Unpopular opinion: I think the old way of ramming up molds by hand with a wooden mallet in our Tacoma shop was actually better for tricky patterns than the new pneumatic rammers everyone uses now.

I switched to the air rammer about 8 months ago for speed, but I swear I get more cold shuts and misruns on complex cores now, so I'm debating going back to the mallet for certain jobs... what's your take on manual vs. power ramming for detail work?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena_webb2mo ago

Oh man, that's so true... it's like the power tool just blasts past the feel you get with your hands. I see it everywhere now, like people using electric screwdrivers and stripping heads because they lost the touch for when it's tight enough. Sometimes the old way just lets you listen to the work.

theagarcia1mo ago

Yeah, that "feel you get with your hands" thing xena_webb said is spot on. The air rammer just doesn't let you finesse the sand in tight spots. I keep a mallet on the bench for the tricky ones now, it's slower but way cleaner.