Best softball home inventions

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LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
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? 20230216_101030.jpg20230216_101036.jpg
 

LEsoftballdad

DFP Vendor
Jun 29, 2021
2,838
113
NY
I did something similar but used a threaded bolt as I was afraid the glue my not hold. I get pretty violent with that thing :)
I thought the same thing, but the glue has held well through a bunch of sessions already and shows no signs of breaking down.

One correction to my original post is that I used two different bits to see what would work best. The ball on the left was drilled with a 5/8 spade paddle bit, so the fit was very tight without the glue. The ball on the right was drilled with a 3/4 spade paddle bit. The stick went in easier, so we used expanding Gorilla Glue instead of the hot glue gun. Both mallets show no signs of loosening up, so I am confident they will do the job.
 
Aug 15, 2021
94
33
I thought the same thing, but the glue has held well through a bunch of sessions already and shows no signs of breaking down.

One correction to my original post is that I used two different bits to see what would work best. The ball on the left was drilled with a 5/8 spade paddle bit, so the fit was very tight without the glue. The ball on the right was drilled with a 3/4 spade paddle bit. The stick went in easier, so we used expanding Gorilla Glue instead of the hot glue gun. Both mallets show no signs of loosening up, so I am confident they will do the job.
I was thinking Gorilla Glue may be a good choice because it expands. I am getting a new glove for my DD in about 4-6 weeks and was going to make a new one. I'll borrow from your ideas.
 
Feb 14, 2019
145
43
I was thinking Gorilla Glue may be a good choice because it expands. I am getting a new glove for my DD in about 4-6 weeks and was going to make a new one. I'll borrow from your ideas.
I used a cut off broom handle that already had a threaded metal tip and gorilla glue for mine; I made one with a baseball and one with a softball and they work amazingly well.
 

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