jsp wrote in news:ewpXc.599$Ch2.54@newsfe2-
gui.ntli.net:

bugbear wrote:


Since hickory is hard to get in the UK, I used good a grade ash.

The surface was planed and "boned", the same process applied
to baseball bats. This (pre)compresses the surface fibres, rendering
the surface more resistant to knocks, and it also puts
a gloss on. Final finishing was raw linseed, just 2-3 coats.

Can you explain 'boning' to me, in this context, please?


In US baseball, one can occaisionally see players rubbing down their bats'
surfaces using some sort of hard device. Traditionally, this was some sort
of bone left after braising/boiling meat (ham bone, maybe?) I assume
almost any large, smooth HARD tool would do. As bugbear said, it
compresses the surface, and according to tradition, makes the bat last
longer, and the ball go further, faster.

Baseball players will believe almost anything. Tradition and superstition
make it one of the more charming portions of modern US culture.

I can see where it would likely have a 'more than decorative' effect on a
fighting staff.

(now veering off topic even further...)

BTW, more baseball bats are being made of hard maple these days, often from
Canada. The properties which make this change desirable may not be
applicable to your project, however.

Patriarch,
from a long, and continuing line of baseball fans...