DIY press flask ramming setup

has anyone built a flask ramming setup so i can avoid having to hand pack the sand on the molds I am working with?

most of my patterns are solid metal so they can take some pretty high compression forces. was hoping i could add facing sand, then a bit more and hand tamp that so nothing shifts around then dump a bunch more sand in then put that in some kind of press and squish it. my shoulders and back are wrecked from ramming up sand molds the last few weeks.

 

I vaguely remember someone on AA making a pneumatic rammer out of a needle scaler, the straight handle on those might be more comfortable than the pistol grip in an air hammer.

 

you can also get air chisels in the straight body type as well
https://www.amazon.com/Pneumatic-Industrial-Powerful-Straight-Cleaning/dp/B07KGHF613

(Just a link i found no affiliation)

 

my flasks are generally fairly small (my back hurts and i dont have a lift system for huge sand molds), I didnt realize there were a bunch of pneumatic sand rammers for sale in the 100$ range.

DavidF I dont want to work off the floor may as well just stand on the flask and pack it with my bare feet at that point.


kind of crazy there is nothing out there between the super budget 100$ rammers (that seem to all have 1 star reviews) and the 700$ options.

has anyone tried one of the thera gun type massagers?

 

Speaking of the $700 option, you can actually get a pneumatic sand rammer from Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Jet-JCT-1602-Benchtop-Sand-Rammer-550602/306106873

 

actual sand rammers use more air then most of us have 10-12 SCFM ( I own a Pneumatic rammer and cant use it )
the needle scaler and air chisel ideas, both work very poorly , you need the longer stroke of an actual sand rammer



V/r HT1

 

Thought so. I've wondered about those cheap rammers, thinking upgrading/repair/modification might be possible...

 

FWIW, I have a cheap PA/HF style air hammer and a friend of mine has a similar looking but professional grade air hammer, I've used both and his is orders of magnitude better than mine, it hits harder and at the same time it's much more controllable.

 

I usually empty all 130 lbs of sand from my bin in a casting session. What wears me out more than pounding is riddling. I warm the PB and it has to be forced through the riddle. There are always little pin head size pieces of aluminum that gouge my finger tips. Building a power riddle has been on my mind for a while. So far I haven't come up with a design I feel will work. The wheels keep turning.

 

Those nasty little bit of metal in the sand are why I wear garden gloves when molding. I rub the sand through a rectangular riddle that I set on the flask. Then I load it with sand and use my gloved hand to scrub the sand through the riddle. I can riddle 5 to ten times the sand per minute that way. I virtually never shake the riddle. A power riddle might be handy.

Denis

 

I have a Jet rammer and love it. It saves so much time and muscle fatigue. I got it on eBay for a hundred bucks. I see a few listed now.
Denis

 

i hear that... i generally take a handful of sand, face it and then dump in whatever is inthe bin. I can really only do this after i got my mulling machine.

I try to never put more than 2 cups in the riddle at a time now (its amazing how the weight of that just adds up for 6-8 hours of casting.

 

thanks, had no idea. I have a massive air compressor in the shop now (I think its got an 80 gallon tank) so should be ok on that front. i might just try one on the cheap amazon ones for now and see if it will work. my flasks are generally pretty small since i use the 3kg electric furnaces in the winter so limited by part size and crucible size.

 

the mesh back rubberized harbor freight gloves are really great for petrobond (you really dont want to be touching that sand with bare hands) the HF gloves are only about 2$ a pair now. saves you from the razor cuts from raw castings as well.

 

What are you casting in such numbers that would need one of these anyways?
Instead of making a jolt squeeze, have you tried watching bidspotter? With manufacturing still being shipped overseas and the never ending assault on American businesses, I bet one of these pops up from time to time dirt cheap! Moving it might be another story. https://www.bidspotter.com/en-us

I think the Jet hand rammer looks like the way to go for a home gamer. Lots of options out there

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Jet-JCT-1600-Benchtop-Sand-Rammer-550600/306095231

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JET-0-Sand...956822?hash=item1a9cfcb516:g:4IkAAOSwh8NbSPXU

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JET-00T-mo...698856&hash=item549360b000:g:sRsAAOSwavRf90rw

https://www.ebay.com/itm/D3-Air-Pne...4aafb77955d8b72a4849|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2334524

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Earth-Sand...293647?hash=item3fd11d3bcf:g:yu8AAOSwvXNeXPQc

https://www.ebay.com/itm/D9-Pneumat...729661?hash=item3d82c194bd:g:C3YAAOSwK~td3jw4

 

if you are going to get a rammer, and you are working with small molds get the smallest you can find,

Look closely at the one listed Below the air consumption is 14CFM that is a lot of air , make sure your compressor can keep up or you will have an expensive noise maker

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200872778_200872778?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Construction > Demolition Tools&utm_campaign=Jet&utm_content=106013&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3smABhCjARIsAKtrg6Is690cKyfW9c8989rixR4G5aLurb-Um2htjGviEa7PVZWecSSp-5caAiKxEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


V/r HT1


P.S. the D3 rammers linked By Jason would be best , if your compressor can keep up, buit I dont know how to do the air use conversions between metric and Psi so, do your due dilligence