Abstract: A baseball bat or the like comprises a tube formed with an outer layer of wood veneer covering a layer of fiber reinforced resin, with the tube layers being impregnated with and bonded to one another with a cured resin. The ends of the tube are closed off with caps adhered to the tube by cured resin. The tube may be hollow and may have a foam plastic core with sufficient resiliency to allow the tube to resiliently deform during impact with a baseball. The tube formed by molding over a tubular end which may constitute the foam core or, alternatively, the forming mandrel may be removed after the resin is cured and the resulting cavity filled with foam plastic.

Abstract: A hockey stick having the appearance of a solid wood stick and superior handling properties is formed with an outer layer of resin-impregnated wood veneer formed integrally with an inner sheath of fiber-reinforced fabric and resin. In one embodiment of the hockey stick, the two outer layers are formed over a core which may be formed of foamed plastic core. In an alternative embodiment, the foam core extends through the handle area and the blade is formed of synthetic fibers overlaid and bonded to an outer wood veneer sheath by resin which impregnates both layers.

Abstract: A wood composite baseball bat is formed by overlaying a central core of foamed plastic or extruded aluminum with an inner layer of resin-impregnated fiber knitted or woven cloth and then an outer layer consisting of longitudinally extending planks of resin-coated wood veneer. The article is formed by covering the core with the synthetic material impregnated with uncured resin. While the resin impregnating the fibrous material is still unset, the core member is placed within split molds lined with resin-coated strips of wood veneer and the molds are pressed together while the resin is allowed to set to form a unitary mass.