Cramer molds??

[mikenbarb]

Anyone know of Cramer molds and if their any good?

[madcaster]

Very good moulds.

[Ben]

Cramer Bullet Mold Co. sold out to SAECO in 1951 , a Cramer mold in VG / excellent condition today will bring a premium price.

I have a 3 cav., .30 cal. , Cramer 191 Spire pt. that I bought from Lumpie and it didn't come $ cheap $ !

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/IMG_1067.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/IMG_1057.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/IMG_1070.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/IMG_1071.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/IMG_1066.jpg

[Mugs]

I visited Cramer Bullet Mold Co. with my dad in the late 40's several times. My brother inlaw still has a Cramer 270 mold that looks like the disign that Ben has.
Mugs

[GLL]

Mike:

I own several old Cramer moulds with original handles and they are outstanding ! :)

If you have any for sale drop me a note. Just remember they are not worth very much at all ! ;) ;) ;)

Jerry

[mikenbarb]

Thanks all and what handles will fit them?
GLL, I will definatly keep you in mind.:wink:
Ben, That almost looks like a H&G #20 and looks like a great mold. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Glen]

Saeco bought Cramer in 1951. I have several Cramer moulds (was just casting with one today, in fact) and they are excellent. I particularly like the way that they made their HP moulds, where the HP pins stayed with the mould blocks and you can have a multi-cavity HP mould. Very fast!

[Bret4207]

I think SAECO handles fit. I'm a bit of a Cramer nut, I have several and they are my favorite moulds in iron. (A Walt Melander NEI aluminum is my favorite above all else.) My Cramers are ALL sweetheart moulds, easy casting, very user friendly, just sweet moulds.

[GLL]

Here is the Cramer #4. It is a .45-240gr and perfect for .45AutoRim ! :)

This mould is a very old 2-cavity with original handles. Even with a bit of cavity pitting it is still one of my favorites !

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/3A064D4652A971B/standard.jpg

[Ben]

Jerry:

I don't know if you're better at dig. photography or better at bullet casting. I think you're way ahead of me on both.

Ben

[georgewxxx]

All the Cramers I have are unvented, thus a bit troublesome when casting no matter how hot or how much tin I add. Eventually I find the right technique to do the job, but it takes time. Each one seems to have a soul of it's own and needs to be treated differently when casting. ...Geo

[happy7]

I just came into possession of a Cramer 16H in a five cavity. It is a massive mold and very heavy with the handles being screw on and the hinge integral to the mold blocks. This thing makes a lyman four cavity feel like it weighs nothing at all. I am pretty curious to see what it casts like.

[Bret4207]

Happy- I'm betting once you get it up to temp it casts like a dream!

[Urny]

Happy- I'm betting once you get it up to temp it casts like a dream!

It most likely will. I have one just like it and though it does take a while to reach operating temp, it casts beautiful boolits and lots of them. It's very tiring to use, so mostly I just use my two cavity Cramer for wadcutters, and three cavity for the round nose .38's.

I suspect you will like it just fine.

[Vicki in Idaho]

Hello~ I have a Cramer mold #41B which my father has labeled as an 8mm 200 gr. However, when I do a search, it appears to be a .30 cal. I am selling this mold on eBay and someone is asking if this is a .30 or .32 cal.. I'm not sure... Excuse my ignorance on this topic, I should have paid more attention to my Pop when he was casting! Anyhow, I tried to measure with a micrometer and am getting a readng of .316 Any thoughts out there??? Thanks so much~Vicki

[Fredx10sen]

They are great molds. I have a
#5C DC .452 Dia. @ 202 Gr. with a #2 Alloy Nice bullet for 45 Colt and the 45 Acp
# 45 DC .311 Dia @ 169 Gr. with a #2 Alloy and Lino
# 31 s.p.w. 3 Cavity .356 Dia. ( 9mm )
All of them cast great right out of the get go.

[beagle]

I got one of those from Jumptrap several years ago. This one's brand new and is a work of art. Cramer is cast into the sides in releif and it has very nice handles. Yes, it is a heavy booger.

I've used Cramer moulds over the years and found them to be great casting moulds./beagle


I just came into possession of a Cramer 16H in a five cavity. It is a massive mold and very heavy with the handles being screw on and the hinge integral to the mold blocks. This thing makes a lyman four cavity feel like it weighs nothing at all. I am pretty curious to see what it casts like.

[MT Gianni]

Hello~ I have a Cramer mold #41B which my father has labeled as an 8mm 200 gr. However, when I do a search, it appears to be a .30 cal. I am selling this mold on eBay and someone is asking if this is a .30 or .32 cal.. I'm not sure... Excuse my ignorance on this topic, I should have paid more attention to my Pop when he was casting! Anyhow, I tried to measure with a micrometer and am getting a readng of .316 Any thoughts out there??? Thanks so much~Vicki

Vicki, tell them that to your best measurement it is 0.316.

[rintinglen]

Between 1978 and 1983 I cast up something in the order of 33 gallons of wheel weights in a 3 cavity Cramer 16H. They are better than Lyman, worse than RCBS and about the same as SAECO in my experience, but good molds. I like them.

[Char-Gar]

Cramer are very good molds of excellent design and good workmanship. Many of their bullet designs are still top performers. I have 6 or 8 of these molds and think highly of them. Most often Cramer and SAECO handles will interchange..note I said "most likely".. as sometimes they won't.

When SAECO (Santa Anita Engeneering Companhy) took over Cramer, they continued to produced molds marked SAECO/Cramer with the original Cramer designs for a few years. These were some of the best molds every made.

Over time, SAECO replaced the Cramer designs with their own. Many times, this was not a good decision.

[tubeaudio]

Hello casters- tom here, first post. So a newbie. Kindly be patient.
I have 3 Cramer molds, all are gang molds. Acquired many years ago on the bay.
All 3 are heavy strong and despite age appeared to have little actual use.
Understandably. In my limited experience unless that huge chunk of iron is brought up to temp of lead they will not cast decently, no mold will.
A 1-2-3 cavity will warm up from the lead throwing first several back in pot.
But a 3 section 10 round gang for 38WC will not by molding. Nor will the 2 section 6 round 45ACP mold.
FOR ME, just speaking for myself, I set the mold between pours/dumps on the woodburning stove top with draft adjusted so flat top stays 825-875 deg by thermometer/thermocouple.
My specimens have pristine cavities I THINK because previous owners did not use an external heat source to keep mold hot.
But once they are, best I have used.
The samples i have are extremely similiar to Hensley Gibbs to extent I thought they bought them.....definitely precede.
The SAECO 4 cavity 45ACP, are cut from meehanite iron (alloy with minimal/negligible dimensional variation within temp range, no longer available to public I have been told), not aluminum (cost effective/max profit), and are heatable by casting but only if moving fast.
I will attempt to upload pics after looking thru site.
ONCE AGAIN ONLY MY TWO CENTS WORTH, MY EXPERIENCE WITH ME AND MY EQUIPMENT.
But I love my Cramers!!!!! None finer for one seeking self reliance.
Thanx for reading, tom
P.S. I have used over a dozen different lubersizers and FOR ME the SAECO wins.

[Sig556r]

I just came into possession of a Cramer 16H in a five cavity. It is a massive mold and very heavy with the handles being screw on and the hinge integral to the mold blocks. This thing makes a lyman four cavity feel like it weighs nothing at all. I am pretty curious to see what it casts like.

I snagged a 3-cavity Cramer 16H from a recent HGCA show as a party of a bulk trade & they're not as heavy as my 4-cavity Lyman which is an armbuster...
Does anyone know how much they're worth nowadays?

[Reverend Al]

Cramer moulds ... sort of like this?

:wink:

https://i.imgur.com/WbeiC2h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1Gy7Wql.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1Z4QN4p.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/L56cf2T.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ojeyHAI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wpSlJOm.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zvu6IAY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8XZrwpI.jpg

[Sig556r]

Something like this...
235329
235330

[AnthonyB]

I doubt this is the best example of a thread brought back to life, but it could be close.....

[Reverend Al]

The 5 cavity and 8 cavity Cramer moulds that I have cast a 146 grain .38 designed for the .38 S&W cartridge, but they work equally well in .38 Special, .357 Mag, and even 9mm and 38 Super when sized properly. They drop from the moulds at about .360" as cast with a medium alloy which is fine by me. Neither of these two moulds are stamped, but I suspect they were used by the BCPP (British Columbia Provincial Police) who carrried S&W revolvers in .38 S&W just after WW II. I also had a very similar 8 cavity Cramer mould that cast .38 calibre 148 grain target wadcutters and it was clearly stamped "BCPP". Takes a while to get these big steel moulds hot, but once up to temperature they "rain" bullets ...