AZ-Stew
03-22-2008, 01:58 AM
I came home this evening and my wife handed me a plastic grocery store bag containing something heavy. Before my brain could sort it out, she said our daughter-in-law had dropped it off. Her husband (my son) had gotten it from someone at his work and he wanted me to look at it and tell him if it was worth anything.
Unwrapping it from the bag, I discovered a 4-banger mould with handles where the left one was higher than the right (with respect to the mould body) and a slightly ratty look. It hadn't been well taken care of. The sprue plate has quite a bit of rust on the top of it, but that's not the part we cast with, so no big deal. The sprue plate hinge bolt and stop bolt are likewise rusted, but again, no real big deal. Most of the rust can be cleaned up with a stainless steel toothbrush and some WD-40, but it's not really a problem as far as bullet quality goes. The off-side of the sprue plate is pretty badly peened over from someone whacking it with a metal tool. It's all on the top side so it doesn't interfere with the sprue plate movement, but it's something that needn't have happened. Over the mould's life it encountered one owner who didn't respect it. Why it's peened over on the off side (away from the side you'd hit or press the plate to cut the sprues) is beyond me. Someone didn't know what they were doing.
The best part is that the cavities are essentially rust-free. Should cast good boolits. Now for the kicker...
The mould is stamped above the handle groove on the right side "51BB", and below the groove, "Hensley and Gibbs San Diego, California". Looking at the H&G mould listing web site, this identifies the mould as having been manufactured in the 1940s. It's a 158-160gr SWC, Bevel Base. Just what he's been looking for in a mould to get started casting with.
The BEST part is what he paid for it... One of his co-workers brought it in and said he'd give it to my son, but my son told him he wouldn't feel right just taking it. He bought his co-worker lunch... a whopping $8 for a classic 4-banger H&G! The reason the guy wanted to get rid of it is that he said he could never keep it hot enough to cast good boolits using the dipper-cast method. We won't be telling him that he should have run his pot at a hotter temp.
At last weekend's gun show in Mesa I passed up a triplet of H&G moulds in very good condition for $150 apiece. I just didn't feel right buying them and then selling them for a hefty profit here. I had second thoughts Saturday evening, but when I returned to the show Sunday, they were all gone. Someone else will make the profit. I'm a lousy businessman. I just don't have that barracuda instinct. I don't feel comfortable relieving people of their cash. Odd, though, I don't have any trouble buying something that's offered for an inordinately low price for my own use... It's the re-selling I can't deal with. I bought a NEW RCBS 30-150FNGC 2-banger mould for $30 from the same guy. No guilt pangs.
Just thought it would be an interesting story for this forum.
Regards,
Stew
Unwrapping it from the bag, I discovered a 4-banger mould with handles where the left one was higher than the right (with respect to the mould body) and a slightly ratty look. It hadn't been well taken care of. The sprue plate has quite a bit of rust on the top of it, but that's not the part we cast with, so no big deal. The sprue plate hinge bolt and stop bolt are likewise rusted, but again, no real big deal. Most of the rust can be cleaned up with a stainless steel toothbrush and some WD-40, but it's not really a problem as far as bullet quality goes. The off-side of the sprue plate is pretty badly peened over from someone whacking it with a metal tool. It's all on the top side so it doesn't interfere with the sprue plate movement, but it's something that needn't have happened. Over the mould's life it encountered one owner who didn't respect it. Why it's peened over on the off side (away from the side you'd hit or press the plate to cut the sprues) is beyond me. Someone didn't know what they were doing.
The best part is that the cavities are essentially rust-free. Should cast good boolits. Now for the kicker...
The mould is stamped above the handle groove on the right side "51BB", and below the groove, "Hensley and Gibbs San Diego, California". Looking at the H&G mould listing web site, this identifies the mould as having been manufactured in the 1940s. It's a 158-160gr SWC, Bevel Base. Just what he's been looking for in a mould to get started casting with.
The BEST part is what he paid for it... One of his co-workers brought it in and said he'd give it to my son, but my son told him he wouldn't feel right just taking it. He bought his co-worker lunch... a whopping $8 for a classic 4-banger H&G! The reason the guy wanted to get rid of it is that he said he could never keep it hot enough to cast good boolits using the dipper-cast method. We won't be telling him that he should have run his pot at a hotter temp.
At last weekend's gun show in Mesa I passed up a triplet of H&G moulds in very good condition for $150 apiece. I just didn't feel right buying them and then selling them for a hefty profit here. I had second thoughts Saturday evening, but when I returned to the show Sunday, they were all gone. Someone else will make the profit. I'm a lousy businessman. I just don't have that barracuda instinct. I don't feel comfortable relieving people of their cash. Odd, though, I don't have any trouble buying something that's offered for an inordinately low price for my own use... It's the re-selling I can't deal with. I bought a NEW RCBS 30-150FNGC 2-banger mould for $30 from the same guy. No guilt pangs.
Just thought it would be an interesting story for this forum.
Regards,
Stew