Julian Millichamp's new video clips

[aussiefan1960]

Hi everyone
I have heard Julian has a couple of new video clips on his website.
I''m going to check them out!

 

[bigfan]

I would never buy one of these.... Would you buy a car from Henry Ford? No because he is so past the times its not funny.

Watched the video.... who is the park cricketer "getting the bat custom made"? I would tell him save your pennies and spend them on coaching.

No mention of pressing the bat, I assume its pre-pressed (notice the different pings from the ones waiting to be made in his showroom? Real consistent pressing system he must have)
No mention of oiling the bat (funny his old videos clearly say how important he thinks oiling the bat is)
He puts the extra-tec on before the bat is knocked in. No toe guard.

Looks like he is really living off his reputation from 20+ years ago

 

[wizard_85]

I would never buy one of these.... Would you buy a car from Henry Ford? No because he is so past the times its not funny.

Watched the video.... who is the park cricketer "getting the bat custom made"? I would tell him save your pennies and spend them on coaching.

No mention of pressing the bat, I assume its pre-pressed (notice the different pings from the ones waiting to be made in his showroom? Real consistent pressing system he must have)
No mention of oiling the bat (funny his old videos clearly say how important he thinks oiling the bat is)
He puts the extra-tec on before the bat is knocked in. No toe guard.

Looks like he is really living off his reputation from 20+ years ago

I absolutely agree with you!

 

[langer17]

I have had a bat made by Julian before, when he was still at Daylesford in Victoria (even better now as he is only 35-40 minutes away from me up here in QLD). Sometimes I get frustrated as I am astounded by some peoples comments, while this is probably down to me knowing a bit more about the industry than the average person, it is still frustrating when people make comments based on the little information they have.

With your first comment, it is completely stupid, because an original ford would be worth millions of dollars now. Second of all, their cars changed as the technology and industry changed, just like everything else in the world has.

With your second point, it has obviously been set up, as he was just agreeing with what Julian was saying, but the point of it was to show you part of the process of getting the bat made, which takes up to 2 hours, so wouldn't expect a full video of that to be put up. I agree with your coaching point, simply because he looks like he has a terrible technique and he picks the bat up in a weird way.

Your third point is perhaps the most frustrating. The total process of making the bat, from cutting the cleft, to finishing and stickering, takes around 4-5 hours. To make the appointments shorter, Julian has approximately 150-200 bats pre handled and cut to size (still a raw cleft, but just in the correct length and width) and they are obviously all pressed, this takes around 2-3 hours off the time. This means all he has to do is shape, sand and finish the bat, which takes around 1.5 - 2 hours, which is a better time frame, as 4-5 hours is a long time.

Cricket bats are made from natural willow, so all will have different properties, even if they were cut from the same round, and all react differently to pressing. No 2 bats are ever the same.

In regards to oiling, he has another video up about oiling, but it's basically the same as his old one. You can either oil the bat, or your can apply a scuff sheet to it. No one method is significantly better than the other, it's just down to personal preference. I personally apply a scuff sheet to mine because that's what I've always done.

You can knock a bat in with a scuff sheet, which is what I have always done, but some say it is better to knock the bat in first, as that enables you to compress the wood directly. I have never had a problem with knocking in through a scuff sheet though.

The toe guard point is one I see quite a bit, but if that is a factor in choosing your bat, then you are going about it the wrong way. I dislike toe guards and much rather apply shoe goo to the toe of my bats, mainly because shoe goo is inexpensive and can be reapplied when it has worn a bit off the toe. A toe guard on the other hand can come off after one hit, which is a waste, but some prefer it. Both are handy as it helps prevent the bat from absorbing any moisture through the toe, but they certainly aren't essential. Julian doesn't apply one as it gives you the option of applying one yourself, which is easy, or you can apply shoe goo (like I do) or you can choose to leave it natural.

I highly doubt you have seen one of his bats in person, as they are nothing like bats from the past, they have nice thick edges as well as a nice full profile. Julian has an excellent reputation (rightly so) and is still to this day, one of the best makers in the world.

 

[bigfan]

So tell me this...what are the differences between a bat he made 10 years ago and one he makes today? Very little.

I would suggest the reason he doesn't advocate the oiling as much so he can move his bats faster. Face it people want to buy bats and play with them. Notice the increase in "ready to play" he has to have something similar. Now he advises to apply extra-tec, 15 minutes with a mallet and its ready for the nets. This is clearly not best practice and your unhappy I have called him out on this.

Yes I have used a screaming cat, last year used quite a new bat and I was very unimpressed. The things that stood out were average ping (reminded me of a late 90's early 2000's gray nicolls) heavy pickup for its size and poor looking grains. This was a very expensive bat at the time and I didn't think it came close to living up to the hype.

All I can say is look at the pings coming from the SS bats now they are fantastic. Even the middle range bats, what ever they are doing its working. (Improved from SS bats in the past)