Dale53
04-03-2009, 01:47 AM
Thanks to Mike Venturino, I have a VERY useful new tool for my casting bench. I was re-reading a casting article of Mike's in a Handloader magazine a couple or three issues back. He mentioned various cooling methods to keep a multi cavity mould at a proper operating temperature. The mould keeps getting hotter and hotter as you proceed causing increased time until the sprue hardens. This takes time and raises the irritation level. A friend of Mike's clued him in to using a "manicurist's fan". This is a small fan (4"-6" in diameter) positioned to cool the mould after pouring to shorten the time until you can operate the sprue cutter without smearing lead over the top of the mould.
It sounded like a good idea. I got on the internet and discovered that the "Target" Department store(nice name for a shooter's interest, eh-h-h?) had a fan that seemed to be what the doctor ordered. I stopped by our nearest Target store and they did NOT have the fan they showed on their web site. The manicure department had no idea what I was talking about. However, I looked in the "Fan" department (they are just getting in the fans for summer) and discovered a fan that looked like it would get the job done. It was NOT the fan shown on the web site (the web site fan was $12.95 or so) but this one was priced at $7.49. That's right, a fan for $7.49 (110v AC -NO batteries:drinks:). It had a black wire cage and a minimal wire stand with an "on-off" switch. It is about 5" in diameter.
I got home with it, c-clamped it to my bench hanging about 8" over where I cast (at the side out of the way). I pre-heated my mould, as usual (a four cavity Saeco #68 for the .45 ACP) and started casting. It was a good session. After the mould was fully up to heat, it took several seconds before I could cut the sprue (sometimes close to twenty seconds). I started up the fan, set the mould with the sprue still molten and within two seconds (by the clock) the sprue was ready to cut. This speeded things up considerably. Further, the aggravation of waiting for the sprue to set up was totally eliminated. The breeze is gentle and doesn't stir up things by blowing everything around. It is VERY quiet. The additional advantage is it cools the entire mould "just the right amount" to maintain a perfect working temperature. You do have to cut the sprue quickly (about two seconds is just right for me with my alloy at 660 degrees). If you don't cut the sprue quickly, you will NOT be able to twist the sprue off by hand. However, the two second wait allows me to just twist the sprue off and get back for the next cast.
This begs the question: "Is the time saved really worth it?" Well, as I said before, eliminating just the aggravation was MORE than worth it. However, I calculated the time saved (for those that may care) and it saved one hour of unproductive time if we figured 20 seconds or ½ hour if we figured 10 seconds delay eliminated. That is REALLY worth while for just one RCBS pot of alloy.
I am really pleased with this new addition to my casting tools.
You would think that a guy that has cast literally hundreds of thousands of bullets wouldn't have much to learn. However, I find that keeping my mind open to suggestion gives me MANY learning experiences.
Thank you, Mike Venturino!
Dale53
It sounded like a good idea. I got on the internet and discovered that the "Target" Department store(nice name for a shooter's interest, eh-h-h?) had a fan that seemed to be what the doctor ordered. I stopped by our nearest Target store and they did NOT have the fan they showed on their web site. The manicure department had no idea what I was talking about. However, I looked in the "Fan" department (they are just getting in the fans for summer) and discovered a fan that looked like it would get the job done. It was NOT the fan shown on the web site (the web site fan was $12.95 or so) but this one was priced at $7.49. That's right, a fan for $7.49 (110v AC -NO batteries:drinks:). It had a black wire cage and a minimal wire stand with an "on-off" switch. It is about 5" in diameter.
I got home with it, c-clamped it to my bench hanging about 8" over where I cast (at the side out of the way). I pre-heated my mould, as usual (a four cavity Saeco #68 for the .45 ACP) and started casting. It was a good session. After the mould was fully up to heat, it took several seconds before I could cut the sprue (sometimes close to twenty seconds). I started up the fan, set the mould with the sprue still molten and within two seconds (by the clock) the sprue was ready to cut. This speeded things up considerably. Further, the aggravation of waiting for the sprue to set up was totally eliminated. The breeze is gentle and doesn't stir up things by blowing everything around. It is VERY quiet. The additional advantage is it cools the entire mould "just the right amount" to maintain a perfect working temperature. You do have to cut the sprue quickly (about two seconds is just right for me with my alloy at 660 degrees). If you don't cut the sprue quickly, you will NOT be able to twist the sprue off by hand. However, the two second wait allows me to just twist the sprue off and get back for the next cast.
This begs the question: "Is the time saved really worth it?" Well, as I said before, eliminating just the aggravation was MORE than worth it. However, I calculated the time saved (for those that may care) and it saved one hour of unproductive time if we figured 20 seconds or ½ hour if we figured 10 seconds delay eliminated. That is REALLY worth while for just one RCBS pot of alloy.
I am really pleased with this new addition to my casting tools.
You would think that a guy that has cast literally hundreds of thousands of bullets wouldn't have much to learn. However, I find that keeping my mind open to suggestion gives me MANY learning experiences.
Thank you, Mike Venturino!
Dale53