By Jacob R. McDaniels June 4th, 2018 11:46 CST

Bat Shaving is primarily performed with a lathe that expands the center of the barrel of a bat or "shaves" out material. It also can be accomplished with a cylinder hone in the same manner. A lathe can either be analog or digital, and coordinates are programmed in, and the bat is secured in the large chuck, which spins as the tool moves along the coordinated axis to cut into the bat as it turns in an exact manner. It is as simple as that, but bat shavers are constantly updating the amount of composite material they take out of a bat because of the ever-changing manufacturer specifications and upgrades to composites. Shaving a bat truly becomes an art form when completed correctly and consistently.

A lesser-known way to shave a bat is by using a brake cylinder drill hone. It completes the task of a lathe but is not as accurate. Bat shavers use a drill hone to remove material from the center of the barrel and weigh the bat to gauge how much needs to be removed. The only slight advantage to a drill hone is that it can shave closer to the bat's taper and even shave some of the uneven tapers when needed. A lathe is still the most accurate and preferred method to shave a bat, but a cylinder hone will more than perform the job of bat shaving.

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