Shoutout to the crew for showing me the hand test for sand

A simple squeeze can tell you if it's dry enough to avoid a steam burst near the melt.

2 comments

2 Comments

Saw a guy get a nasty steam pop once because he didn't bother checking a corner of the mold. It wasn't a bomb, but it sure sprayed hot metal and sand everywhere. Makes you wonder why some guys treat every basic safety step like it's just a campfire story, right? You'd rather spend two seconds squeezing sand than cleaning up a ruined pour and maybe a trip to the clinic.

blake8296d ago

Isn't that making it sound way more dangerous than it is? Seems like one of those shop rules that gets passed around more as a scary story than a real daily hazard. People have been working with foundries and hot metal for ages without overthinking a handful of sand. Sure, getting burned is bad, but calling it a "steam burst" makes it sound like a bomb going off. Probably just a good way to get guys to be careful so they don't make a wet mess and ruin the pour.