A different way to handle sand washout on big molds

Everyone at our shop in Toledo swears you need to pack the sand in layers with a rammer for any mold over 50 pounds. I had a huge core box giving me washout issues for weeks. Out of frustration, I tried vibrating the whole box for about 30 seconds with a palm sander before the final pack. It settled the sand way more evenly and cut my scrap rate on that part by half. Has anyone else found a weird trick that goes against the usual shop rules?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_vera1mo ago

Check the moisture content in your sand mix before you try anything else. A lot of shops focus on packing methods but ignore that the sand itself might be off. Getting that balance right often solves washout without needing extra steps.

cameron7241mo agoMost Upvoted

Good point about moisture, but sometimes the washout is from the binder breaking down. Seen it happen even with perfect sand.