Lead filled sausage sprue plate wacker!

[JKH]

bizzledude,

oh no, THAT man transcended to being THE ULTIMATE grand poobah of the secret society of the gloved hand technique society, few if any of us mere mortals will ever ascend to his level, I feel honored that you would put me in the same class
we won't go into what she said, this is a family friendly forum

[JKH]

Jerry (mold maker),
did you try the lith plate material I sent you for gas checks? I forgot about your last PM when you were splitting fire wood, sorry!
Jeff
P.S. Don't whack your molds with lith plate

[selmerfan]

Does one reach sausage whacking bliss when the ideal temperature is reached so that the frozen sausage employed for this technique becomes perfectly cooked by the end of a casting session? This thread is cracking me up!

[JKH]

selmerfan,
perhaps
however, true transendance cannot be achieved unless proper lubrication is used on the sprue, true bliss and perhaps nirvana ma only be reached with the judicious application of a spicey brown mustard, I have learned this from Master Po Grasshopper!

[selmerfan]

BUT - would the spicy brown mustard work as a sprue plate lube? How do we season a mold and plate to prefer spicy brown mustard, or must we condition our palate and digestive system to enjoy Bullplate?

[Tazman1602]

+1

To heck with that gloved hand thing, gloves are too bulky and you can still get burnt. Been using my rawhide gunsmith mallet for years and it doesn't wear out nor does it hurt the sprue plate in any way shape or form....

just my .0003 worth

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

[JKH]

selmerfan,
thats a tough one! I suppose it would be dependant on the "offering", depending on the level of enlightenment you may be able to get by with cheap yellow mustard but you get what you pay for! Grey Poupon on the other hand may send you & the mold into such a state that you may never be able to sustain a more mundane approach to sprue whacking, that woud be a shame so I suggest you proceed with caution

[Le Loup Solitaire]

There is nothing wrong or unusual about using a lead "sausage" to tap or hit the spruecutter to open it. Hensley & Gibbs sold a mold for a lead hammer to do the job. Dean Grennell discussed this in one of his books. I have used a rawhide mallet, a piece of hardwood p board, a plastic mallet and a homemade lead mallet, all on different occasions and never injured a spruecutter. Many casters over the years have also used their gloved hand successfully. What counts is moving the spruecutter at the proper moment so that it does its job correctly. If whatever method or implement works and you are happy with the result then by all means continue with it. The lead in a hammer or sausage is soft though and starts to get beaten up and after some time needs to be recast to return to its original shape. LLS

[GrumpyFinn]

Don't know if this one is already here somewhere but, I used to have a "horn" bench jewelers mallet and I really liked it. Can't seem to find one here in US but one could make it pretty easy. Only thing is needed is a cow horn or antler.

Find out where hollow part ends, cut just beyond where solid part start, cut a hole from inside curve to outside and fit a hammer handle. Drill a small hole cross and fit a brass rod, flare the ends, I guess one could use a screw but a rod looks more "finished", lastly, shape the horn business end to suitable form.

I use gloved hand but every now and then when I need to tap the mold lightly, I use a hammer handle.

[Colorado4wheel]

I use a white plastic mallet from Harbour Freight. I will probably make your tool just for the heck of it, but I like the pointy end of my mallet for tapping the hinge when I have stubborn bullets. I am real curious about the gloved hand idea. I know I have tried it in the past but maybe it will work better for me now. I somehow doubt it as I use two molds and they do cool nicely. I hate lead smearing in a session. I am in this for production, not the some contest to make the nicest looking bullets. I also use BullPlate lube. Don't find it to be that big a deal.

[Fishman]

Jkh, nifty idea. I have always been a member of the not-so-secret always vocal gloved hand society, but am ready to try something else. Last casting session my hand got a little bruised/sore which affected my already mediocre guitar playing skills in a negative way. I like tools. As I tell my son, a boy without tools is just a boy.

[Huntducks]

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

Man JKH you must have been having a bad sausage day I like Italian the best.

Oh I use the rawhide mallet whacker.

You guys whacking with the glove might want to line the palm with some fur.

[35remington]

While I don't use a rubber mallet much, having used it long enough to find that it is too "bouncy" for me, I find it exceptionally curious that the OP has trouble with his sprue plate burning and melting his rubber mallet!

The mallet is in contact with the sprue plate for such a very short period of time that not enough heat is transferred to the rubber to cause it to melt.

I would be very interested in a demonstration that showed "melting" of the rubber. Since the contact area is small and brief, the rest of the rubber will act as a heat sink, precluding any melting.

Color me a skeptic that any burning rubber will result. Just my experience speaking, is all.

I happen to use a plastic headed mallet that works well for me in those instances where I need to use a mallet rather than a gloved hand. Does not mar the sprue plate, and since I don't hit the mould blocks directly, just the sprue plate, no marring has occurred in probably tens of thousands of strikes or more.

While the gloved hand method works well, many of my moulds need a tap or two to release the bullets, so I almost never use just the gloves alone because the mallet is an integral part of the casting process. Since I therefore would have to pick up the mallet to strike the sprue plate, the hammer is always carried in my right hand and never set down while casting even if I open the sprue plate with my hands.....so I don't have to pick it up and add another step to the process that would lengthen the time between cycles. The mould is then tapped at the hinge pin to release the bullets, the sprue plate closed by hand and the casting cycle repeated.

I note that plastic is considerably softer than lead filled copper pipe, so I cannot see the improvement over a cheap plastic hammer as regards prevention of damage to the mould. Further, the hammer can be fairly lightweight as long as it is relatively long handled. The light weight minimizes fatigue and allows the hammer to be constantly at the ready by always being in hand and saves the tedium of having to pick it up and set it down. The long handle allows sufficient force to be generated despite the light weight.