easton stealth composite problems!? [Archive]

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BaseballOC2

06-30-2008, 09:42 AM

Kupuna

06-30-2008, 05:08 PM

I returned a 2007 stiff stealth(not composite) with that problem for replacement. However, I have read that the same sound in a composite generally results in the bat having more pop.

LAball

06-30-2008, 07:40 PM

About 5 monthes ago i bought a 2007 Easton stealth comp, i have been using it for a while and now when i turn the bat (side to side) you can hear a faint sound as if there is a tiny bit of sand in the barrel, what should i do about this?

I have read that that means it broken in. And is at its best performance, but near the verge of breaking. I think "Hollyrock" is the guys name that knows about composite bats in softball

jamesh23

06-30-2008, 09:01 PM

I kid on my team had that happen and the carbon filament broke, and he had to send it in to get replaced, basically their are two walls on the bat and one of them broke.

Baseball gLove

06-30-2008, 09:16 PM

There is only one wall in the Easton Stealth Comp. That rainmaker sound is an indicator that your bat is hot. At this point only use it for games, not for bp and definitely don't share it because its days are limited.

BaseballOC2

07-01-2008, 07:02 AM

if you had to guess based on what you know how much longer do you think it will last?

Strike1

07-01-2008, 10:13 PM

About 5 monthes ago i bought a 2007 Easton stealth comp, i have been using it for a while and now when i turn the bat (side to side) you can hear a faint sound as if there is a tiny bit of sand in the barrel, what should i do about this?

Its nothing to worry about! I had this happen to my sons Easton Composite BCN14. I was so upset about it.......I removed the sticker from the end of the handle (the one that tells you the length) and drilled a hole in the end of the bat. I turned the bat from end to end a few times and got lucky. Sticking out the hole was a small piece of glue! I had to pull it out very carefully. It was about 3/8" long and had a curve to it.
It was extra glue from the end cap when they glued it on at the factory.
I just used some opoxy glue to fill in the hole. Let dry and put the sticker back on!

LAball

07-01-2008, 10:16 PM

if you had to guess based on what you know how much longer do you think it will last?

I have an educated guess. I also had in educated guess on my stocks, but im down 10% so my guess is worthless:hp

mudvnine

07-02-2008, 01:13 AM

Its nothing to worry about! I had this happen to my sons Easton Composite BCN14. I was so upset about it.......I removed the sticker from the end of the handle . . . It was extra glue from the end cap when they glued it on at the factory.

It is probably more then some extra glue, I think it is as someone else said, an indicator that the bat is at its best, but on its last legs.

Here are some pictures of what will likely be the end result some time down the road.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g271/mudvnine/P1011328.jpg?t=1214981363 http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g271/mudvnine/P1011324.jpg?t=1214983181

A local bat distributor lets my son demo bats and this is a 2009 Miken Heat (Model MBHA3) he picked up yesterday (that already had quite a few swings on it), he used it in a game yesterday and then got about 15 swings today at a local cage (that use standard baseballs) before it came apart.

Now this bat had no "maraca" sound, but did show fatigue, as the paint had started to crack and the fiber weave could be seen in several areas of the bat, as can be seen in the far left of the picture on the right (red arrow). The distributor knew this one was on its way out, but wanted my son to see what he thought of it as it was obviously, already "broken in".

Before it let go, this bat performed excellently, with nice balance, great pop and an extended barrel length in comparison to other bats he has tried. He's picking up another one out of the wrapper tomorrow for more testing, so we'll see how one performs before it is "game ready" and how long break in will take, so more info later . . . BTW, Miken guarantees these bats for a year, so this break is no big deal for anyone.

Strike1

07-02-2008, 08:56 AM

It is probably more then some extra glue, I think it is as someone else said, an indicator that the bat is at its best, but on its last legs..

I don't buy into the idea that the bat is at its best, but on its last leg!

It was just glue that came loose from the end cap! The dried glue even had the shape and radius of the end cap. I'm sure that when they pushed the end cap on that some of the glue squeezed out inside the barrel and came loose during a hard impact! Like the bat hitting a baseball doing 60+mph.

BaseballOC2

07-02-2008, 09:20 AM

i have heard that it is composite peices breaking loose from inside the barrel, is this and possible to happen?

mudvnine

07-02-2008, 09:34 AM

I don't buy into the idea that the bat is at its best, but on its last leg!

It was just glue that came loose from the end cap! The dried glue even had the shape and radius of the end cap. I'm sure that when they pushed the end cap on that some of the glue squeezed out inside the barrel and came loose during a hard impact! Like the bat hitting a baseball doing 60+mph.

I didn't mean to say that yours was not a case of extra glue, I'm sure that what you found in your son's bat was what you said it was . . . extra glue.

Where I was going with it is that I don't think that most of the composites that "rattle" are due to "extra glue". I know of MANY players that have experienced the rattle situation with their bats, who talked about improved performance at that time, only to have the bats break some time later.

In fact, the young man at the counter of the batting cage we were at when the bat broke, said that it had happened to 2 of his LS Exogrid bats and an older LS Response (GEN1X and Scandium).

The rattle that is typically heard in these bats is interior fibers breaking off the walls, floating around loose in the bat. The broken fibers thin the walls of the bat increasing performance, but also shortening the life of the bat. I know of guys popping off end caps to "shave" the interior fibers to thin the wall and improve performance; yours is the first case where I've heard someone say it was "extra glue".

These new composite bats are awesome, but when put in the hands of adult hitters who generate great bat speed, or kids that hit them frequently (cages and games), they seem to breakdown faster then their alloy bat counterparts and many of them tell of their upcoming demise by their distinctive "rattle".

Baseball gLove

07-02-2008, 09:57 AM

BaseballOC2

07-02-2008, 10:06 AM

How many hits do you think the bat has left in it? 50-100?

How do you think it will break when it eventually breaks? Crack? Connection Hinge? End Cap?

Strike1

07-02-2008, 10:17 AM

My info comes from first hand experience and from Easton development. My son has been testing bats for Easton. By the way, Easton does not use glue for their endcaps.

Thats great that your son has the opportunity to test bats for Easton! He is a lucky kid!
Well, I just called EASTON to ask them about the glue! They said that they do use glue in the composite bat and that it most likely came from the shaft and the barrel connection! So, you are right its not from the end cap! Even though they coundn't tell me that they don't use glue in the end cap.

I do agree that fiber glass can and does come loose in composite bats.

mudvnine

07-02-2008, 10:24 AM

How many hits do you think the bat has left in it? 50-100?

How do you think it will break when it eventually breaks? Crack? Connection Hinge? End Cap?

Number of hits? Hard to say, too many variables . . . what kind of bat speed/power is being generated by the hitter, did/does the hitter rotate the bat to diffuse the fatigue throughout the barrel versus impact in the same spot all the time, what does the outside of the bat look like (is it spider-webbed or looks ok), when did the rattle start and is it getting worse????? Unfortunately, none of us have x-ray vision, so putting an exact time or number of hits left is all but impossible.

How will it break? Most of them look very similar to this (http://www.baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=1232999&postcount=9). . .

If the rattle is extreme and you are seeing stress fractures on the barrel, I would do as someone else suggested and ONLY use the bat in games and take BP with something else (and don't let anyone else use it). Also, I would have a backup bat in your bag or know which teammates' bat you feel comfortable with and can use (if they'll even let you, remember you're the one not letting them use your "hot" bat :)).

BaseballOC2

07-02-2008, 10:35 AM

Number of hits? Hard to say, too many variables . . . what kind of bat speed/power is being generated by the hitter, did/does the hitter rotate the bat to diffuse the fatigue throughout the barrel versus impact in the same spot all the time, what does the outside of the bat look like (is it spider-webbed or looks ok), when did the rattle start and is it getting worse????? Unfortunately, none of us have x-ray vision, so putting an exact time or number of hits left is all but impossible.

How will it break? Most of them look very similar to this (http://www.baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=1232999&postcount=9). . .

If the rattle is extreme and you are seeing stress fractures on the barrel, I would do as someone else suggested and ONLY use the bat in games and take BP with something else (and don't let anyone else use it). Also, I would have a backup bat in your bag or know which teammates' bat you feel comfortable with and can use (if they'll even let you, remember you're the one not letting them use your "hot" bat :)).

I generally generate pretty good bat speed, When i get up to the plate i never usually pay attention to rotateing the bat, nor do i choose a side that i always use. The outside of the barrel looks completely normal. The rattle started about 3 monthes ago, and it is getting a little worse buts not that noticeably worse, when i hold up the bat in my batting stance you can hear the rattling falling down to the handle. Does that help estimateing the number of hits?

Baseball gLove

07-02-2008, 11:45 AM

A crack in the barrel will signal its end. After hitting 2 homeruns in a game there was a linear crack in the barrel. Couldn't see the crack, but you could feel it. In this case it was about 3 inches long. With his last hit the bat made a weird sound and we knew it was done.

mudvnine

07-02-2008, 11:57 AM

I generally generate pretty good bat speed, When i get up to the plate i never usually pay attention to rotateing the bat, nor do i choose a side that i always use. The outside of the barrel looks completely normal. The rattle started about 3 monthes ago, and it is getting a little worse buts not that noticeably worse, when i hold up the bat in my batting stance you can hear the rattling falling down to the handle. Does that help estimateing the number of hits?

I think you should be fine for some time now, as long as you're not seeing cracks or spider-webbing on the barrel. Keep rotating the bat to spread the fatigue over the whole surface, but most of all don't let the bat get into your head; it's going to be fine and even when it does let go, that last hit will come off the bat just as it does now. They die a very honorable death in the end. :)

As BBGlove said, "A crack in the barrel will signal its end", until then, you're fine.

Strike1

07-02-2008, 12:05 PM

I think you should be fine for some time now, as long as you're not seeing cracks or spider-webbing on the barrel. Keep rotating the bat to spread the fatigue over the whole surface, but most of all don't let the bat get into your head; it's going to be fine and even when it does let go, that last hit will come off the bat just as it does now. They die a very honorable death in the end. :)

As BBGlove said, "A crack in the barrel will signal its end", until then, you're fine.

Mudvnine.....You said it best!
"Don't let it the bat get into our head"