Did Magma Engineering go out of business?

[M-Tecs]

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.

Thanks for the update.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

That is great news.

[dverna]

I hope they are successful. I am not worried about molds as they are supplied by others and show up on eBay regularly.

Not being able to acquire the machines or parts hurts.

[Rockindaddy]

Talked to Magma several months ago. They are working over one of my STAR luber-sizers and making up another sizer for me. Hope to get my STAR sizers soon.

[bosterr]

No mention of Star lubers and sizing dies.

[dverna]

No mention of Star lubers and sizing dies.

I noticed that as well.

What we do not know is the sales history that Magma has shared with the new owners. It is possible that the coatings "fad'' (I did that on purpose to jerk some chains...LOL) of PC and HiTek has hurt the sale of Lubrisizers.

[AnthonyB]

I have a Star that needs major help and waited too long to send it to them.
Tony

[atfsux]

I noticed that as well.

What we do not know is the sales history that Magma has shared with the new owners. It is possible that the coatings "fad'' (I did that on purpose to jerk some chains...LOL) of PC and HiTek has hurt the sale of Lubrisizers.

A reasonable question, but I think the answer is both yes and no. Even coated boolits need to be sized. They just don't need the lubing part. For myself, as a budding new commercial caster, and with only one old used Magma Lubemaster, I've been looking at this issue. I'll need at least one more sizer, perhaps two in the immediate future. But since I'll be primarily (perhaps exclusively) offering my product as coated rather than lubed, I don't need a lube applying function, which could/should make whatever sizer machine(s) I buy be less complicated mechanically, and thereby cheaper financially. So far, I am enamored with and excited about the pneumatic automated sizer offered by Dan Dix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7RrPDjUL8o&t=7s They put out projectiles at about 3/4 the rate the Magma Lubemaster does, but cost only 1/4 what a new Lubemaster did when Magma was still delivering. They use the existing array of Magma size bushings/dies I already have that came with the Lubemaster, so I don't have to buy more. But,...I likely may buy more anyway if volume of production dictates that they will wear out occasionally. Until this recent discussion about how/who will supply them in the future, I wasn't very concerned about that. And I'm still not, really. They are simple enough in dimensions that here in the Phoenix area, where we have a large aerospace machining industry presence, I could have some commissioned if I had to. And there is enough of a demand for them that I'm confident someone is going to do exactly that and hang out their shingle as the new supply source for off-the-shelf ready-to-ship units.

As for the lower production rate hobbyist manual Star sizer machines,...I have less confidence about that. There are plenty of other manual sizer machines available on the market, and reproducing the Star machine is not as simple a thing as doing the bushings/dies.

[dverna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7RrPDjUL8o&t=7s

That was neat. Thanks for sharing.

[M-Tecs]

One more

[m37]

here is a auto sizer made in Australia by a guy on this forum Jatz357
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=kHIevXl-T0k

[20:1]

I'm happy for Australia, there are a lot of cast bullet shooters down there. The reality of this situation is that this does us no good and we're on our own at this point. How many here are willing to wait for a shop in Australia to manufacture or source a part for our machines, then wait even longer for shipping? Will you wait a month for a lousy Star die? It doesn't seem realistic to have a machine that weighs hundreds of pounds shipped halfway around the world to me.

[m37]

may be the only option for a while and who knows what their learning curve will be
American casting equipment has a autosizer but they say you need to buy there
specially machined shear bolts at $18 ea and recommend having a couple on hand.
I think there are few people that are looking at making sizer dies

I'm happy for Australia, there are a lot of cast bullet shooters down there. The reality of this situation is that this does us no good and we're on our own at this point. How many here are willing to wait for a shop in Australia to manufacture or source a part for our machines, then wait even longer for shipping? Will you wait a month for a lousy Star die? It doesn't seem realistic to have a machine that weighs hundreds of pounds shipped halfway around the world to me.

[hermans]

I did watch the video by Dan Dix about his sizing machine, also contacted him, but that machine is waaaaay out of my budget, also the shipping cost to Africa will be astronomical....
Then I saw another video from Dan on his automated Star luber for powder coated boolits......
So I have an almost new Star sizer with several dies for my 9mm and 45 boolits, but I do not have the bullet feeding part of the Star, did try to Google Magma Engineering Company, but they seems to be no more....so where would I be able to purchase a bullet feeder for my Star???
If I have that, then using Dan's design/parts to "automate" my Star is a good option.
Any advice on how/where to get that Star bullet feeder?

[pipehand]

One of my other hobbies is restoring and using vintage American axes. So I get to seee a lot of axes on Ebay. The price of axes from Australia isnt so bad, but the shipping is rediculous. Product shipping from China seem way cheap by comparison, but the Australians don't have a party owned overseas shipping company subsidising their trade. I wish the Aussies luck, but I sure am glad I already have my Star and dies.

[dverna]

I did watch the video by Dan Dix about his sizing machine, also contacted him, but that machine is waaaaay out of my budget, also the shipping cost to Africa will be astronomical....
Then I saw another video from Dan on his automated Star luber for powder coated boolits......
So I have an almost new Star sizer with several dies for my 9mm and 45 boolits, but I do not have the bullet feeding part of the Star, did try to Google Magma Engineering Company, but they seems to be no more....so where would I be able to purchase a bullet feeder for my Star???
If I have that, then using Dan's design/parts to "automate" my Star is a good option.
Any advice on how/where to get that Star bullet feeder?

I cannot help you get one. Very rarely, I have seen them on eBay in the US.

Just some things to consider.

First, I owned one decades ago and found that it did not save any time at all. This was 40+ years ago and I did not have a bullet feeder. Back then, bullet feeders were expensive. Today, with the work members here have done with 3D printing it might make sense. Feeding tubes manually is not going to gain anything.

Second, they are simple mechanisms and can be made if you have some skills.

Third, there was a YouTube video years ago (that I cannot find now) that showed a chute made from PVC pipe (1/2 inch IIRC). The chute was like a slide. It held 3-4 bullets and sent the bullet to the die opening so your fingers were not in danger of getting pinched. The slide was angled about 20 degrees or so. The left hand fed the bullets into the chute and the right hand operated the crank. It was very slick, and very simple and very cheap.

Good luck.

[atfsux]

I did watch the video by Dan Dix about his sizing machine, also contacted him, but that machine is waaaaay out of my budget, also the shipping cost to Africa will be astronomical....
Then I saw another video from Dan on his automated Star luber for powder coated boolits......
So I have an almost new Star sizer with several dies for my 9mm and 45 boolits, but I do not have the bullet feeding part of the Star, did try to Google Magma Engineering Company, but they seems to be no more....so where would I be able to purchase a bullet feeder for my Star???
If I have that, then using Dan's design/parts to "automate" my Star is a good option.
Any advice on how/where to get that Star bullet feeder?

The Dandix sizer costs $1600 (or at least did several months ago when I exchanged emails with Dan). That may seem like a lot, but it is a small expense in comparison to the Magma Lubemaster or the one made by Eminence Projectiles in Australia at the link provided up above a few posts ago. In my limited research of options for an automated sizer, the Dandix is the best bang for the buck.

As for bullet feeders,...MA Systems has recently been failing in the customer relations department and having supply issues as well. They are a large manufacturer of industrial collators, so the bullet biz is only a minor part of their attentions. However, Mr. BulletFeeder is entirely focused on the bullet biz and hobbyists. Their biggest model is not really up to supplying a machine that can do 6000 bullets per hour like the Magma or the Eminence types,...but it is sufficient to keep the Dandix fed. So I intend to go with their product.

[YoungGun88]

For hobbyists like myself, the Lee APP press is used by many to size cast projectiles. And when paired up with a collator bullet feeder and a nose-down plate, some report 1,000+ pcs per hour.
Of course, with a commercial mindset where 20-30,000 projectiles a day might not be out of the wheelhouse of possibilities for a busy shop, you'd better have backup machinery and parts.

I too, inquired about a sizing machine with Dan Dix. If I were shooting competition and required more throughput, I would likely get one.
But the nice thing with an electric-only sizer is that you don't have the noise component like you do with pneumatic solenoids.

I could see setting up a sizing machine around easily-sourced sizing dies from Lee, RCBS or Lyman producuts. Lee might even be willing to machine some from better material, if a certain number were ordered. They are a machine shop with custom parts capacity. Might as well ask.

[hermans]

Thanks for your input on my "problem" guys! I only cast, coat and size about 3000 - 4000 9mm and 45 boolits/year, my right shoulder is the biggest problem here, it is in really bad shape, had surgery on it twice already, and not going for a third time, So having a cost effective semi automatic sizing system is my goal now. As mentioned, I do have a Star sizer, just do not have the bullet feeder part which cannot be purchased anymore since Magma is no more.
So looking into making a DIY bullet feeder, 3D printing the parts that I can, the rest I have to hand make and have machined.

[YoungGun88]

Thanks for your input on my "problem" guys! I only cast, coat and size about 3000 - 4000 9mm and 45 boolits/year, my right shoulder is the biggest problem here, it is in really bad shape, had surgery on it twice already, and not going for a third time, So having a cost effective semi automatic sizing system is my goal now. As mentioned, I do have a Star sizer, just do not have the bullet feeder part which cannot be purchased anymore since Magma is no more.
So looking into making a DIY bullet feeder, 3D printing the parts that I can, the rest I have to hand make and have machined.

YouTube is a plethora of DIY info regarding this very topic, and there are some designs made by others that really would satisfy your stated needs, with ease. Perhaps employ a younger person with good shoulders to do the arm work