Baseball bat rack question
 

Hey all,
I've got about 6 vintage bats (I know, not major by any means ) but I'd still love to get a hold of a vintage bat rack from the deadball Era.
1) does anyone have a photo to show what they look like
2) can anyone maybe offer a suggestion on an alternative way to display them.

I'd say my 2 better bats are the Groh bottle bat and mint reach mushroom. So it's nothing insanely expensive, just of the Era I tend to gravitate to

Thanks!
Jonathan

The a frame is one of the earlier styles but it holds much more than 6 bats.

H&B made metal rack that holds a dozen bats or so, but they are also rare and expensive. Perezfan just posted a picture of one in the memorabilia room thread.

Matt

WOW. That is gorgeous. I'd imagine it would be hard to find one in decent shape.
The search is on!
Thanks for taking the time to respond to the thread.

Jonathan

The original is hard to find . I made the one on the left . I also made myself one in yankees colors . They hold a lot of bats in a little space , so if you are going to get more bats I would say to definitely get one .
Matt

Originals
 

An original will be pricey, I think making one would be a good idea.

Matt, what dimensions did you use? I made one but with holes to stick the bats in. Problem is I have some regular and some little league ones and the hole sizes are different. I like the little space idea.

Thanks.

Here's one that I have...

A pretty accurate Spalding remake. I like Matt's H&B version a bit more, but got a killer deal on this one. The Rack is a high quality repro, but the Bats are all vintage and "of the era". Sorry it's sideways :o

That's a nice rack too . This is the other style

Yup... But it's not as sturdy as the horizontal wood type.

I love the look of the vertical metal one, but there's also a feature I do not like. It wasn't made for the very early thick-handled bats. The recessed areas (where the handles rest) are made for bats with a skinnier handle.

Those great early thick-handled war clubs will not fit as nicely into this rack. It can still be used, but looks a bit un-tidy. I had to put all of my thinnest-handle models in the vertical H&B Rack, as a result.

Hope all of this is helpful, and let us know how your project turns out!

Wasn't there also a H&B (or possibly Adirondack) "carousel" type metal rack where the bats hung vertically?

Yes... Lelands just had one in their latest auction...

http://www.lelands.com/Auction/Aucti...adsby-Bat-Rack

That type seems to be the most popular, but perhaps more for contemporary bats.

Bat Rack
 

I've got about 170 vintage bats, 110 or so of them hand made 19th century bats of all shapes and dimensions. I have them on tie racks purchased from a department store display manufacturer. I fashioned leather strips into two loops with a loop that fits over the knob and the other over the tie rack bar. Nice thing is the rack rotates so I can easily find what I'm looking for. Each rack can hold up to around 40 bats.

The vintage racks you guys have are awesome!!

John

Hey John...that sounds cool, how about some pictures.

Bill,

Will get some posted tomorrow.

John

Matt - this rack is very nice, can you post build instructions for the carpentry challenged of us? Or just me, since I am completely clueless when It comes to building things from scratch:)

Thanks!

Tim

Tim
Let me see if I can find where I wrote down the measurements . Even then, it's some trial and error getting the angles right .

Bat Pictures
 

Here are a few pics of my bats on tie racks and a few of some of my advertising memorabilia. Sorry for the out of focus bat pics. Will try to repost those.

John

Better bat pics
 

Sorry for the first 2.

John

Those racks are unique John, thanks for sharing.

It's amazing to see some of the ideas that people come up with todisplay their collections.
Very resourceful!

I got this idea from a member on GUU. Its made from gridwalls, then zip tied them together and then attached a piece of wood at each end for more strength.