Why do Baseball Bats Break? 

Fun fact: 3D printed materials also work similarly to wood when it comes to “Grain”

I can guarantee you will blow up if you keep up this high quality production and information. Watched this whole video thinking you were one of those multimillion subscriber channels, until realizing you only had 20k. Keep putting in the excellent work and it will pay off.

Interesting, in Ireland we have a sport call Hurling. Once described as a mixture between hockey and murder. The hurls (bats) are made with ash and they are all hand made to follow the grain of the wood. Same science different sport. Although it's probably better that the hurls break when they hit a player....great video Grady

My brain- *sees title* Me- *they break because they hit hard balls*

Well explained, great vid. My local broadcaster is always going on about how old players went through just a couple of bats a year where as a present day player is lucky to get through the week with the same bat.

Cool video! Most of the time I see a piece of wood break, it's because the grain was crooked. I've come to look out for it when selecting wood for a project.

we should film a bat break at 1000 -2000 fps 4K

Why did i click on this video and how did i get here and why did i just subscribe

3:41 Batman-ufacturers

Monty Python Villager: "Because they're... made of wood...?" Bedevere: "Good!!"

Why have I not seen this channel before? It's right up my alley.

4:03 - I broke a bat when I was 7 playing little league in 1991. It broke exactly like that.

A lot of people have been asking for a way to support the channel, so I now have a Patreon page at www.patreon.com/PracticalEngineering. If contributing to Practical Engineering is something you’re interested in, that is greatly appreciated and will go toward improving the quality and quantity of content.

Another home run video. Good audio quality and continuity. Really a pleasure to listen to.

Thank you, that was interesting. I've watched cricket all my life and baseball for about the last 10 years. It has always struck my how many bats break in baseball, something that almost never happens in cricket and when it does, it's caused by the handle separating from the rest of the bat - the wood doesn't split. It was interesting to see why this happens so often with baseball bats.

Another problem would be elasticity, Ash is a very tough and elastic wood while maple isn't. In Europe most bows were made out of riven Ash because it's the best common wood for that use. A bat well made of Ash should be unbreakable, however it's elasticity means a portion of the energy in swinging it will be lost when striking the ball because of the deformation. Maple on the other hand is a very dense, brittle and inelastic wood. This makes it great for musical instruments for instance because it'll transmit sound waves easily without dampening them, and when striking an object it's inelasticity makes it transmit the full force of the blow. Maybe the ideal bat would be a composite, made out of an ash or hickory core with maple sides.

My goodness, what a wonderful channel this is!

I thought bonds broke the record with a needle.....

really nice series you have, very well explained

The time and effort it must consume to make this and I'm shocked to see you don't have the subs you deserve.. Keep up the good work..I learnt a lot from your videos. Thank you for great content.

I’ve been having a Grady Engineering Renaissance this week. As a carpenter/construction guy/engineering and baseball super fan I feel like I haven’t been watching your videos with the diligence I should be, given how much I enjoy them. This one was enough to drive me to add a “RU-vid comment” which is not normally a community I’d pridefully consider myself a part of. The comments usually drive me mental. But I’d like to show my appreciation for your channel. Sooooo Thanks bud I’ve learned quite a bit from you

Awesome video! The wood grain orientation is taken very seriously in bow making for archery. In pro/competition level, often composite materials are used. But in traditional archery, the orientation of wood grain is considered paramount in bow making.

Really great information, Grady! I enjoy the engineering side of woodworking just as much as the woodworking it'self.

Excellent video! Loving the channel.

I thank RU-vid for the timing (Dodgers just won the 2020 World Series), and I especially thank you for your wonderful video posts. Grady, you convey information concisely and with a general sense of ease. I appreciate your posts, old and new. -Cheers

OK this is my second video of yours, but I am going to have to subscribe now. This is really great content!

This was crazy helpful. Count me in as a sub. Fantastic work! Can't wait to poke around your channel some more!

i really like the way you edit just your face into the end of your videos. really helps to see a smiling face behind the videos.

I truly didnt understand the entire middle part of the video, but I still liked it. Good stuff!

Loved the video. Well done!

Awesome video, and great woodworking!

I just found this channel the other day from the yoyo despin video posted on reddit, and I've got to say, it has quickly become my favorite! Keep up the great work!

Very informational. Thank you!

Low key flex at the end.

these are some seriously high quality videos. as an engineering student and a woodworking enthusiast these hit me in all the right places :D thanks for all your hard work in producing these!

"...bat manufacturers..." "...bat man..." batman

Loving the channel!

really nice to watch the bat being made while you talked. really cool. i'm going to be an engineer myself but not of civil engineering, i'm going for a computer hardware engineer.

Loved the video. Keep it up!

it's so satisfying to watch that bat making process..

I am glad to see a video about wood for a change. I work in the branch in sales

thank me for watching? thank you for creating

best youtube channel. Shout out from Iceland

I have been following a lot of videos of yours you are very creative and handy

You have an awesome channel and one new subscriber. I'm a mechanical engineer by training, so I love that you go into more depth in your topics, yet you find a way to explain things in theoretical terms without tons of math or rarefied jargon. Between you and Applied Science, my youtube science video needs should be covered!

Awesome video bro! 👍👍👍

Very interesting, thanks

Interesting. Thanks for sharing !

Very interesting, Grady. Nice bat too.

Great work as always. I’m a long time subscriber and as of today 2022.02.07, I am starting your channel from the beginning and going all the way to the present. How many videos it will take for me to get to one I’ve already a seen? Seen or new to me, how long will it take for me to binge watch your channel? What do you know about space elevators? So many questions, the world may never know.

I love this channel !

Thank you. I've learned something new.

It's so satisfying to watch the bats being made

If you really don't want the bat to break, just make it out of aluminum.

Awesome video ! 👍🏽

Nice work!

Your a bloody good craftsman.

I enjoy your videos so much. I look forward to each one and know I will learn something and be smarter from it. BTW I'm in college for civil engineering. Thank you for your videos.

Another awesome and interesting video! Thanks for this! Is there any recommendation on how far from the center should be the wood blank? - blanks further from the center will have growth rings in almost parallel planes.

My stomach turned when I saw your hand on the wood spinning. Great topic, and extremely entertaing.

I learn more from this channel than school

I'd like to see you do something on wooden compression posts, such as deck posts or building piers.

interesting look at bats G. great job the best part in my opinion is that you made yer brother a handmade gift..... thats the kinda thing not often seen in todays world.... love yer channel thanks from Arkansas and another Grady.... lol

Really useful info

That is a damn fine bat, nice work :)

Amazing video

These concepts apply to Bokken (Wooden practice Japanese swords). No wonder knock off cheap manufacturers have huge failures, while in Japan only a few old multi generational Bokken craft specialists make great quality items, even though it's the same wood.

I don't know why but lathes are so satisfying to watch

I love that you turned a bat

Interesting high quality content : )

this is very interesting. i just turned a kids sized baseball bat for my son to play with. i turned it without even looking at regulations or size requirements. it's heavy, thicker than usual, shorter, beech instead of ash or maple and it looks awesome (with a bit of spalting in the wood). I don't think he's gonna break it, but if i ever turn another one, i'll pay closer attention. My video of the turning process will be up later this month.

Watching the way he's sculpting that wood bat is soooo satisfying...

You bring out the important part of wood and it's structure. As a carpenter by trade I noticed in the early 80's the same failure in wooden tool handles. The same as Ash with a bat is the same forces of say a hammer handle or shovel but thankfully when either of those break there is a significant less chance of injury, unless you rank frustration up there too. This became so common I stopped buying wood handled hammers and use steel shanked handles. In the old days of wooden wheels on wagons and early automobiles a wheelwright who make the hub, spokes and rims all with a keen eye as to how the grain in the wood was used, this made wheels stronger and less likely to fail. I blame automation for this as it put wheelwrights out of work and replaced then with less skilled workers who were just used to feed machines and paid little attention to grain strength. I use grain as well as color and uniformity in all cabinets and furniture I make and turn on a lathe. Paying attention to the wood and it's grain makes for a more stunning and quality product in the end.

Great video

I like your videos. Thanks.

Your videos have the best music

this is actually so cool

Fascinating!

Very good content

Liked! Awesome video… Can you make a bamboo bat video?

Hey man I really enjoyed your video what's your opinion on the karate guys punching bats in half? Just curious

You have a lucky brother!

I learn stuff I was never even aware of existing everytime I visit this channel

Holy shit, this channel is amazing. Thank you for making it. Insta-subscribe.

can you do a comparison video on the strength of various building materials and how they are further reinforced?

shiiiiiiit, that footage was satisfying af

Can you make a video explaining how the grid fins on The Falcon 9 work? and the physics and engineering that comes into play when landing a first stage?

Practical Engineering Grady, what do you use for a microphone or equipment for recording your videos. Your voice is completely different when you are narrating the videos and it sounds so great. Could you please let me know all that you use for the recording of your videos? With all these subscribers I hope you actually read and answer questions. I really need that information. Please

well done!

Saman wood should be great for this. It is actually stronger along the grain as it is across, which is also quite strong.

You look kind and smart! These videos are like you, kind and smart! YAY ENGINEER!

Engineers: Why do bats break? Me (an idiot): uhhh.....the players swing really, really hard at a ball moving really, really fast?

Really great video, to be honest.

solid metal core rod may help, plus you wouldn't get the compression/spring benefit that aluminium bats give.

I wonder how much the broken bat number has gone down since the ink dot 🤷‍♂️

+Practical Engineering please tell me what you think of a wooden bat drilled from edge to edge with a rubber or other flexible material insert.... my theory is when it brakes it will hold both halves and not fly off...kinda like a laminated glass....

There is another reason bats break. A bat is basically, a lever . The fulcrum is where the bat and ball meet. If the fulcrum is too close to the handle, the bat wants to fold at that point. Hitting with the extreme end of the bat, will also cause it to break. The best way to prevent the bat from breaking, is to hit the ball with the sweet spot. (Hitting the ball, at either extreme will also be quite painful.) steve

Is the old map above your head of old Helena, MT?

topic for a vid please why dose kitchen scrubber pad scratch steel sinks if the nylon is softer then then steel

I didn't understand any of this, but it sure sounded smart!