looking for a way to hold the mold shut

[happyhunter]

I did my first casting session on Monday evening. It was pretty fun. Used a 2 cavity 358477 mold and a ladle.

My left arm was kinda sore after about 45 minutes of casting. I have tendonitis. That means when I grip things it hurts along the back side of my elbow. I still have pain today (Wed).

I am looking for a mechanism, latch or rubber band to hold the handles shut while I am casting. I remember seeing a post where someone made a latch from a threaded bolt or something. I can't find it now. Does anyone know of something like this?

Thanks,
HH

[Humbo]

Could this from Cabine Tree be something for you? I never tried these handles myself.
http://www.castingstuff.com/mh_2.jpg

[rbertalotto]

http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/constant-pressure-mold-handles.html

[scrapcan]

A couple thoughts that could help you as you are new to casting.

One is try setting just the front bottom edge of mould on a little board when pouring, just enough to not have to hold the entire mould/handle/poured cavity in the air. That should help to take strain off the wrist/arm/elbow.

Second is to try a different grip on handle.

Lots of people use the under hand grip where you set the handle in your hand with palm up. left handed hold with this will have the thumb facing out and to left. When you set the very front edge of the mould on a piece of wood ( or metal, but metal will conduct more heat away from mould) it will let your arm and hand relax. It does not take lots of pressure to keep mould closed, you can then use you other hand to open sprue plate, put dipper in pot and use the other hand to help open and close the mould.

the other hold is the overhand hold. it is awkward for me to use, but an uncle uses it quite well. He is left handed and pours with his left and holds with this right. It allow shim to fill mould, tip his hand and open sprue plate with his dominant hand (left in his case). I have seen another friend use the over hand hold wiht his left hand due to a pinned wrist that does not rotate so well. His handle is held with his hand straight to front and mould coming out of side toward the right hand.

I believe you can also use the cabin tree handle with the lock handle on either the right or left. if you put it on the right it may allow you to open with the right hand and hold the wood handle with an overhand grip.

Try lots of things to see what is comfortable for you.

[GLL]

The Cabine Tree mold handle works well but is very heavy and a little slow !

Jerry

[popper]

Do you set the mould on the edge of your pot when you pour? I would think a plate attachment on the top of the pot would let you set it there (take the weight) and then the only movement is to rotate, sprue cut, rotate back and open it. With tendonitis, the rotation may be what causes the pain. I had it from tennis and found an air cushion band velcro'd around the forearm really helped.

[Elkins45]

Maybe you could make a wooden base with two rails that form a slight V. You could push the mold into the V and the pressure from the sides would force it closed. You would still have to push it a bit but it would be a different force than squeezing the handles together.

[largom]

The CabinTree handles work great. They hold the mold blocks together with the same tension for each pour. This assures your boolits will not be out of round due to tension on the blocks. I have the same problem but with arthritic knuckles and these handles solved my problem.

Larry