Do
you get clay stuck
on the bottom of your tamp?
Do you have a hard
time getting a smooth, firm surface when you tamp your mound?
Does clay stick to
the bottom of the tamp and make indents every time you smash the tamp
down?
Here
are two easy ways to tamp
with minimal sticking
- Use a tamp mat
- Use a cloth over
the tamp or as a tamp mat
Here's
a step by step process.
Start by raking out the loose material from the holes left by the pitchers.
Slightly dampen the hole and the surface. Dampen, but not soaked.
This helps the new clay or your existing mound material adhere to the
old and helps the dirt pack down.
Smooth out the packing clay or your field dirt you are adding back into
the holes. It should be slightly dampened. You can mix it
with field rake also.
Place the tamping mat over the area to tamp. The mat is thin rubber
or flexible foam material. Either of these or even a towel or rag
will work.
Tamp on top of the tamping mat. Work around the area you filled in. Make
sure your tamp is clean on the bottom. You will tamp without clay or baseball
dirt getting stuck to the tamp and making indents as you use it.
Notice how the area under the tamp mat
is smooth, firm, and ready for play.
Here is the finished pitcher's hill after adding mound clay near the pitching
rubber and in the landing holes. By slightly dampening the material
and using the tamp mat, this hill is ready for game time. Note the
pitcher checking it out by balancing all his weight in front of the rubber.
A thin towel, rag, or t-shrit is an alternative to the tamp mat.
It works quite well as you can see here. Some folks wrap a t-shirt
around the tamp and tie it or tape it on. I figure, why bother?
Just place the cloth down and tamp.
Find
out how to place and tamp unfired clay bricks
in your baseball field mound
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