RCBS wooden mallet

[owejia]

Wood mallets keep splintering small pieces off, so made one using straight copper fitting poured full of lead with a bolt through a wood handle. Does not bounce, works good.

[lightman]

A friend bought one of the RCBS mold tappers years ago when we first started casting. It would drop splinters and small pieces of wood in his freshly cast bullets. Not really a big deal and I think he still uses it today.

At the same time I started using a plastic mallet. I'm guessing that it weighs 6 or 8 oz. It has a brass body and the plastic part is about 3/4 inch in diameter. When casting, I never put it down. I'll open and close the bottom pour lever control with my trigger finger, hit the sprue cutter with the plastic hammer, tap in the mold handle bolt to drop the bullets, close the sprue cutter with the side of the plastic hammer and continue on. It sounds complicated, seeing it in print, but it actually works quite well.

[Bazoo]

I like a heavier knocker than a hammer handle. I use a piece of cherry that is about 2"x12" Gives a solid whack instead of those taps that lighter instruments do. For those that want something heavier, you can easily find suitable dowel stock at a hardware/lowes. Either oak or birch would be acceptable, Not poplar. Buy a piece of the desired diameter and cut it to length.

[handloder]

Thanks, everybody, for your insights. For those that say they 'push' the sprue plate open, how do you push open a hardened sprue? The rawhide hammer type seems bulky for my casting table. Otherwise, there is a rough consensus for hickory. I'd love to have some sticks of sycamore or osage orange about 2" in diameter.

[tray999]

I am new to casting, but an experienced wood turner, so I made my own..... Here it is:

[IMG]

Yea, I know it will not look this good for long......

[sharps4590]

Having enough Osage orange in Missouri to drive most farmers nuts, I agree with beagle. Tough stuff!! Secondly, what tray999 said. I have access a wood lathe and am going to turn one out tomorrow. My old hammer handles are worn to a point on both ends and not much account any longer.

[rockrat]

Been using a plastic headed mallet for last 30 years or so. Used to use the wooden mallet then a plastic one that a friend turned out of materlial like a cutting board.
Making a mallet out of Bois 'd Arc would be quite a mallet!!

[Dragonheart]

I would suggest make your own. Salvage an oak or hickory handle out of a shovel. Cut it to your desired length then drill out a tapered hole in the center down a few inches. Pour melted lead in the hole to add whatever weight you desire. Wrapping the tapper end with a few layers of duct tape softens the blow and aids in keeping the wood from splintering. A duct taped layer of thin foam will make a soft handle. One old handle will make several.

[greenjoytj]

I had the wooden RCBS mallet, it was too light so it took multiple hits to cut the sprue and doing so splintered off small slivers of wood. Eventually half the diameter split off in one great chunk.
I tossed it out after that.
Now I just use a piece of maple 1”x2”x12” when it wears out I cut another.

[Ickisrulz]

I used an RCBS mallet when I first started casting. It worked fine and I eventually wore it out (millions of splinters over several years). Now I use pieces of tree limbs I cut, sand and finish. They are free for me and work just as well.

[scotner]

I was out in the reloading room yesterday and put the RCBS mallet on the postal scale. 4 oz. Did not note dimensions. It was 45° out there.

[Huvius]

I don't like the idea of whacking on the sprue plate of any mold.
I use a foot long piece of aluminum pipe - it fits well over just about any sprue plate, easy to use to push the plate closed again and stays nice and cool.

[44magLeo]

I have ash tress in my yard that need trimming every no and then.
I cut the trimmings into about 16-18 inch lengths. Some of the larger pieces I toss in the bon fires I enjoy.
A few of the 2 inch or so pieces got debarked With one end smoothed for a handle.
I do have a wood lathe and have turned small base ball bats for friends. Nice to tuck into the car for many uses.
I did use one of those as a mold mallet but stopped, it got a bit roughed up so just trimmed up a bit of limb wood.
Have plenty more in the wood pile.
The piece of tubing as a pry bar is a good idea. I may try it. Have some one inch tubing from an old tent garage that the tarp wore out on.
Leo

[44magLeo]

I just remembered something. In the tool kits for some of my motorcycles there is a piece of steel tubing about 5 inches long that is flattened on one end. The axle wrenches have a closed end large enough for the axle nuts, the other end is flat. This flat end fits into the tubing so you have handle enough to loosen and tighten the axle nuts.
I'll have to try that during my next casting session.
Leo

[brass410]

purchased a carving mallet thru lee valley it was not inexpensive but then again neither was the mould a quality mould deserves a good mallet. I tried all the others rawhide mallet, plastic and wooden sticks, but all felt like I was clubbing a fish they're to light and bouncey. Tried this carvers mallet, whoa baby it strikes with authourity with the flick of the wrist, completely ergonomicly friendly to the hand and wrist it has some sort of polyurethane head that doesn't damage or ring with the strke and cause numbness in your hand in a few minutes, Yeah I know its not for everyone but I spent a lot of money to buy a Caddillac mold so why would I strike it with a junky hammer?

[bobthenailer]

A+ for the small rawhide mallet , been using the same one for over 30 years and I made over 1/2 million bullets in the past 50 years.
if you time the cut off time you can push the sprue plate open with the mallet without leaving a sprue diviot or lead smearing. I use a stop watch to time when to cut the sprue and you can use a bullet lube on a rag to lightly run across the sprue plate and sometimes the top of the mould to help elimate lead smearing.

[RoGrrr]

I tried numerous mallets and while the rawhide mallet works well, it takes TWO HANDS to use it.
I started with a pine 2x2. Too light. Then I tried a broken hammer handle made of ASH. It didn't take too long for it to get beaten all to crep. I removed the scarred portion and it got beaten up again. Then the rawhide hammer.
I was tired of doing all this so I made my own sprue cutter jig. I clamped it onto my table and simply turned the mould sideways and with a flip of my wrist, the sprue plate was operated. Spread the handles and the boolits dropped out.
Lots easier and quicker.
ONLY REQUIRES ONE HAND !
Don't red-*** me for that one pic, as I had to reclamp it for the picture.

Huvius has the right idea but it still REQUIRES TWO HANDS !

[tazman]

I like your idea. Think I may steal it.

[gbrown]

I've used various pieces of wood. Finally found a broken hammer handle--probably off a big ball peen, from its weight and shape. Wrapped it in a couple of pieces of old deer rawhide. Doesn't hurt the mold, rawhide is off the the deer's back, towards the tail, so it is thick. After 15 years, its still in good shape.

[RED BEAR]

The best ting i have found is a hickory axe handle less than $10 from hardware store then just cut a piece off and ready to go if you want it a little or a lot heavier just drill hole in end and pour some of your lead in end. There you go custom lenght and weight.