Mini Bats

[Lynn Kull]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has a source for the "mini bats", bats around 17" long? I am looking for a source for finished bats ready to laser but can't seem to find much on the web? thanks Lynn

[Dave West]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...highlight=bats


Dave

[Ken Nelsen]

Hi Lynn,
Here's a link to a company called Extra-Mile promotional. There's out of Denver. All their pricing includes engraving or printing but they do sell blanks with no engraving. I've bought from them a few times with no problems.
http://www.extra-mile.com/wood/bats.htm
Ken

[Laura Zaruba]

I get mine (18") from www.gonebatty.net.

[Lynn Kull]

Thanks for the quick replys! I am in the process of ordering a couple dozen from gonebatty. Now I just have to figure out pricing, I am thinking $25 with four or five lines of engraving and free shipping. Does that sound like to much?

thanks Lynn

[Laura Zaruba]

Lynn,

I think that is fair. I charged $18 on a couple bats and heard how inexpensive that was. Shipping wasn't an issue but I would charge shipping on top of that. I'm moving into a new storefront so with the additional expenses I think I might bump the price to $20 and see how it goes. Plus, I have to colorfill in addition to lasering and have found it takes a little more time than I expected so I think somewhere in the $20 range is reasonable.

[Lynn Kull]

Can I ask what your using for a color fill Laura? thanks Lynn

[Laura Zaruba]

I tried a variety of things - liquid/foam shoe polish, wax shoe polish, and most recently (and easiest) simple acrylic crafter's paint.

The liquid/foam shoe polish got into the grain too much. The wax did a little, but what I found helps is to apply Johnson's floor wax to the bat before lasering, laser at a good depth, then apply the wax shoe polish. That worked pretty well. You can usually clean up messes with alcohol but it will also pull some of the color out of the lettering if you're not careful.

I decided to try acrylic paints to get different colors and I really like it the best. It was much easier to apply and clean up than the wax. I did not need to apply clear wax to the black bats before lasering b/c they already have the black laquer. I would still apply the wax on the ash bats just to fill the grain a bit so it won't soak up the paint as much. The acrylic paint is much easier to get into the letters. Just let it dry a bit and wipe off the excess with water being careful not to wipe the paint out of the letters (this is where lasering at a good depth helps A LOT).