk getting my camera wet I thought it was easier to just say "I removed some more wood".

The spine profile is very similar, otherwise only small adjustments here and there. 

Being happy with the shape and balance, this is where the sanding started.

You may be able to notice I had another Tea break.

Occasionally I'll forget how much I've been using a tool and bluntness can just creep up on you from nowhere. In one picture you can see what a sharp spokeshave is capable of, slicing through end grain like it's going out of fashion.

Sharp again!

After initial sanding the finish was good but not great. It's the small scratches that plague me, they hide in the shadows hoping they'll remain undetected or worse still ignored. As I pointed out in The idea of Utility and the Disposable Nature of a Cricket Bat, the utilitarian quality of cricket bat "shouldn't alter the desire to craft something that exceeds the expectations we would have for a utility item." So on with more sanding.

Feels as good as it looks.

The finishing touches leave us with this...

Head over to White Willow Cricket to see more pictures of this bat in the gallery and the White Willow blog post.

A point I made way back in this post about service was and still is important to White Willow Cricket and Wielding White Willow. Whilst I often see businesses market themselves almost exclusively via Self Gratification and Back Door Compliments (which incidentally is a woeful way of approaching it), I can't help but give myself a pat on the back here. Saying you offer great service or support is easy, but following through with that claim requires more than words. I won't tell the story on the blog behind this bat but good service and being proud of my work are important to me. I want the customer to enjoy using my cricket bats as much as I've enjoyed making them.

Pin It

Follow @BeachcricketWWW