What's a Magma furnace,,,,

[contender1]

Worth? I was at a gun auction last night, & they had a couple of casting furnaces, some lead & some dies all lumped into one batch. There was a RCBS 20 lb furnace, as well as a Magma. Used but all in all good shape. Having never seen a used one sell, I was wondering.

[TXGunNut]

I saw the RCBS on Midway for $375 Friday, don't know about the Magma but think it's a good quality furnace as well. Condition is everything but I would have bid $2-300 on the lot depending on how it looked.

[runfiverun]

600.00 is a decent price for the used magma.
i'd have to go look on their sight to be sure, but I think just the 40 lb pot alone is more like 900.00 now.

[jsizemore]

I got a quote from Magma a couple months ago for a 40lb furnace. $575 + $47 shipping to east central NC. 10-12 weeks waiting time.

[contender1]

So it appears that paying $350 for both furnaces, & a bunch of lead was a fair deal huh? Makes me smile!
Thanks guys.

[Mk42gunner]

One thing I've noticed about going to auctions is that no one has any idea what casting stuff is worth, and only vague ideas about reloading gear.

Robert

[TXGunNut]

So it appears that paying $350 for both furnaces, & a bunch of lead was a fair deal huh? Makes me smile!
Thanks guys.

If everything works and the dies are in good condition you did quite well. If only one of the furnaces works you did OK. Only problem with auctions is the "as is" condition of sale. Hard to say how long the furnaces will last but I'm not sure I'll ever use up my Lees.

[Bad Water Bill]

A friend casts professionally with both the 40 and the BIG boy. The big one casts 10s of K per month and I can only remember once in the last several years that he had a problem and even then Magma had replacement parts at his home in a couple of days.

I do not remember Jim having a problem with the 40 but It simply can not produce the quantity the big guy can so it SHOULD last a lot longer.

Putting a 1# ingot in the 40 does not drop the casting temp much but the way that machine performs you will be adding ingots quite often. :bigsmyl2:

[No_1]

The Magma is an excellent pot. My heating element went out but was easily changed once the new unit arrived from Magma. I have added a PID controller to my pot which has made it all the better for my usage.

[contender1]

Thanks for the info y'all! Any more thoughts & suggestions are welcomed & fully appreciated!

[LAH]

The Magma Master Pot is well worth the money if you're going to cast tons of bullets. This one has with zero problems.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/Creekerpics/Loading%20Room%20101/Casting%20Equipment/Picture393.jpg (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/Creekerpics/media/Loading%20Room%20101/Casting%20Equipment/Picture393.jpg.html)

[cbrick]

600.00 is a decent price for the used magma.
i'd have to go look on their sight to be sure, but I think just the 40 lb pot alone is more like 900.00 now.

Yikes!

A new basic Master Pot is $575.00. Their new model PID is $200.00 making the pot so equipped $775.00.

A new RCBS Pro Melt is $375.00, glad I bought mine when I did. After I bought mine I got sticker shock when they hit $100.00.

Rick

[LAH]

yikes! After i bought mine i got sticker shock when they hit $100.00.

Rick

hee hee

[contender1]

I'm new to the Magnas,,, but mine looks different than the one pictured above. The one I got has an automatic sprue cutter & mold opening mechanism. It heats up quickly, and I'm looking forward to putting it in operation. I'm gonna have to figure out all it's operating features to make sure I get good at using it.

[LAH]

Sounds like you have a Master Caster.

[contender1]

I just looked at their website, and yep, I have the Master Caster.
Since it's late, and I can't call them, I'll ask another question here.
Do I have to use just Magma bullet molds or can I use most of the other molds I own? I downloaded a manuel, but it doesn't seem to address this issue. (I haven't read all of it yet, but in my scanning,, so far,, no answer to that question.

[LAH]

You can use most moulds either double or single cavity. But & there's always a But, the moulds have to be prepped for your machine. The sprue plates will need to be change & keys installed on each side the mould.

[contender1]

Good to know. However,,, I have several 3-4 cavity Mihec molds that I would LOVE to be able to use. Oh well, I guess the RCBS pot will have to be used for those.
Now I guess I'll have to see about the items I need to be able to use my other 2 cavity molds in my Magma. I see an order of stuff going to Magma soon!

[LAH]

I have used my Master Caster with 4 cavity moulds by tying the mould carrier in down position, inserting a section of fir strip for the moulds to rest on & basically using the Master Caster as a Master Pot but since you have a fine RCBS pot this wouldn't be necessary.

[contender1]

I called Magma today, and got more info. I have a few 2 cavity molds I may set up to use in it. Plus,,, I may just have to buy a few more molds. Gee,,, more molds,,,,! :D

[LAH]

Used mine yeserday.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/Creekerpics/Loading%20Room%20101/Casting%20Equipment/Master%20Caster/DSC04679.jpg (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/Creekerpics/media/Loading%20Room%20101/Casting%20Equipment/Master%20Caster/DSC04679.jpg.html)

[Don Purcell]

Just ordered the mounting plate from Magma so I can use my Master Caster pot for my Hensley and Gibbs 8 and 10 cavity molds. It should speed up production some as 2 cavities will fill at the same time... I hope.

[LAH]

Don filling two cavities at once really speeds things up.

[Bad Water Bill]

Don

With moulds that big you will need one of the neighbors kids just to keep the pot full of ingots if you do your job. [smilie=s:

[Don Purcell]

Bill, it sure seems thay way sometimes ('and that's a good thang' in my best Forrest Gump voice). Thanks Creeker, I figured it should speed things up a bit. Would like to get their big 100lb. pot but don't have the extra scratch to take care of the itch.

[LAH]

Don that 40 pound pot will eat 8 pounders if you just let them preheat on the pot & add them when the pot will hold.

[Don Purcell]

Thanks Creeker, that's good to know. I'll try the preheat on the six pound bars that I have. All the best, Don

[Bad Water Bill]

Don

A good pair of leather gloves and a LARGE pair of CHANNEL LOCKS should become your new friends.:bigsmyl2:

[Don Purcell]

Nah Bill, I'm 58 and been casting since around 8yrs old, I'll just put them in with my bare hands and then flux and stir the pot with my finger!

[Bad Water Bill]

Don

As my grandmother said "People go to h--- for lying as well as killing"

Now if that was just another ILLINOIS windie you are excused.:bigsmyl2:

[Don Purcell]

It was another Illinois windie Bill. Learned it from Chicago politicians only my windie was more believable.

[Bad Water Bill]

BUT BUT the politicians expect you to take their story as gospel.

Being an OUTSTANDING member of CAST BOOLITS + ILLINOIS CASTERS You would rather give up ----- than tell a falsehood. :bigsmyl2:

[TXGunNut]

Nah Bill, I'm 58 and been casting since around 8yrs old, I'll just put them in with my bare hands and then flux and stir the pot with my finger!

If he was a Texan he'd say he licked the drippin's off his finger. We get a little wind here in the Lone Star State as well. :wink:

[Don Purcell]

I have been outwindied - I forgot we have Texas casters on the board.

[contender1]

Having lived in Texas (thanks to Uncle Sam) a few years,,, and also having visited Illinois,,, (plus followed their politics a bit,) I must weigh in on this discussion.
While a Texan can be a bit windy & occasionally stretch the truth a bit,,, we all expect it, & know that for the most part it's harmless. (Do ya know the definition of a midget? It's a Texan with the BS kicked outta him!)
But we must forgive our Illinois friends around here. Their politicians have made a career & lifetime practice of feeding huge piles of NY sewer material to it's folks long enough to where they do not know any better.
But a public tale swapping competition would be fun to watch.
:D :D

Now, back to my Magma Master Caster.
Well, I have inventoried all the stuff I got when I bought the 2 furnaces.
My Magma came with a modified RCBS double cavity 45 Colt mold. It needs a little cleaning,, but should be ok.
The RCBS is fine,, and I've plugged them both up & run them with the lead that was in the pots already. Just into ingots. And, along with the 2 furnaces,, I got right around 100 lbs of lead. There was 70 lbs in a 5 gal bucket,, of WW, boolits, and other scrap lead. Including a bar of 50/50. Then the 2 pots gave me over 30 more lbs of ingots.
Next, There are two boolit molds. One is a Lee 500 grn 45 cal single cavity. (It's for sale,) as well as a single cavity BP boolit of undetermined size & weight. I also got at least 3 complete sets of Lee reloading dies, (I'm gonna sell) a few extra Lee die pieces, 3 Lee progressive toolheads, (I'm not sure but I guess the 1000???) as well as a couple of powder plates for the Lee. Add in a few odd other items, Lee shell holder, a RCBS case trimmer collet, a Dillon powder measure cap, & a few other odd items.
Gotta love a big box of lot items at an auction!

I'm gonna order a mold or two today from Magma. I want to run this puppy soon!