Apparatus for making a mold by heat shrinking

Abstract

A reinforced wood bat has a solid wood core with the same shape as standard wood bats but with slightly smaller dimensions. One or more continuous, uninterrupted layers of a conformable fabric sleeve, constructed of high strength fibers, snugly fitting over substantially the entire outer surface of the core forms a preformed bat assembly. The fabric sleeve is dimensioned to expand slightly over the barrel of the core and compress over the handle of the core. A fiberglass braided sleeve, with strands initially aligned at about +45.degree./-45.degree. orientation, is preferred. When the braided sleeve strands are tensioned over the handle portion, they align more longitudinally, and tend to lock, which significantly increases the reinforcing strength in the handle portion of the bat. An epoxy resin, which self-cures at or near room temperature, laminates and bonds the sleeve layers to the wood core to the full size dimension specified for wood bats. The preferred braided sleeve can be applied to the wood core using a hollow application tube, which applies the sleeve to the wood core in double layers, while at the same time aligning the fabric strands in the desired orientations. A molding technique heat shrinks conventional high shrink plastic tubing into close fitting contact with the preformed bat assembly. The shrunk tubing then serves as the mold for laminating and bonding the fabric sleeve layers to the core with the curable resin.