gloves or no gloves.

[mdi]

I didn't used to and have the scars to prove it!

I wear one on my right hand mainly to turn the sprue cutter, and strike off the sprue. The sprue drops off right in my gloved palm and I drop it into the pot as I reach for my rawhide mallet to open the mould. It makes it so much easier.

Just curious Stub, you twist off the sprue and use a mallet? Why use a mallet to open a mold? Jes askin'

[craveman85]

i put a wooden handle on the sprue of my lee moulds to open it. gives more leverage and stays cool

[Longwood]

i put a wooden handle on the sprue of my lee moulds to open it. gives more leverage and stays cool

Great idea, thanks for the tip. Now I know how to put to good use some of that 3/4" thick Phenolic that I have.

[Longwood]

What exactly is the big deal about using a leather mallet for hitting a sticky mold?
I have been using a hammer handle and lately a leather mallet since about 1973 on some of my molds and have yet to see any issue with it.
Yeah,,, I tried all the tricks to get some of them to drop the bullets but I have two that it did no good at all. The molds still look brand new and the bullets come out looking perfect. The handles are OK also.
Just a guess, but I must have smacked a couple of the molds about 10 thousand times at least.

[captaint]

I wouldn't even approach the pot without my heavy leather (lined no less) gloves. I usually wear both. A must have, for me at least.. enjoy Mike

[mold maker]

I was once bullet proof and macho, then as the years passed I found out different.
Young folks do a lot of things standing, that I have to do seated. I constantly wear gloves for smelting and at least one while casting.
There are poor welding gloves that are just barely better than none. Then there are some that are soft and lined that do an excellent job.
Long sleeved cotton shirts and jeans over high top boots with an added leather apron complete the outfit.
Oh yeah, glasses and a brimmed hat.
700+ degree metal rain will burn the heck out of your ears sticking out from under a ball cap.
The first time I got a small but serious burn, taught me a lesson that I will not repeat.

[geargnasher]

I use a single glove on my right hand for manipulating the sprue plate. I wear whatever I am wearing at the time.

+1, except a little incident at the Boeing factory that would have probably killed me had I not been wearing the Z87s has forever made me paranoid, so I always wear a pair when casting, smelting, reloading, or even when cleaning guns (springs and things fly out sometimes). I was hit hard enough in the left lens of my glasses by a flying pneumatic heavy-lug crimper die to knock me flat on the floor from fifteen feet, still have a scar in my eyebrow from where the glasses split me open, but they stopped the chunk of metal from going through my head.

There's no option for using only one glove, so I left the survey blank.

Gear

[WildmanJack]

Leather work glove n the left h and, welders glove on the right, leather apron, leather cowboy boots, levy s, long sleeve shirt ( cotton) Hat and glasses... I was a firefighter. I don't like burns!!!
Jack

[mdi]

What exactly is the big deal about using a leather mallet for hitting a sticky mold?
I have been using a hammer handle and lately a leather mallet since about 1973 on some of my molds and have yet to see any issue with it.
Yeah,,, I tried all the tricks to get some of them to drop the bullets but I have two that it did no good at all. The molds still look brand new and the bullets come out looking perfect. The handles are OK also.
Just a guess, but I must have smacked a couple of the molds about 10 thousand times at least.

Usually, if someone uses a mallet while casting the primary reason is to break the sprue and secondary to tap the mold handle or nut, to drop the bullet from the mold. I asked why use a gloved hand to twist off a sprue then pick up a mallet to loosen a bullet? Any advantage to opening the sprue plate by hand seems to be lost by having to pick up a mallet to tap the mold after cutting the sprue by hand. I like to use my mallet to open the sprue plate and, if necessary, tap the bullet loose. Been doing it that way ssince I lernt how to cast.

[mold maker]

Sticking boolits usually indicate a problem with the mold. (most have them)
I fix the problem and ditch the hammer.

[Spector]

I wear Kevlar work gloves and open my molds with my hand......Mike

[Springfield]

I ALWAYS wear 2 Ove' Gloves, made from Kevlar and are heat proof to about 500 deg. I cast a few thousand a week and I still get little burns once in a while. Those lead drops are sneaky, get in places you think they couldn't . Lead burns take way too long to heal and I hate being injured, especially my hands, I need them to make a living.

[405]

Two gloves and glasses for me. To each his/her own.

Got tired of wooden whackers. Found a piece of delrin on the road years ago- makes perfect, indestructible whacker.

[Longwood]

Sticking boolits usually indicate a problem with the mold. (most have them)
I fix the problem and ditch the hammer.

First off, thanks for the reply.

Do you have a fix that has not been mentioned on this site yet? I have tried everything that I have seen but I may have missed the one that works. I would love not having to take the time to tap the molds but then I figure I would have to wait for the mold to cool a little anyway so I don't consider it to be a big deal.
I am almost 70 and nearly every thing I know, I have learned from others that are more knowledgeable than myself so I am certainly open for more suggestions.

Things I have tried in the past or have recently read here.

Smoke the mold.
I used that method for about 15 years and it seemed to help a lot.

Use a very light coat of mold release.
I tried that recently and it seemed to help even more.
I have read here not to use it because it makes small bullets so I have discontinued that even though I did not find that to be the case. The only issue I have noticed with that, is I sometimes get a tiny bit of graphite on some of the bullets which wipes right off.

Vigorously clean all oil etc from the mold with hot water and dish soap.
Did that.

De-burr the mold.
I used the bamboo skewer method then a lead pencil but that effort did not to improve the stickyness.
Even though I could see no signs of the tiny burrs or machining flashing people talk about, I tried aluminum polish, then when that made no improvement, 600 grit lapping compound in the cavities, then because it also did no good, I very gingerly tried a needle file which also seemed to do nothing in the way of improvement. The only thing I have no tried along that line, is tooth paste.

I may have tried another thing or two but I can't recall right now.

I suspect that the sticky molds may have off centered cavities but I have snap gauges and expensive micrometers and can't tell with those. I may try clamping a piece of ground tool steel to the molds and measuring each side of the cavity next.

I am not so sure the bullets are sticking so much as it may more of a "hanging up" issue.
I had a Kieth style mold many years ago that had very square grooves in it and it was a major PITA so I gave it away. I actually had to coax the bullets from that mold with a sharp pick which did not hurt the performance of the bullets any but it took extra time. It was given to me and it was my first mold and I thought it was normal until I bought another mold that I only had to tap if I smoked the cavities.
However, none of the molds that I now have, that cause me the slightly sticky problem, is made that way.
I am not too sure I can call it a problem since tapping the hinge or mold causes the bullets to drop right out and I have done it thousands of times with no issues so far.

[Von Gruff]

For what its worth I found that a higher mould temp helped boolit release.

Von Gruff.

[wallenba]

Used to be no gloves. Just a brief touch of my mold block to my 'pinky' melted it like plastic. It has mostly grown out, but you can still see the ripple effect in this photo. It has caused the cuticle to be set back about an eigth of an inch. I felt no pain at the time, but hot water while washing caused pain. At this point it has been healing for about 2 months.

[Longwood]

For what its worth I found that a higher mould temp helped boolit release.

Von Gruff.

Thanks.
I read that last night but I thought they were talking about aluminum molds. I have a couple that were given to me but I don't use them. My molds that need a tap with the mallet, are cast-iron. I may try it next time though.
So what if my bullets come out a little frosty. I used to shoot the bullets in competition so I tried everything I heard to make for more accuracy but that is not much of an issue any more for the rifles that I shoot those particular bullets in.

[BorderBrewer]

I wear boots, a hat, gloves, safety glasses, and a FR7 cloth welding jacket with leather sleeves over my shop apron while casting. Might be overkill, but I hate getting burned and for me worrying about injury detracts from the enjoyment of casting.

[catmasher]

no gloves
safety glasses yes
been casting on and off for like 30 years,
stupid yes, some day I'll learn
oh, the last time at the Dr.'s office I had a special test for lead and it came back hardly on the chart, no worry the Dr. said....

catmasher

[firefly1957]

wallenba that says attached thumb nail but looks like detached thumb nail?