Baseball bat rack question

[jonvancouver]

Hey all,
I've got about 6 vintage bats (I know, not major by any means ) but I'd still love to get a hold of a vintage bat rack from the deadball Era.
1) does anyone have a photo to show what they look like
2) can anyone maybe offer a suggestion on an alternative way to display them.

I'd say my 2 better bats are the Groh bottle bat and mint reach mushroom. So it's nothing insanely expensive, just of the Era I tend to gravitate to

Thanks!
Jonathan

[MGHPro]

The a frame is one of the earlier styles but it holds much more than 6 bats.

H&B made metal rack that holds a dozen bats or so, but they are also rare and expensive. Perezfan just posted a picture of one in the memorabilia room thread.

Matt

[jonvancouver]

WOW. That is gorgeous. I'd imagine it would be hard to find one in decent shape.
The search is on!
Thanks for taking the time to respond to the thread.

Jonathan

[MGHPro]

The original is hard to find . I made the one on the left . I also made myself one in yankees colors . They hold a lot of bats in a little space , so if you are going to get more bats I would say to definitely get one .
Matt

[boneheadandrube]

An original will be pricey, I think making one would be a good idea.

[cubman1941]

The original is hard to find . I made the one on the left . I also made myself one in yankees colors . They hold a lot of bats in a little space , so if you are going to get more bats I would say to definitely get one .
Matt

Matt, what dimensions did you use? I made one but with holes to stick the bats in. Problem is I have some regular and some little league ones and the hole sizes are different. I like the little space idea.

Thanks.

[perezfan]

Here's one that I have...

A pretty accurate Spalding remake. I like Matt's H&B version a bit more, but got a killer deal on this one. The Rack is a high quality repro, but the Bats are all vintage and "of the era". Sorry it's sideways :o

[MGHPro]

That's a nice rack too . This is the other style

[perezfan]

Yup... But it's not as sturdy as the horizontal wood type.

I love the look of the vertical metal one, but there's also a feature I do not like. It wasn't made for the very early thick-handled bats. The recessed areas (where the handles rest) are made for bats with a skinnier handle.

Those great early thick-handled war clubs will not fit as nicely into this rack. It can still be used, but looks a bit un-tidy. I had to put all of my thinnest-handle models in the vertical H&B Rack, as a result.

Hope all of this is helpful, and let us know how your project turns out!

[ooo-ribay]

Wasn't there also a H&B (or possibly Adirondack) "carousel" type metal rack where the bats hung vertically?

[perezfan]

Yes... Lelands just had one in their latest auction...

http://www.lelands.com/Auction/AuctionDetail/78678/Summer-2016-Catalog/Sports/Baseball-Equipment/Lot478~1950s-Hillerich-and-Bradsby-Bat-Rack

That type seems to be the most popular, but perhaps more for contemporary bats.

[WWGjohn]

I've got about 170 vintage bats, 110 or so of them hand made 19th century bats of all shapes and dimensions. I have them on tie racks purchased from a department store display manufacturer. I fashioned leather strips into two loops with a loop that fits over the knob and the other over the tie rack bar. Nice thing is the rack rotates so I can easily find what I'm looking for. Each rack can hold up to around 40 bats.

The vintage racks you guys have are awesome!!

John

[Bill Rayburn]

Hey John...that sounds cool, how about some pictures.

[WWGjohn]

Bill,

Will get some posted tomorrow.

John

[tcornett]

The original is hard to find . I made the one on the left . I also made myself one in yankees colors . They hold a lot of bats in a little space , so if you are going to get more bats I would say to definitely get one .
Matt

Matt - this rack is very nice, can you post build instructions for the carpentry challenged of us? Or just me, since I am completely clueless when It comes to building things from scratch:)

Thanks!

Tim

[MGHPro]

Tim
Let me see if I can find where I wrote down the measurements . Even then, it's some trial and error getting the angles right .

[WWGjohn]

Here are a few pics of my bats on tie racks and a few of some of my advertising memorabilia. Sorry for the out of focus bat pics. Will try to repost those.

John

[WWGjohn]

Sorry for the first 2.

John

[vintagesportscollector]

Those racks are unique John, thanks for sharing.

[Scott Garner]

It's amazing to see some of the ideas that people come up with todisplay their collections.
Very resourceful!

[yanks12025]

I got this idea from a member on GUU. Its made from gridwalls, then zip tied them together and then attached a piece of wood at each end for more strength.