Selected quality characteristics of white ash used in professional baseball bats

The objectives of this project were to determine the effects of growth rate and drying procedures on the bending properties of white ash used in professional baseball bats. The number of growth rings per inch, specific gravity, moisture content, and bending properties were determined for each test specimen. The data show that as the number of growth rings per inch increases, the values for specific gravity and bending properties also increase. Bat stock from the same tree was dried by two methods and tested. The average bending strength values for the conventional steam kiln-dried bat stock were about 8 percent higher than bat stock dried using a special low heat schedule. As the number of growth rings per inch and specific gravity values increase and as the difference between the number of growth rings exiting the bark and pith side of the barrel of the bat decrease, the tendency is to have higher average bending properties.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member