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View Full Version : Lee mold mallet refab



Midohhntr
01-25-2022, 02:44 PM
Mine started to splinter so decided to freshen it up a bit..295229295230

Walter Laich
01-25-2022, 03:52 PM
thanks for the idea

mine can use one too

Winger Ed.
01-25-2022, 04:17 PM
JB Weld can fix anything but a broken heart.

Outer Rondacker
01-25-2022, 04:39 PM
Good idea. I like it.

oley55
01-25-2022, 06:08 PM
good idea, let us know how it holds up.

I did nearly the same thing on my green inertia bullet puller. I was using it during a cold snap a couple years ago the the hammer side broke off. I made a sleeve from 3/4" pvc pipe and J-B welded it all together. To my amazement two years later it is still holding together.

LaPoint
01-25-2022, 07:01 PM
I like the idea but my experience with PVC is that it will shatter with a significant impact. I doubt you'll be hitting the sprue plate hard enough to crack the PVC sleeve though. I would think that ABS or a polyethylene pipe sleeve would work very well.

donde
01-25-2022, 09:03 PM
I used a piece of large electrical shrink tube that I got at Home Depot. It is soft enough that cold weather won't make it brittle. Sorry, I can't remember the part number.

megasupermagnum
01-25-2022, 09:21 PM
You bought $8 worth of JB weld to limp along a $12 wood mallet?

Midohhntr
01-25-2022, 10:56 PM
You bought $8 worth of JB weld to limp along a $12 wood mallet?
Not exactly, had the jb weld for some time, didn’t pay anywhere near 8 bucks for it...

Midohhntr
01-25-2022, 11:02 PM
[QUOTE=oley55;5342901]good idea, let us know how it holds up.
[QUOTE]
I’m guessing it will last longer than it originally did, less than a few months...

megasupermagnum
01-26-2022, 01:16 AM
I hope it lasts for you, but my guess is that the PVC will crack in short order. A Vaughan 6oz soft face mallet lasts a really long time.

Rich/WIS
01-26-2022, 10:52 AM
Looks like the one I bought from NOE. Mine has been in use for 5-6 years and shows some scarring but has not cracked. Unless you are really beating the sprue plate should last a long time.

Old Caster
01-26-2022, 11:42 AM
I use a rubber hammer from HF and it has lasted years and I have a few molds that you have to beat hard to drop bullets. Probably off center because the same one on the same side always hangs up. It must have steel or something heavy inside because it can't be all rubber. It is much smaller than a mallet and easier to hit the center of the bolt on the mold handles. I did use a brass one before that but I thought it was too hard and a bit too big and heavy.

country gent
01-26-2022, 02:03 PM
I normally use the clear tubing like tygon it can be put on under a press fit or glued is softer and lasts a long time. I have tepaired casting mallets and other tools like this.

I really like a small dead blow mallet in the 8 ounce range for cutting sprues, its more a solid push than a hit. Steve Brooks recommends it on his site

Jim22
01-26-2022, 04:59 PM
I have been using a hickory hammer handle I got at a yard sale. Seems to last forever - but just in gase I have a hickory axe handle that someone broke.

Jim

kerplode
01-29-2022, 07:09 PM
Use a piece of 1-1/4" PVC and heat it in your powder coating oven until it's slightly soft, then press the mallet into it. It'll be formed tight with no messy gluing.

GregLaROCHE
01-31-2022, 06:18 AM
I’ve been using a piece of a broken shovel handle for quite a while now.

Outer Rondacker
01-31-2022, 07:55 AM
As a professional cheap butt, I too have a old shovel handle cut and sanded smooth.

RustyReel
01-31-2022, 08:54 AM
I rehab mine, an old hammer handle, with a couple of fresh wraps of duct tape. Works fine for me.

Midohhntr
02-01-2022, 04:29 PM
Got a chance to use it this morning, emptied the 10 lbs pot pouring some with the new 3 cavity mould. Held up quite well I think it will last. I like the added weight, don't need to strike so hard.