TEXAS TIMBER BATS

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Today’s interview is with Joe Hardin of Texas Timber. Joe and his father, Wayland, started Texas Timber back in 1998 and have made a niche for themselves in the custom wood bat market. It’s a great story, keep on reading!   Can you give 50 BUILT readers some background on yourselves and how Texas Timber came to be? Sure. I’ll start with my dad, Wayland; he grew up in a small farming community and has always approached life by letting hard work speak for itself. He is one of those guys that can implement anything – from woodworking, to welding, to mechanics– he still amazes me with what he is able to do. He is also the type of guy that if it you can get by on a task with 2 nails, he is going to use at least 4 nails to make it solid. We joke as a…Continue Reading

NOKONA BASEBALL GLOVE

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In a sport that prides itself on being America’s pastime, most of the companies representing the baseball have abandoned American manufacturing. Nokona baseball gloves are one of the few glove companies that can say they are American Made. The Nokona Classic Walnut glove is offered in 11.5″, 12″ and 12.75″. I went with the 12.75″ since I’ll be using the glove for baseball and softball. I’m sure most that use the glove strictly for baseball would prefer the 11.5″ or 12″ glove. The fit is great, and when trying on several different gloves from multiple companies, it was clear the quality of leather used in the Nokonas is superior. The break-in time took a bit longer than cheaper gloves I’ve had, but that is expected. There are some extra holes drilled into the wrist closure, and I used them to re-lace the glove to be a snugger fit around my…Continue Reading

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER

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Hillerich & Bradsby Co., better known as Louisville Slugger, got its start back in 1884. It began when a furniture maker’s son, Bud Hillerich, used the furniture shop to make a custom bat for professional baseball player, Pete Browning. Two decades later Louisville Slugger signed the first athlete to endorse a bat, Honus Wagner and the rest is history. Today Louisville Sluggers are used in every line up in the major leagues. They use Northern White Ash grown in their Pennsylvania and New York forests. Each year 40,000 Northern White Ash trees provide the timber for the 6,000-10,000 bats produced at the factory every day. That equals 8 million bats a year. The factory mixes tradition with technology, where old school craft meets modern CNC machine. The CNC machine used to make the major league bats is the only one of its kind in the world. From there the MLB…Continue Reading