crack repair in willow

[goofy gorilla]

hi guys - got a cricket bat, made of willow as most bats are..anyway there is a crack about a couple of inches long right at the back of the toe end of the bat, its just on the surface and doesnt go down the side where the edges are..what is the best glue that i could use to repair this ?...i will also tape it up with reinforced cricket bat tape...someone did suggest pva glue....but dont really know which one or what type as there are so many..any help and advice as this bat is great and cost me nearly £250 when i bought it new...

 

[big-all]

do you oil the bat ??

 

[goofy gorilla]

do you oil the bat ??

yes, oiled only once when i got it new last year, but was oiled very lightly..

 

[big-all]

may be drying out causing the cracking as the wood shrinks
does the bat perform normally if so i would just treat it properly to stop it drying out and live with the crack as it probably wont glue well because its been oiled

http://www.jongibsoncricketcoaching.co.uk/id14.html

 

[goofy gorilla]

bat is awesome...just was concerned about the crack that appeeared at the back of the toe..dont remeber hitting it anywhere..will post a pic of it..later

 

[big-all]

wood dries from the outside in
"dry wood" will shrink by about 5% if in a hot place as dry wood is around 12%
wet wood will shrink around 10%
if you imagine the fibers in wood are like pencils the full strength is maintained if the pencils are taped together
if you introduce several swollen wet pencils to the center you will get gaps to the outer ring as the center has swollen the strength will be very similar to the whole bundle but with gaps on the outer circle
this is what happens on wood that dries out unevenly /the pressure from the swollen center causes cracks on the outer edge but no real strength lost