Baseball bat with reinforcement through a portion thereof and method for making same

Abstract

A baseball bat discourages breakage by using a reinforcement made from steel, plastic, epoxy, or other suitable filler material. To construct the bat, a blind hole is bored through the handle portion of the bat (or the wooden die from which the bat will be formed) towards but not extending to the tip. Next, the hole is filled with the reinforcement. The resulting product is a wooden bat reinforced at its narrowest points: in and near the handle extending towards the barrel of the bat.

1 . A wooden baseball bat comprising: 
 a handle and a barrel thicker than the handle;    a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel;    a blind bore extending through the handle;    reinforcement that fills the blind bore; and    a longitudinal axis extending through the handle, barrel, blind bore, and tapered portion.    
   
   
       2 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is metal.  
   
   
       3 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is epoxy.  
   
   
       4 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is an epoxy and wood-shaving mixture.  
   
   
       5 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement is plastic.  
   
   
       6 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement comprises more than of the group consisting of: metal, epoxy, wood shavings, wood, and plastic.  
   
   
       7 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement comprises at least two materials adjacent one another.  
   
   
       8 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the blind bore extends into the tapered portion.  
   
   
       9 . The baseball bat of  claim 1 , wherein the blind bore extends through the tapered portion and into the barrel.  
   
   
       10 . A method for making a wooden baseball bat comprising the following steps: 
 providing a baseball bat comprising a handle, a barrel thicker than the handle, and a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel;    boring a blind bore extending through the handle; and    reinforcing the baseball bat by filling the blind bore.    
   
   
       11 . A method for making a baseball bat comprising the following steps: 
 providing a wooden blank;    boring a blind bore extending through a portion of the blank;    reinforcing the wooden blank by filling the blind bore;    turning the wooden blank to form a baseball bat comprising a handle, a barrel thicker than the handle, a tapered portion between the handle and the barrel; and a reinforcement extending at least through the handle.