Cricket Bat Restoration

[tree_bear]

Hi there,

Can anyone recommend someone to restore a cricket bat? It belonged to my husband's father who has passed and I would like to get it restored as a gift. Apparently it is a collectable.

Appreciate any assistance.

[Ashore]

Don't know , but mabye the sydney cricket ground trust , or a cricket club might be able to help

[Lignin]

There's a bloke who is a regular on Simon Marney's Saturday or Sunday morning programme on Sydney ABC 702 who was talking about a couple of restorers in Sydney.Might be worth giving the producer a ring at the W/E.
The bloke I refer to is a sporting memorabilia valuer who will be able to give you some idea of the value of the bat, and if it is worth restoring.

[brizylad]

If it is indeed a collectable, then I would do nothing until you can confirm it. By doing anything you may inadvertently make it valueless.

Stuart J.

[China]

As brizylad said if it is truly a collectable, you most likley do not wanr to restore it, what needs to be done is to prevent further deterioration and must be completed by a competent person, usually your state art gallery will have persons with this expertise

[Waldo]

Not knowing what are referring to, maybe a several coats of linseed oil to soak into the bat.

(should get around to doing just that on my Grandad's bat)

[The Bleeder]

Tree Bear,

Can you post a pic of the bat. As stated before, if it is a collectable I would do nothing to it. Mount it in a nice case with a plaque attached and any other history of the bat.

BTW I'm a cricketer and have been asked a few times to restore cricket bats but I won't do it as it really does diminish their value.

[tree_bear]

Thank you all for your replies. The bat is a Stuart Surridge bat from around 1950's. It is a "Neil Harvey Autograph" and is numbered 889 (I think - hard to read due to condition). I will try to post an image in the next couple of days. I have emailed the Don Bradman Museum in Bowral - thought they might be able to offer some input. Will try contacting the producer of the Simon Marney show.

Thanks again

[Cicatrix]

In this case it sounds like proper a clean is all thats needed. Have a chat to your local museum, the staff would love to talk to you.