I NEVER use a mallet on singles or doubles , except as a last resort. Then I have an old hammer handle handy.
I NEVER use a mallet on singles or doubles , except as a last resort. Then I have an old hammer handle handy.
40 or so years ago.....
Took a drop of beech 6011 LJSmith handrail and bored a hole in the same orientation as a baluster except,all the way through. Took a hickory handle dad had made years before that,ball pein style and fitted it in. The profile of the rail is spot on perfect for tapping sprue plate open..... both ends get equal wear....still using it.
I have use a cut of pine for the shape of a mallet then I worn that down Now I use a cut maple limb that is dry out and bark off and put a handle on it and works ok for me. I do put a ingot mold under the bottom pour to catch the dripping from it .
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A piece of Nylon dowel 1” dia about 12” long. Light wt works very well. Best part was I just happenned to have it in my scrap pile. From what project? Who knows 😁
I used an old hammer handle...cheap, and it worked just fine! I like your idea of a hammer.
Broke a kinetic bullet puller several years ago between the handle and the opening end. I like it better than the hammer handle or the rubber/plastic end mallet I’d used previously.
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Go to Lowe's or Home depot and buy a couple pair of welders gloves. Use one and always keep a spare. striking the sprue plate does the screws that hold the mold to the handles no good. Have an old pair that I use when melting wheel weights as well. Frank
I just found a short Police baton and it works great.
I have been using a piece of very soft white pine 5/8"x 1 5/8" about 14" long. It works very well. However someday I wanna make me a small baseball bat type mallet. After reading some of the posts here I may wrap it with rawhide to boot.
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I use a belaying pin. You know the thing the pirates use in the movies. I have some from a topsail schooner I crewed on.
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How many cavities are you using the two ounce mallet for? I have aluminum eight bangers, and a few sharp rap on the handle bolt is usually needed to get the casts (bevel based pistol boolits, with lube groove) to drop. So far the tools I've tried, which are all light, havent worked well. This includes leaded loaded wooden dowels and a small rubber coated dead blow hammer. The brass end of the hammer and rapping with the side of my steel needle nosed pliers works better, but have already scarred the molds with the occasional misaimed blow. Same with tapping on the side of the handles as was suggested to get some lateral displacement.
I think I need to hit harder or heavier with something non marring, and the right weight rawhide mallet may be a good choice.
Echo
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One of the most endearing sights in the world is the vision of a naked good-looking woman leaving the bedroom to make breakfast. Bolivar Shagnasty (I believe that Lazarus Long also said it, but I can't find any record of it.)
I started out using a 1 inch oak dowel. It became a splintered mess in a short amount of time. Now I use one of those orange plastic "dead blow" hammers. I think I saw a picture of someone using one, maybe in the Lyman 4th edition Cast Bullets book, but I cannot remember for sure.
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I use a broken shovel handle cut down to around 14 inches.
The cheapness of our community is evident in this thread! I use a mini rawhide mallet, not easy to find, so I paid way too much. But it gives me some satisfaction to have a nice dedicated tool for the job which will last a lifetime on the casting bench.
I don't use a mallet. No need to beat on my molds because the bullets fall out simply because of the action of the casting machine. I use a Ballisti-cast Mark IV bullet caster. I simply make sure the molds are clean and the lead is hot enough and its crank and go.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |