I finally got one of those amazing deals

[Vly]

My brothers of the silver stream will appreciate this story.

Each year in December my gun club hosts a "Sportsmen's Show", which is really a flea market for anything remotely related to the outdoors. Some years there is good stuff, many times not. This year I got a few nice deals from one gentleman selling his elderly friends reloading stuff. A Redding "Boss" single stage press for $45. ( like I needed another press ) An unopened pound of Unique for $10. Old stock CCI small pistol primers 5K at $12/K. I was pretty happy, and then, on another table I spied it.

It was a multiple cavity mold with handles. It was pretty dirty and had some small cracks in the wood handles. I look it over and see "Hensley & Gibbs San Diego, Cal" on the side with a number "50". I open it up and see all 6 cavities and the alignment pins look in very good shape. The mold halves mate perfectly. Hmmm, interesting. But no freaking price on it. I hate it when people don't price their stuff. Mark your price on your stuff so we don't waste each others time. But I need to know how much he wants for this mold. So I inquire if the seller has a price in mind. His response, " Twelve dollars".

This is what a $12 H&G mold looks like.

http://www.fototime.com/71783FDC8DF66EF/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/6AC676194D09F4B/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/235453572D53554/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/B30AC9F31FF8F66/standard.jpg

[madcaster]

Yeup,I bet someone here will eventually be wanting to see if you want to double your money!:bigsmyl2:

[DLCTEX]

Triple!

[copdills]

Great Score , very happy 4-ya . hope the luck comes my way someday lol[smilie=l:

[jnovotny]

you lucky son of a gun

[KCSO]

Yes and no, I used a pair of those for a number of years in the 70's and they do get heavy. We ended up hanging them from the ceiling on door springs as a long casting session would leave your arms trembling. They sure do cast good bullets though. I cast 30,000 of those wad cutters from 1971 to 1976.

[Vly]

Yes, it is a heavy sucker. A iron four banger is the biggest mold I have used so far. I will need to rig up some kind of a mold guide. I'm going to search for ideas. Anyone have an idea to share?

[Jack Stanley]

Treasure that mold and use it in good health . I have one double end six hole H&G for thirty-eight and I think I'll keep it :-DThey really are nice molds .

Jack

[Maven]

Whoa Nellie, you really did make a killing! Btw, you can make a platform from a couple scraps of 2 x 6 nailed together with Al angle stock (easy to drill) screwed to it to guide your new mold. Congratulations on your good fortune!

[kir_kenix]

Good score! Now i just need to luck into something like that. I'm never that lucky. Have a good time casting with that monster, hope it yields you some great boolits.

[fatnhappy]

A real skin flint caster would have talked him down to $10.


Congrats.

[AZ-Stew]

I hope you didn't injure yourself getting your wallet out.

A REAL caster and swap meet afficianado can actually keep a straight face while dealing one of these transactions. It's amazing how hard it is to keep a poker face when one crops up. As fatnhappy said, you're a real pro if, when faced with one of these, you can actually keep your composure and try to talk the seller down.

Great score!

Regards,

Stew

[Bigjohn]

I'm amazed that he had the gumption to tell us how much he paid for it! :kidding:

No! really, it was straight out Highway Robbery. How can you live with yourself? :kidding: I think you need to clear your conscience by sending it to me. :bigsmyl2:
When looking at a bargain;
I find that if I 'screw' my face up a little at the moment they mention their price; they sometimes come straight back with, "but for cash now I'll except $11.00 or something like that." [smilie=1:

If they are slow on the uptake; then I take out the wallet, put it back in the pocket and look as if I am thinking hard. [smilie=1:

Just hang on to it Vly and look after it; after all, you only have temporary use of it. After you, someone else might grab a bargain.

John

[Down South]

A real skin flint caster would have talked him down to $10. :bigsmyl2:

[Bret4207]

Lloyd- good on YOU! That's a genuine STEAL at that price. I have a 10 banger of the same design and oh boy does it get heavy, even with my nearly super human strength and god like physique! I rest one end on a hunk o'board and use a Rowell 1lb ladle to do the deed. Makes life much easier.

[Vly]

You guys are right...I am a total noob in the art of price negotiation. I think Bigjohn could teach classes. I kind of vaporlocked when the number he said was so far from the number I was expecting.

I only felt confident posting about it when I read that Bret retired from the NYSP. I didn't want him having to drive down here to put the cuffs on me. :)

And Bigjohn is right on about someone using this mold long after me. This thing is built like a vault. It is already about 60 years old, and I'm sure it can still make good boolits 60 years from now.

[BruceB]

An excellent deal indeed! Every once in a long while, something like this comes along....but usually it gets glommed by some other fortunate soul.

A couple years back, I went to a SMALL local show, where I found a Lyman 450 lube-sizer for $35 with FOURTEEN sizing dies. The same gent had a new Hoch nose-pour mould for the 457429 bullet for SIX dollars. Further investigation on this table revealed a Lyman 462560 HP, the box also containing an extra plug which allowed the casting of non-HP bullets. This is quite a rare and highly-desired animal, and it now lives with Deputy Al. Also just six bucks....!

That was a red-letter day for me, and I can well appreciate how your find brightened the day for you.

[Tom Herman]

I hope you didn't injure yourself getting your wallet out.
A REAL caster and swap meet afficianado can actually keep a straight face while dealing one of these transactions. It's amazing how hard it is to keep a poker face when one crops up. As fatnhappy said, you're a real pro if, when faced with one of these, you can actually keep your composure and try to talk the seller down.

Stew is right! Congrats on your good fortune, VLy...
I ran into a S & W Second Model Hand Ejector in .455 Webley at a swap fest: It was unaltered to .45 ACP, and well over 95% original bluing with minor blemishes. Oh, and the cylinder was tight as a bank vault! And the price was even less than fire sale... I had all I could do to retain my composure, stuff the money in the guy's hands, and get the heck out of Dodge before he could renig on the deal!
I couldn't do that 20 years ago. I've learned the poker face....

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[mtgrs737]

You have netted the caddy of 38 wc moulds at a absolute steal of a price! Now put it to good use! At the last Tulsa gunshow I happened on my first H&G mould, a four cavity 130 which is a 45cal. 185 gr. wc with handles for $70, The guy had it marked $75, not too bad when the same mould and handles went on ebay for over $200. That mould produces perfect boolits in amazing quantities, real old world craftsmanship! Enjoy your treasure!!

Merry Christmas to All !

[No_1]

Great deal. I will double your payout on that one. I have one also but it has been beat on and the sprue plate is a little ruff. Otherwise, same thing.

Robert