Mold mallet/ Sprue Knocker

[Casting_40S&W]

Hey Ya'll fellow boolit casters, I myself use a hard wood dowel, but what is everybody else using?

[jmort]

Gloved hand

[country gent]

I use a small 8-10 ounce leather faced dead blow hammer I made up. Brooks ( Steve Brooks moulds) recomends this on his website and ut works very well for me. A small plastic cap hammer works well also. I have used hammer handles, and other wood shats with decent results but the 2 hammers work way better for me.

[kenyerian]

Glove hand on most of my molds.

[M-Tecs]

http://www.buffaloarms.com/Detail.as...61427&CAT=3905 Lasts forever

[Hickok]

Gloved hand

+1. When everything gets up to proper temperature, gloved hand.

[fredj338]

+1. When everything gets up to proper temperature, gloved hand.

And there is the key. The first few pours are not likely to break free with a gloved hand, especially 4-6cav molds. I use a hardwood hammer handle.

[Rustyleee]

Never thought of a gloved hand. All my casting in the past has been 240 gr .44s or 210 gr .41s. I usually go pretty fast once I get started. a 14" piece of hammer handle with a screwdriver bit epoxied into the bottom so I don't have to set it down once I get started.

[wv109323]

I use a closet rod. I is about a 1 1/2" diameter and is made from soft popular wood. I just had 12-14 inches left over from the closet.

[bangerjim]

I GENTLY tap the sprue plate with a rawhide leather mallet. Last almost forever. Perfect weight and gets the job done.

If you preheat your molds on a hotplate to almost casting temp (as recommended by many on here) B4 starting, your sprues will cut perfectly with just a nudge. AND........your boolits will drop perfectly from the 1st one! No more throw-backs from cold mold wrinkes/poor fills.

[imashooter2]

14 inches of a broken sledge hammer handle when a gloved hand won't do the job.

[Naphtali]

I wear welder's gloves and use my thumbs. I don't cast many bullets. I suspect not beating on the sprue cutter assembly allows it to last longer.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Many casters use a gloved hand with good results. I found that a two inch diameter x 14 inch section of dowel made of Ash cur from a broken baseball bat worked well for me. it didn't splinter much but got pretty ugly looking after countless dings. i also used with success a rawhide mallet from the leatherworking world. A third item that worked very well is a plastic hammer (the one sold in Harbor freight with a replaceable screw on head) It dings a little but has lasted several years so far. A fourth tool is the lead hammer....a small size V-8 juice can is about the right size, but lead gets dinged out of shape pretty easy so plan on replacing it after a while. A fifth tool that will work is an old fashioned wooden mallet such as used to tap on woodworking chisels. One doesn't have to beat the sprue---just tap it to cut and an occasional tap on the handle hinges to get the bullets to fall free. None of what is previously mentioned will harm the mold in any way. None of my molds show any sign of wear after many years of work. LLS

[John Boy]

Casting - the only thing that touches any of my molds is a gloved hand cutting the sprue - Period!
If casters have to hit the mold or the sprue plate for any reason tells me ... Inexperience!
If one has to whack the sprue plate to cut the sprue - casting too cold
Some bullets will not drop from the cavity. When this happens - Tap the handle bolt or Tap on one of the handle arms with the front end of a hickory hammer handle

[upnorthwis]

I've got enough problems with my right hand and arm that I don't need to be cutting sprues with it. Hammer handle for me.

[M-Tecs]

If casters have to hit the mold or the sprue plate for any reason tells me ... Inexperience!

Haven't cast with many eight and ten cavity H&G's have you?

[labradigger1]

I started a thread about this sometime back. General consensus was if you don't use a glove you don't know what you are doing.
I don't use a glove because of carpal tunnel and they make my hands cramp up.
I whack every mold spruce plate I have in iron and then whack the hinge rivet. Right or wrong it works for me and in all my years I have never damaged a mold yet.
I personally prefer to allow my sprue to harden a little more than most, do whatever works for you.
I use a piece of dense ipe wood for my whacker.
Enjoy the ride!
Lab

[lightman]

I use a small plastic mallet, probably about 8 oz.

[brassrat]

I haven't used gloves, so far. I use a hammer with a plastic screw-on end. I started with a bolt sunk in a SS condiment cup full of lead. That worked but not needed. I'm a newb. with plenty of gloves including a fancy, brand new, old stock, asbestos pair but I drop my boolets on the gloves instead lol

[dikman]

I made a smallish wooden hammer, using Australian Oak (very hard wood). It worked well, but I ended up gluing two layers of hard 1/4" thick leather to one face. It seems to work better with the leather as the striking surface. As for using gloves, I tried that and it wouldn't work for me (yes, before you ask, the mold was hot enough!).