fig3 finally referring to fig4 handle 13 is gripped just below knob 19 by a pair of encompassing jaws 27 which are supported by a base plate 28 and longitudinal force is applied to the outer surface of transverse end wall 23 by a ram 29 which may be hydraulically activated the force applied is of a magnitude sufficient to compress axially the end portion of handle 13 which extends above jaws 27 and is largely contained in knob cavity 21 as a result of the compression the generally cylindrical wall of the end portion 18 of handle 13 is caused to bulge outward forming a permanently enlarged section inside cavity 21 which compresses the ring 30 and has a transverse cross section larger than that of cavity opening 22 thus handle 13 and knob 19 are securely joined by a relatively simple mechanical process which can be performed economically and without the use of elaborate or complex electrical equipment such as that required for welding or electromagnetic forming as previously practiced we have discovered that using the ring 30 within the knob 19 adds substantially to the force with which the knob 19 adheres to the handle 17 and eliminates all tendency of the bat to ring an additional advantage of the ring 30 is that it tends to dampen other vibrations of the bat in addition to the ringing and thus makes the bat 34 feel 34 more solid we have found that in.