Min Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 I came across this idea from the Digitalfire site, using the BatMate to hold down plaster batts. It’s sold to be used sandwiched between the wheelhead with pins and a batt to stop wobbling from loose pins or warped batts. Since I never use batt pins with my homemade batts I have always attached the batts to the wheelhead with a pancake (or usually a ring) of clay. I found that the BatMate works really well at holding down plaster batts and the smaller sizes of wood batts, no pins, no pancakes necessary. I have used it with plaster batts up to 16†diameter with no movement of the batt. When trying it out with wood batts I’m finding that I can only use it with batts up to 8â€. Any bigger than that and I push them off center. I don’t have any masonite batts so I’m not sure if it would work with those. I dip the BatMate in water, squeeze it out so it’s fairly dry and put it on the wheelhead. If I don’t use too much water to throw with then I can throw for a couple hours before squeezing it out. If the BatMate gets too wet it’s harder to remove the batts. It seems like a fairly durable material that it’s made from, I had to pull up on a few times to remove the batts and there is no stretching or tearing of it. The lid in the picture is on a 10†plaster batt, 14†wheelhead. (please excuse the mess, cleaning isn’t one of my strong points) http://store.xiemclaycenter.com/14-BatMate_p_182.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Nice testimonial. I just bought some new batt mates. I do use pins but the holes are worn. I like the stability I get with batt mates. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I use pins with my plywood bats, and have something similar to batmate that I use at times. My bats are not warped, but the damp spongy surface seems to hold the bat in place better even with pins. However, last time I was throwing plates I could not find the batmate and wanted a little hold down grip on the pins. I found that a piece of shopping plastic bag fit well over the pins and would help hold the bat tight without adding extra thickness. I just tore 2 pieces(2"X2") and laid them over the pins before putting the bat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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