Originally published Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 12:00 AM
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Ward Dill: The Little Falls, N. J., inventor says he has come up with an unbreakable wooden baseball bat, at least guaranteed not to break...
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Ward Dill: The Little Falls, N.J., inventor says he has come up with an unbreakable wooden baseball bat, at least guaranteed not to break for one year.
Dill unveiled his Radial Bat on Tuesday, promising the revolutionary stick would prevent injuries caused by the shattering of conventional wooden bats while providing a safer alternative to metal bats used in youth leagues through college.
An MIT graduate with decades of woodworking experience, Dill's radial bat is made from 12 wood wedges that are combined with adhesive and clamping pressure. The result is that the outside of each wedge has a tight grain surface, guaranteeing the best hitting surface at every spot on the bat.
"It is impossible for this maple bat to shatter in the way the maple bats shatter in the major leagues today," he said. "You will never have a barrel separating from the handle."
There is also no trampoline effect, Dill said. The ball does not jump off the bat like it does off an aluminum bat, he said, but it has more "jump" than a conventional wooden bat.
Maple Radial Bats cost $150 for an adult-sized bat, $120 for youth models, at six independent sporting-goods stores in New York and New Jersey. For ash bats, it's $130 and $100.
The Associated Press
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