Serious question, has anyone else had a core box just SHATTER on them?

Three years ago at the old Mid-State Foundry, I was ramming up a big gear pattern and the wooden core box literally came apart in my hands. The foreman just shrugged and said 'it happens', but I realized then that checking for dry rot and loose joints BEFORE you start is non-negotiable. What's your pre-pour checklist look like for stuff like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean_green4415d agoMost Upvoted

Man, I feel that. Did you get covered in a cloud of old wood dust and regret? My checklist is basically just me staring at the thing for five minutes, poking all the corners with a screwdriver, and hoping I don't hear that scary cracking sound. I mean, I should probably be more official about it, but that's the real process.

wade25015d ago

Seriously? That's a good way to wreck a whole pour. Staring and poking isn't a checklist, it's a guess. You need a real system. Mine is written down and I follow it every single time. Check for splits, check for loose pieces, check the seal surfaces. If you skip steps because you're in a hurry, that's when the box fails.

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nguyen.angela14d ago

Ugh, the screwdriver poke test is so real, @sean_green44. I've totally been there, just holding my breath and pressing on a corner, praying it's solid. Then you hear that little tick and your stomach drops because you know it's a hairline crack full of old glue. Wade's totally right about a system, but man, in the moment it's all panic and hope. My last fail was a box that looked perfect, but the bottom seam was just... dust. Poured anyway and it wept concrete all over the floor. Never again.