........I made a device to grip the sprue plate on my NOE mold so I can cut 4 sprues without a mallet. It bolts to the bench........
Any suggestions to improve my process or materials are appreciated.
Not sure I have any useful suggestions to improve YOUR process, but you may have one to improve MY process.
Care to share a photo of your "device to grip the sprue plate...?"
Single and double cavities - easy with a glove;
LEE six-cavities, odd, clumsy, but easy enough;
NOE and Arsenal four-cavity moulds have the same shape sprue plate, and I don't know which end which way the part you whack is suppose to go, so I typically put it on the far end, away from the handles. It works OK, but could be more convenient. Last week, I inadvertently mounted of of the two I was getting ready to use with the whacking part closer to the handle. I figured "what the heck, I'll try it."
Using a 1" diameter phenolic mallet (which was my dad's way of doing it), locating the sprue plate "backwards" didn't work out so bad, except that I chewed up the mallet face a bit because I locate the hinge NUT, from the handles UP, because I invert my moulds to dump the bullets, and prefer to whack the BOLT HEAD, instead of the threaded end and the nut. That was a long sentence and may not make sense, but I'll leave it stand and cross my fingers.
Anyway, your idea is intriguing.