Did Magma Engineering go out of business?

[m37]

the owner of that site is mark benincasa he worked for magma and has been making molds for the commercial casters
for a long time. We have 3 sets of marks molds they are super he built casting machines when at magma I will try to call
and see if he is going to make/carry parts he is a one man shop

For molds the claim is this is who make them https://www.nwesti.com/?fbclid=IwAR3...k_D4utKejQiclw

Is that just the casting portion of the business or does that include the steel sales also?

[David2011]

What a huge disappointment. I have some of their smaller tools and they are all first class.

[atfsux]

If I needed an element for my master pot I would begin by looking online for a band heater. I did this with one of my RCBS pots when it failed and it has been working fine for years.

I uncovered this older post where one of the members here was able to come with an aftermarket solution to the heating element in the Master Caster. Hopefully the info is still good. Those of you with Master Casters might want to check this out. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...-Master-Caster

[COUSIN DANIEL]

I attempted to order a master caster in 2022 and was told by the owner he was not taking orders for two years and to call back then.

He said it was a lack of machinist and those darn mieninals.

After listening to his rant on the dumb mieninals and cnc machinist I asked him if he knew how old I was and what I did for a living.

He said no, I said I am 28 years old and am a tool maker/machinist who at the time was building injection mold components. I could also use manual equipment.

He abruptly ended the call

[atfsux]

Atfsux, any idea of price?

Received an update from Schupter this morning via email;....


Hello! We've posted some updates on our Facebook page (link below), but I'm aware that not everyone uses social media, so I've summarized it briefly.



https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555001162560



* The machine is still evolving (improved safety, manufacturability, operation), but we should be fine for the May 1st presale launch.

* Estimated price - $3k + shipping. It will rise slightly after the presale, but we are considering making a manual version using the same platform.

* We have decided to allow foreign molds into our machine. The idea has to be tested and confirmed, but we want to make life easy for all those who have a collection of popular molds.

* We are working on our own mold portfolio as this is the guarantee of high quality for automatic operation. We have a selection of round ball bullets, now getting started with conical, other profiles and custom applications.



Never hesitate to contact us if there's anything you'd like to ask or comment! Have a great day and thanks! MN



Michal Napora

Owner



schuptercasting.com

[dverna]

atfsux,

Thanks for posting the update. I saw the short video they have and it looks like it is a slick machine. Love that it uses no compressed air.

[NObamain2012]

I tried to purchase a Master caster 3 years ago, was given the same song and dance about the lack of heating elements to continue production. I offered to give my e-mail address and phone number, and asked to be put on a waiting list, and was turned down. Guess what, if they don't need my business, I don't need they're products

[BrassMagnet]

I honestly hope that is not the case. I was joking about the value of my Master Caster doubling in my other post.

With the physical issues I am dealing with, casting bullets with the Master Caster makes life easier.

My long term plan, too!

[justindad]

They wouldn’t post prices on their website, so I immediately lost interest in their products.

[Plate plinker]

They wouldn’t post prices on their website, so I immediately lost interest in their products.

In the past the pricing was online, but when the difficulties came that changed. What we witnessed was the slow demise of a viable business.
Magma was not the only business to falter because of the current lack of worker bees and the difficulties of the supply line.

[contender1]

I'm in need of a thermostat for a Master Caster. I would like to call them to see if they have any left. Can anybody supply me with a good phone number to call them?

Or,, if anybody has a line on one,, let me know.

[truckerdave397]

Wow this is all news to me. I guess that explains the random PMs from people trying to buy my machines. They are not for sale at this time.

[bosterr]

I'm in need of a thermostat for a Master Caster. I would like to call them to see if they have any left. Can anybody supply me with a good phone number to call them?

Or,, if anybody has a line on one,, let me know.

480-987-9704 I used this number to talk to Eric about fixing a defective Star die.

[atfsux]

I'm in need of a thermostat for a Master Caster. I would like to call them to see if they have any left. Can anybody supply me with a good phone number to call them?

Or,, if anybody has a line on one,, let me know.

I visited Magma personally because I live in the same area, and talked to Eric, the owner. They have none in stock.


There is a group on Facebook called "Magma bullet casting equipment owners" where this has been discussed and guys are pursuing solutions.

The original company Magma sourced their heating elements from was Wattco. But they were not helping out Magma, so they won't help you out either.

As mentioned above, there was a post about 6 years ago on here about an aftermarket heating element solution for the Master Caster. I investigated that, but the item is something that apparently is very uncommon, so the company doesn't keep them in stock and only manufactures them when there is a request. As you might imagine, that leads to the price being rather high unless they are ordered in a sufficiently large batch to improve the economy of scale. But I contacted the company, Tempco, requesting price on getting 2 of them, and the price they quoted me was $262ea. I explained to the representative at the company, Leo Adames, the situtation with Magma going out of business and Wattco no longer selling the item and that Tempco might want to make a small production run of these because there are so many Master Caster owners out there. He seemed interested, and maybe they will do exactly that, causing the price to drop. But call them to let them know there is a demand for them. leoadames@tempco.com Part #MPP04139

The heating elements for the automated Bullet Masters, however, are an easier and cheaper solution. Tempco does make those and Grainger carries them in stock for just $40, and the item # on Grainger's website is 4NJK3. Tempco's part # for the item is HDC00607. https://www.grainger.com/product/TEM...WS867BQyN6Khh4

[dtknowles]

Sometimes....not finding qualified people is related to the pay being offered.

I don't care how much you offer if I think you can't keep the business in business I don't want to work for you.

Tim

[Bazoo]

I hate to hear it. The last time I called and talked to Eric he told me about one of his employees that had an ailing mother. I put them on the prayer list.

[sukivel]

I can’t imagine someone or some company not buying him out, whatever is left that is. There is still alot of market for these products.


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[dverna]

I can’t imagine someone or some company not buying him out, whatever is left that is. There is still alot of market for these products.


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I agree.

I don't believe Eric handled it well. If you are going to shut down anyway, increase the price 30-50% so the business is profitable and pay above average wages for above average workers. It seemed like he had a sizeable backlog of orders and even if 50% of them were cancelled he would have stayed busy for a while. Better to try and fail than to fail without trying.

He may just have "had enough".

[deltaenterprizes]

I'm in need of a thermostat for a Master Caster. I would like to call them to see if they have any left. Can anybody supply me with a good phone number to call them?

Or,, if anybody has a line on one,, let me know.

My thermostat went out and it was $50 for a replacement so I spent the $50 on parts to make a PID!

[atfsux]

UPDATE: Magma has been bought out and reborn,...in Australia.

You can keep tabs on them here at their new Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557203067249 Here is their announcement on that Facebook page.

"After 50 years of manufacturing the original owners of USA based Magma engineering have decided its time to go fishing - hope you catch plenty Eric.
Fortunately for all there is light at the end of the tunnel
We are now in the process of transferring all the information to our manufacturing facility based in Melbourne Australia.
This will be by no means an easy or fast process but rest assured we will get there.
As yet no website or email address have been set up however, we are working on this and all updates will be posted here.
While we get ourselves sorted, we will be focusing on parts and molds before tackling full machines.
We look forward to this adventure and hope you join us for the journey."

While there may be people here upset about future Magma products originating from overseas, the good news about that is the exchange rate between the Australian and U.S. dollars is 0.65 -to-1.0;...which is to say that 10,000AUD is equal to $6,500! So while prices on materials and everything else has shot up since 2020, when Magma last sold Bullet Masters made in Arizona for $12,500,...if it will cost the new reborn Magma Bullet Master produced in Australia 17,000AUD, that will equal about barely over $11,050,...just as a for instance.

As more develops, we in the Magma commercial equipment community will likely update you here.