Lead filled sausage sprue plate wacker!

[JKH]

Hey Guys,

I was doing some casting yesterday with some 2 cavity molds and got to thinking about a new sprue plate tool to whack them open.

Since I started casting I have used a variety of tools, hammer handles, rubber mallet, homemade billy club, piece of ax handle, etc. anything that was stout enough but would not ding up the mold or sprue plate.

The rubber mallet was to heavy and even brief contact with the sprue plate would cause minor melting and nasty odor. Hard wood worked fairly well but anything I could find would eventually start splintering and making a mess.

The latest tool I have been using I thought was the best, a VERY large tractor trailer wheel weight about 6" long, nice size and good weight, would easily pop the sprue even when casting virgin lino-type, this was it! Well alas it wasnt it As I have been using it the end is getting pretty battered and is now starting to shed slivers of lead.

So, I'm thinking, what am I gonna use now? I started looking around and spied some 1/2" rigid copper (not sure if its L or M but it is the thicker walled/softer of the two), I cut off a piece about 7" long and hunted around for a sweat on end cap figurin I needed something to close off the end Unfortunately I couldnt find a cap and wanted to use this tool right now, so I carefully pinched off one end till it was tight and was ready to fill it with lead.

I took it to my casting station (its really messy but saying "my fitlhy hole where I cast boolits" doesnt sound so nice or professional ), I moved my LEE bottom pore pot out the the edge so I could get the pipe under it relatively vertical and filled it to the top while holding it with channel locks. I waited a few moments after the lead o the top solidified and then completely immersed it in water to cool it off and was ready for casting.

After casting another 100 LEE 12 gauge slugs and another 100 SWC's there are plenty of little marks on the copper pipe but it is barely damaged or dinged up and left no marks whatsoever on my molds, the size is just right to hold comfortably and just long enough for the job and it weighs enough that it takes very little effort to pop the sprue or tap out and sticky boolits so ven though it is heavier than the truck wheel weight or the piece of ax handle it took less effort with less fatigue than any casting session I have had yet.

Another great part of this little tool is the fact that if I should manage to beat it up till its ugly enough I want a new one, it is a simple matter to melt the lead out with a torch to re-use and the copper pipe can be scrapped, AND its pretty easy to find cutoff's from a plumber or hardware store if you dont do your own plumbing, just what the dctor ordered for penny pinchers like me!

I hope this idea helps some of you guys out and makes your casting experience a little more pleasureable.

Jeff

[selmerfan]

I haven't whacked a sprue plate in a couple of years, gloved hand and a proper temp mold does it for me.

[JKH]

So, your pretty good at whacking things off with just your hand huh? ;^ )

[462]

Selmerfan has it right. It makes absolutely no sense, to me, to use anything with which to whack a mould.

Even Lyman four-cavity moulds, once they are to temperature, can be open with a gloved hand.

[rattletrap1970]

Ummm, I strike sprue plates with a rolled rawhide mallet. Works perfectly.

[onondaga]

I have been using a rawhide mallet since boyhood, But I am beginning to try the glove method, I like it.

Gary

[bradh]

I'm with Rattletrap, rawhide mallet is all I've ever used....works great and damages nothing!

[M4bushy]

I have been using a rawhide mallet since boyhood, But I am beginning to try the glove method, I like it.

Gary

Darn, I thought I was the only one to think of the rawhide mallet.....

[Springfield]

I use my old regular rawhide mallet as I now use a weighted one for my leather work tooling. They are pretty cheap from Tandy.

[Doby45]

I have JUST started using my gloved hand and it has proven to be a VERY effective method. I feel as I have more control of the base of the boolit when I push down slightly as I slide it.

[462]

"I feel as I have more control of the base of the boolit when I push down slightly as I slide it."

Exactly. The gloved hand method keeps the cutter tight against the mould, from start to finish.

[JKH]

besides the rubber mallet I also tried other non marring type hammer/mallets, I found them to be out of balance & also didn't like having to constantly orient the striking face when speed casting.

I also tried the gloved hand technique but in order to have the sprue soft enough to allow this there was a high percentage of tearouts & lead streaks on top of the mold blocks, which of course are unsightly as well as disturbing the balance of the boolit which will adversely effect accuracy, this is using straight wheel weights. Lino-type would be nearly impossible unless you are a gorilla!

I like my "sausage" as it is well balanced, comfortable to hold (small size vs. Weight), I can continue to cast without needing to put it down, and it is ALWAYS properly oriented for the odd occasion I do put it down I never have to check which way its pointing when I pick it up.

But then again, maybe after I cast another 20,000 boolits to double what I've cast so far I might be able to master the Chuck Norris gloved hand of death technique & rise to a higher plane of existence, as always YMMV

[John Boy]

I'm with the others - glove hand only. No reason or need to hit a mold
At proper temperature sprue puddle frosts, press plate to top of mold - open and perfect filled out bullets with sharp flat bases.

[stubshaft]

Glove on the sprue and a rawhide mallet to strike the mold handle hinge in the case of a recalcitrant boolit.

[high standard 40]

When I first started casting I used a large hardwood dowel to smack the sprue plate. When I heard of the gloved hand method a couple of years ago, I tried it. I will not ne going back to the dowel. Only the gloved hand for me now.

[mold maker]

Only a heavy leather gloved hand, for the last 5-6 years. I, like most others, have tried everything else mentioned, but found them all deficient. I do still have a small rawhide hammer handy, to free the occasional stuck boolit.

I've learned more from this forum than what 35 years had taught me before.
Thanks guys.

[selmerfan]

So, your pretty good at whacking things off with just your hand huh? ;^ )

Just sprues, thanks.

[selmerfan]

If you're getting smearing or torn bases when using the gloved hand method, you should try out some Bullplate lube. Go ahead JKH, here's another hanging curve...

[JKH]

I have ZERO desire or need to use a "gloved hand" method to cut sprues, I also didn't start this thread for you to expound upon the virtues of using a gloved hand, I started this to put forth an idea for those of us who would rather use a tool.

I would respectfully request that you start your own thread on using a gloved hand, where you can postulate upon its virtues there & opine on its superiority, or lack thereof, over other methods, this thread deals with the use of a tool that I find to work exceedingly well for me & may be of benefit to others & is not for philosophical purposes.

Jeff

[2wheelDuke]

besides the rubber mallet I also tried other non marring type hammer/mallets, I found them to be out of balance & also didn't like having to constantly orient the striking face when speed casting.

I also tried the gloved hand technique but in order to have the sprue soft enough to allow this there was a high percentage of tearouts & lead streaks on top of the mold blocks, which of course are unsightly as well as disturbing the balance of the boolit which will adversely effect accuracy, this is using straight wheel weights. Lino-type would be nearly impossible unless you are a gorilla!

I like my "sausage" as it is well balanced, comfortable to hold (small size vs. Weight), I can continue to cast without needing to put it down, and it is ALWAYS properly oriented for the odd occasion I do put it down I never have to check which way its pointing when I pick it up.

But then again, maybe after I cast another 20,000 boolits to double what I've cast so far I might be able to master the Chuck Norris gloved hand of death technique & rise to a higher plane of existence, as always YMMV

Chuck Norris casts boolits with his bare hands. He doesn't need a melter or moulds, he just squeezes raw lead to make boolits.