The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-05
ART OF MAKING
 BASEBALL BATS Largest Factory in World at
 Pontiac, Mich. A THRIVING INDUSTRY L. 1E
Wood Used Is the Finest Growth of White Hickory and Ash Free From knots-Thousands
 Day Made.
From the petroIt Trlbune.

From the Detroit Tribune.
 Now is the season when everybody in Detroit who can frame what seems to him a justihable excuse shuts up shop or drops whatever task he may be en- gagged upon and goes to the ball game, to sit in the broiling sun and shout him self hoarse. The cries of the peanut vender, the jolly of the coacher and 1 criticisms of the spectators merge in one confused hum of voices which ever and anon is broken by the sharp crack of the bat as the leather is driven far out into the field.
 Every ball player has his preferences and superstitions in the selection of stick. on the skillful use of which de- bends the extent of his earnings and when once he has decided upon par ticular bat he guards it with extreme jealousy. To cater to the whims and idiosyncrasies of these public idols is an | industry that taxes the resources of the oldest and most experienced workers Tn wood
 Few Detroiters are aware of the ex- l istence in Pontiac of a bat factory, which carries the largest stock of squares Gas the billets from which the : bats are turned are called) of any simi- 1 lar institution in the world. Ponuac bats have reputation all over
 the United States for being everything that a bat should be and have penetrated Z even to the Philippines, where the na- i tives watch with childish delight Los l Americanos at their national sport Wood Is Fine.
 l The wood from which these sticks are made is of the finest growth white i hickory and ash, straight grained ana absolutely free from knots. It comes
 mostly from Michigan and Ohio, though every part of the United States where desirable trees are grown, contributes more or less. Each year finds the acre age of hickory and ash rapidly diminish ing, making the task of the buyer pro- portionately harder
 The logs employed in the manufacture | of bats are from 6 to 2S inches thlck. Lengthwise they are cut in multiples or ! 3S inches, called bolts. In the picture | which is shown at the top of this page | may be seen an operative about to saw | A bolt into billets. Besides what are l sawed in this factory many squares are bought from other factories, ready Tor the lathe. Approximately 2o,OOO dozen or 1 these squares are kept on hand and during inc busy season are transformed into bats at the rate of over a thousand l a day.
 Such parts of the bolt as are left over are usually large enough to use for l handles. of which the factory makes | even more than it does of bats. Handles | for pick axes, hammers. sledges, hoes' I forks and in fact all kinds of tools are turned out, making a separate business in itself. l The lathe which takes the squares and shapes them into the rough semolance 1 of the finished product consists or number of chisel-like knives, which take | off a little here, more there and in an in- credibly short space of time give the un- qalnly billet the lines of home-run get | fer A turn on the sand belts as the
 ranIdly revolving roughened belts are l called. makes the bats smooth as satin to the touch They are then taken to an other room where they are given a coat may be of green, black, brown or an- | tiaue according to the desired speclh- cations. Some of them are buried in the flames of torch while at the same time the brand is burned in Then they are | carefully shelacked. Finally they are put in individual paper bags and packed in crates, dozen to the crate. Every sten of the process Is accomplished un- der the supervision of expert operatives, many of whom have spent lifetime in wood working.
 Makes Three Styles.
 The factory turns out three standard styles of mems and boys bats In addi- tion a request Is often made to fgure on a special designed bat for some retailer or iobber, who has some original Idea ne wants carried out. There are as many odd notions in the bat business as can be found in almost any line that one might mention. Every once In while ball nlaver gets an idea into his head that he has discovered a world beater A pat tern is drawn, turned over to the tac- +orv and a conservative estimate made of it's practicabilty. Many innovations uhicb are received enthusiastically one sea son become the laughing stock or the next. At present the huge knop handles are favored because 1t is claimed they dietr,hute the weight. The famous Biffcr s.n. ,,,ss tbe child of a season. It's handle noe constructed of strips of hickory and a++an glued together before turning vyban the ball was struck the bats raeiliencv sent the ball considerably Tar tber than the one-pieced club could. Un- fortunately ball players would have their stick lying on the ground, with the re- suit that the moisture dissolved the glue and the strips became loose. Numberless nlans have been tried for roughening the grin and many kinds of materials em- nIoyed. scoued leather. imbedded rattan and windings of various materials have all been used in succession until now the grip is usually left plain and the indi- vidual may do to 1t what best pleases him. Many famous ball players visit this factory annually for the purpose Of se- lecting bat from the large stock or sug- gesting some improvement upon the pres ent models.
 Ii takes from one to three years from the time the logs are brought in to season them and get them ready for the lathe. The Professor.
 From the Chicago Tribune.
 "That spendthrift nephew of mine" said the doctor, lis so good for nothing that sometimes am tempted to operate on his skull with an augur to see if can find out what is the matter with him.
 .sDon't do that" advised the professor.