19th Century Bats

[Bill Rayburn]

Thanks Gary, Bruce, John and Mark for the kind comments on my replica bats. They are all hand turned from three inch billets. I learned how to use a lathe from a very gracious mentor and, as John says, a lot of splinters along the way. It takes anywhere from about 4hrs to 6hrs depending on the model. Not sure on the willow bats. Willow is soft and hard to work with. The finish on them is about 12 coats of clear lacquer that is hand rubbed with a 9 step sanding process after each third coat.
John, to your question about availability. I do make them for resale, just don't be in a hurry. I only have a couple of the Tiger Flame birch and a couple of the willow billets left and not sure of current availability. After searching the internet for about 8 years I finally found a local mill that could supply me with willow. It took 13 months to get 12 billets and I had to buy the whole tree. Mark, to your question concerning the black walnut mini bat. I traded a ton of low end, flee market type stuff to a former employee of Gibson Guitar for enough black walnut and mahogany to make about 450 mini bats. He said the wood is cut offs and rejects for the guitar necks.

[pedodds]

Hey Bill,
Can you make me a bat with some of your willow to match Gary's beechwood Spalding bat? I don't think any of us will ever see another bat like that again!
I would be honored to have the Rayburn logo on my bat!

Originally Posted by Bill Rayburn

Thanks Gary, Bruce, John and Mark for the kind comments on my replica bats. They are all hand turned from three inch billets. I learned how to use a lathe from a very gracious mentor and, as John says, a lot of splinters along the way. It takes anywhere from about 4hrs to 6hrs depending on the model. Not sure on the willow bats. Willow is soft and hard to work with. The finish on them is about 12 coats of clear lacquer that is hand rubbed with a 9 step sanding process after each third coat.
John, to your question about availability. I do make them for resale, just don't be in a hurry. I only have a couple of the Tiger Flame birch and a couple of the willow billets left and not sure of current availability. After searching the internet for about 8 years I finally found a local mill that could supply me with willow. It took 13 months to get 12 billets and I had to buy the whole tree. Mark, to your question concerning the black walnut mini bat. I traded a ton of low end, flee market type stuff to a former employee of Gibson Guitar for enough black walnut and mahogany to make about 450 mini bats. He said the wood is cut offs and rejects for the guitar necks.

[Bill Rayburn]

John...I can do that. Let me get with Gary on a couple of details and will get back with you. THANKS !!!

[MGHPro]

Wow- wonderful collection! One of the best I’ve ever seen! I agree with what everyone said , so no need to see more .

As for a Rayburn bat , everyone should own one . Bill is as modest as they come , the bats are absolutely amazing works of art . He’s an absolute perfectionist.. and amazingly reasonable for the amount of time and effort that goes into each bat .

Great stuff everyone - glad to see some excitement on the memorabilia side
Matt

[jpop43]

Saw this cool c.1870s cabinet on ebay and, in addition to the cool pants, belts, and awesome shoes...noticed the bats. The resolution from the ebay pics isn't quite good enough to definitively id the bats as wrapped handles vs. painted, but they sure look very similar to the styles of these bats in our collection.

Quarantining and social distancing sure does lead to WAY more photographic scouring that I would have imagined!

www.dugouttreasures.com

[benjulmag]

This bat was awarded to the Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club of Boston for winning the 1867 New England Base Ball championship. It is pictured in the sheet music, The Base Ball Quadrille, which was dedicated to the Tri-Mountain team. The bat was also described in period newspaper reports about the tournament, as well as old books on baseball history in New England. The provenance of the item is that it was sold by the estate of the caregiver of the owner of the Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club. He gave it to her before he died, and it remained in her possession until she passed in the latter part of the 20th century, when her estate consigned it to a prominent New England auction house. The bat is multi-toned being made from a variety of historic American woods. It is housed in a custom-made period wood box. Each wood used to make the bat is identified by a silver mount affixed to the bat, along with a mount showing the scores of the games the Tri-Mountains won. The woods are identified to come from the (i) battleships Kearsarge and Alabama (two of the last wooden naval ships, deployed in the early days of the Civil War before the first use, later in the war, of steel battleships),(ii) historic Elm tree at Boston Common, (iii) tree under which Lee surrounded to Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox to formally end the Civil War, and (iv) Lincoln's cabin.

[bgar3]

Corey, obviously a great bat. I believe that elm tree on the Commons was also the location where a number of very early games were played before other fields took over.

[Huysmans]

Hey Corey,

that bat is absolutely breathtaking. I've been enamored with it since seeing your collection in Smithsonian Baseball. When considering it's condition, historical importance, construction, and overall aesthetics... it is arguably the greatest piece of 19th century baseball memorabilia in existence.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Hey Corey,

that bat is absolutely breathtaking. I've been enamored with it since seeing your collection in Smithsonian Baseball. When considering it's condition, historical importance, construction, and overall aesthetics... it is arguably the greatest piece of 19th century baseball memorabilia in existence.

Thank you Brent. I've always enjoyed collecting baseball items that cross over into other areas of collecting, which this bat well symbolizes.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Huysmans

Hey Corey,

that bat is absolutely breathtaking. I've been enamored with it since seeing your collection in Smithsonian Baseball. When considering it's condition, historical importance, construction, and overall aesthetics... it is arguably the greatest piece of 19th century baseball memorabilia in existence.

Absolutely! thanks for including that most astounding bat in this already astounding survey of 19th century bats.

[GaryPassamonte]

That is an amazing work of art, Corey. It's as good as it gets.
I must add that you are looking a little mysterious in your scan.