LEsoftballdad
DFP Vendor
So, with a lot of free time this winter, and two new catcher's mitts to break in, I decided to put my feeble skills to work.
The standard Rawlings glove mallet is designed for baseball, not softball, so when forming a pocket, I needed something bigger. Pounding the pocket with a softball held in my hand was not a pleasant feeling, so I needed to come up with something different.
I had an old pair of drumsticks laying around that I don't use on my kit as they're too big. I thought to myself, these would be the perfect mallet handles. I grabbed a couple of old softballs and spade/paddle bit to see if the bit matched the stick size. I used a 3/4 bit to drill 75% of the way through the ball, being sure to remove all the loose material when I was done. I grabbed my wife's hot glue gun, covered the stick with glue, put it in, and let it sit overnight. What I now have are two perfect softball mallets for breaking in new gloves. If you don't have a drumstick, a 3/4 dowel will suffice.
How about you, DFP? What other homemade tools have you come up with to help your daughter's softball journey?
The standard Rawlings glove mallet is designed for baseball, not softball, so when forming a pocket, I needed something bigger. Pounding the pocket with a softball held in my hand was not a pleasant feeling, so I needed to come up with something different.
I had an old pair of drumsticks laying around that I don't use on my kit as they're too big. I thought to myself, these would be the perfect mallet handles. I grabbed a couple of old softballs and spade/paddle bit to see if the bit matched the stick size. I used a 3/4 bit to drill 75% of the way through the ball, being sure to remove all the loose material when I was done. I grabbed my wife's hot glue gun, covered the stick with glue, put it in, and let it sit overnight. What I now have are two perfect softball mallets for breaking in new gloves. If you don't have a drumstick, a 3/4 dowel will suffice.
How about you, DFP? What other homemade tools have you come up with to help your daughter's softball journey?