Serious question, did anyone else have a foreman who told them to just 'let the sand do the work'?

Mine said that to me on my first day at the old Fulton Foundry, pointing at a green sand mold. He walked off, and I spent the next hour ramming it way too hard, thinking that was the point. When the core shifted on the pour, he just shook his head and said 'I told you, the sand does the work, you just guide it.' What's the worst piece of vague advice you got starting out that actually messed something up?

4 comments

4 Comments

henryp4012d ago

Honestly, that sounds like an old-timer making things sound way more deep than they are. It's just sand, not some magic trick. You pack it firm, but yeah, obviously don't go crazy and crush it. People act like there's some big secret to it.

grays131mo ago

Nah, that advice is solid. If you ram it too hard you'll choke off the venting and get a steam explosion. The sand really does need to do the work.

the_jennifer1mo ago

How hard is too hard when you're ramming it?

murray.jana1mo ago

Saw a video where a guy cracked his casting doing that. You want steady pressure, not a big slam. Let the sand compact on its own.