Vent: Saw a cast iron fence post in Savannah that made me rethink our sprue gates

Was walking around the historic district last week. Noticed an old fence post with a perfect, clean break right at the gate. No tearing, just a smooth fracture line. Made me realize our shop's gates might be too thick, causing more stress and waste on the break-off. We use 3/8 inch on most of our gray iron jobs. Anyone else size down their gates for cleaner breaks on smaller castings?

4 comments

4 Comments

foster.jordan14d ago

Remember when @dixon.james tried that thinner gate and we all thought it would flash? (Turns out the old ways work for a reason.)

craig.alex14d ago

Yeah, those old fence posts really had it figured out.

john_fisher2d ago

We had the same debate at our shop. Tried going thinner on some ductile iron housings and the flash was unreal, total mess. Went back to the old post thickness and it was like night and day, just a clean pull every time. Sometimes you just have to trust what's already been proven to work.

dixon.james14d ago

Switched to 1/4 inch gates on our smaller gray iron pieces last year. Cleaner breaks, less grinding. The old fence posts knew what they were doing.