pcmacd
11-21-2021, 08:30 PM
I bought my Magma E Master Caster around 1995 2d hand and probably cast 50K bullets thru it until I sold it in 2017 before moving to Arizona, "Where Free Men Live", from Commiefornia, where "All men are slaves."
I drilled a couple of 1/4" holes in the right side of the base casting, added a properly fitted 3" steel angle with a 3/16" aluminum plate affixed, and after taking out the mold guides and lashing down the remaining mechanism made a convertible "gang mold" casting machine from a conventional "Master Caster" I could change back and forth in around 25 minutes from either configuration.
Igot pictures of the conversion if you want them; they've already been posted hereabouts. Just search for "pcmacd" as author or contributor. If you can't find them, ping me and I shall post them here.
That conversion worked like a charm, but I'd only get around #400 or so 200 grn SWC 45 caliber bullets out before the 40# pot ran dry, and I'd rather do 2x that amount in a run.
--->>> Waiting 40 or so minutes for the second pot to heat up was just dead time.
Still, I miss that machine. Iben trying to get by with a LEE 10# bottom pour pot for some new guns I have since acquired, but that sucker takes just forever to make any quantity of bullets, unless you have TWO. One pouring, one warming up?
So, my soon-to-arrive 90# pot Magma E "CAST MASTER" (with factory integrated digital temp controller) is arriving after a significant wait. And I finally got my 240V sub panel up and running in my workshop.
That casting machine runs at around 3000 watts, about 12.5 amps at 240V. It will cost me around $0.50/hour to operate :-)
I've got a large 1/4" aluminum plate scrounged from my last employer, and plan to fix the 90# pot to the plate with the temp controller on the left (from the view I've seen of integrated units.) I'll make some mold guides of steel or aluminum angle extrusions, adjustable for my different gang molds.
Before I left Commiefornia, I sold around 1500# of lead, about half of my stash. The rest got carted to AZ in 500 pound chunks on the floor behind the front seats of my car over three different trips out there. So, I've got around 1500# of range salvage and w/weight lead, and over a hundert pounds of foundry type for alloying the range salvage. The Foundry Type is 15% tin, 23% antimony*. The w/w stuff needs no alloying metals, but the range salvage does.
Glory Hallelujah! I'll order tomorrow a pneumatic conversion from ME for my Star sizer, and be in bidness to make tons of ammo for the BRP/Stemple automatic weapon that will get delivered around the same time.
I've finally figured what to do with that ~20# of Scot Solo 1000 and Pearl Scot that I was gifted a few years ago!
--->>>Make subgun ammo!
Life is good. Ever day is a Saturday when you are retired, yathink?
Why leave your $$$ to your heirs, eh? They'll only spend it?
I call these kinds of acquisitions "Punishing My Heirs."
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
~~~~~
* I bought the foundry type from Arthur Greene in Beverly Hills a very long time ago.
He's no longer with us, and it is increasingly difficult to source this kind of type metal as the world has gone to digital presses.
1500# is a lot of lead, but shooting subguns might use it at a rate I had not considered before moving to AZ.
I guess if one can afford the subgun, one can afford to purchase jacked bullets?
:-)
...
I drilled a couple of 1/4" holes in the right side of the base casting, added a properly fitted 3" steel angle with a 3/16" aluminum plate affixed, and after taking out the mold guides and lashing down the remaining mechanism made a convertible "gang mold" casting machine from a conventional "Master Caster" I could change back and forth in around 25 minutes from either configuration.
Igot pictures of the conversion if you want them; they've already been posted hereabouts. Just search for "pcmacd" as author or contributor. If you can't find them, ping me and I shall post them here.
That conversion worked like a charm, but I'd only get around #400 or so 200 grn SWC 45 caliber bullets out before the 40# pot ran dry, and I'd rather do 2x that amount in a run.
--->>> Waiting 40 or so minutes for the second pot to heat up was just dead time.
Still, I miss that machine. Iben trying to get by with a LEE 10# bottom pour pot for some new guns I have since acquired, but that sucker takes just forever to make any quantity of bullets, unless you have TWO. One pouring, one warming up?
So, my soon-to-arrive 90# pot Magma E "CAST MASTER" (with factory integrated digital temp controller) is arriving after a significant wait. And I finally got my 240V sub panel up and running in my workshop.
That casting machine runs at around 3000 watts, about 12.5 amps at 240V. It will cost me around $0.50/hour to operate :-)
I've got a large 1/4" aluminum plate scrounged from my last employer, and plan to fix the 90# pot to the plate with the temp controller on the left (from the view I've seen of integrated units.) I'll make some mold guides of steel or aluminum angle extrusions, adjustable for my different gang molds.
Before I left Commiefornia, I sold around 1500# of lead, about half of my stash. The rest got carted to AZ in 500 pound chunks on the floor behind the front seats of my car over three different trips out there. So, I've got around 1500# of range salvage and w/weight lead, and over a hundert pounds of foundry type for alloying the range salvage. The Foundry Type is 15% tin, 23% antimony*. The w/w stuff needs no alloying metals, but the range salvage does.
Glory Hallelujah! I'll order tomorrow a pneumatic conversion from ME for my Star sizer, and be in bidness to make tons of ammo for the BRP/Stemple automatic weapon that will get delivered around the same time.
I've finally figured what to do with that ~20# of Scot Solo 1000 and Pearl Scot that I was gifted a few years ago!
--->>>Make subgun ammo!
Life is good. Ever day is a Saturday when you are retired, yathink?
Why leave your $$$ to your heirs, eh? They'll only spend it?
I call these kinds of acquisitions "Punishing My Heirs."
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
~~~~~
* I bought the foundry type from Arthur Greene in Beverly Hills a very long time ago.
He's no longer with us, and it is increasingly difficult to source this kind of type metal as the world has gone to digital presses.
1500# is a lot of lead, but shooting subguns might use it at a rate I had not considered before moving to AZ.
I guess if one can afford the subgun, one can afford to purchase jacked bullets?
:-)
...