Hot take: I think hand ramming is better than jolt squeeze for small job molds

I worked at a place in Toledo for 3 years where they swore by jolt squeeze machines for everything, even tiny 2 part molds. Then I joined a smaller shop that does mostly custom work by hand. I can tell you right now those jolt machines leave a soft bottom every time if you don't pack the drag properly. But hand ramming gives you way more control over density and you can feel when the sand is right. The old timers here say jolt squeeze is only good for production runs over 500 pieces. So which is it guys, am I crazy for thinking hand ramming gives a better finish on small batches or is the machine really faster if you know what you're doing?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_hayes26d ago

You ever have a buddy who swore by his old hand rammed molds and then switched to jolt for a big order only to get scrap rates through the roof? That's exactly what happened to my friend Dave at a job shop in Akron, he went back to hand ramming for anything under 200 pieces after that.

stella_roberts26d ago

Did Dave's hand rammed molds get a VICTORY lap after that disaster?