See if I can stump this forum Origins of Magma and ballisticast?

[Bam_bamm]

Hi all,
Does anyone here know the history and/or origins or magma engineering and ballisticast?

Hoping for some details. Thanks.
Bam_bamm

[deltaenterprizes]

Having owned 3 Magma Lubsizers and 3 Magma Casters and one Ballisticast caster I can tell you that Magma was around before Ballisticast. The lady at Magma told me that Ballisticast was using Magma molds to sell their machines when he first started.
Magma is a side line of another business.

[mastercast.com]

BallistaCast was first with a commercial machine.(As far as I know.) They(Dennis, can't recall his last name right now)made a machine that ran four, two cavity molds...way to much heat in that machine! Loud as Hell! Ear damaging!

Magma developed a machine that ran eight, two cavity , molds. Much cooler to run, much quiter, etc..

BEST MACHINE OUT THERE!

Mike

[mastercast.com]

Magma Enginerring does bullets....casting machines, lube/size machines, etc.

Ballista-Cast, Now owned by folks that do "Plastic Extrusions" as their primary business, have no clue how to deal with their "NEW" business.

They are the new owners of "Hensley and Gibbs' molds. They are **** as far as I am concerned.

[jdgabbard]

They are the new owners of "Hensley and Gibbs' molds. They are **** as far as I am concerned.

They may own the name, but I'll guarantee you they don't own the molds since they haven't been made in ages... But if they were to come out with some of the old school Armory molds that are up to par then I'd buy one...

If I'm not mistaken, which I very well might be, I believe that they are a Tx based company. Somewhere on the NE corner if my mind is working. But I'm too lazy to confirm this so take it for what it is...:coffeecom

[jameslovesjammie]

Ballisti-Cast started in 1982 in Minot, North Dakota by someone in the Niess family...Peter, I think. Don't know him. Never met him. Don't even know where the business is located.

[Lloyd Smale]

dont know about there casting machines. Ive got freinds that use there auto sizer and like it. Ive delt with them on a few custom molds and they have bent over backwards to help me. Personaly i cant say enough nice things about there company. QUOTE=mastercast.com;771554]Magma Enginerring does bullets....casting machines, lube/size machines, etc.

Ballista-Cast, Now owned by folks that do "Plastic Extrusions" as their primary business, have no clue how to deal with their "NEW" business.

They are the new owners of "Hensley and Gibbs' molds. They are **** as far as I am concerned.[/QUOTE]

[Harry O]

I bought a mould from Ballisticast about 2 years ago. It was an impressive hunk of metal. The sprue plate alone weighs about as much as an entire Lyman mould. It casts well. I have no complaints with them.

[deltaenterprizes]

There was another guy that made machines in California that used 10 two cavity molds with ejector pin made into the molds called John's Machine Shop in the late 1980s. Molds were very expensive. Ballisticast machines are about the same noise level as Magma. I used to run 2 Magmas and a Ballisticast at the same time in a 12'x12' room, they all made noise. I think Magma now has the option of pneumatics to replace the electrical solenoids to make them quieter.

[Texasflyboy]

They are the new owners of "Hensley and Gibbs' molds. They are **** as far as I am concerned.

A clarification:

Wayne Gibbs sold Ballisticast all of his tooling when he decided to retire in 1999. That's all. He explicitly stated that the "Hensley & Gibbs" brand name was not included in that sale. The name is not for sale, nor will it ever be. Ballisiticast got the machines, tools, cherries and designs for what they paid.

The quality, reputation, and skill in "Hensley & Gibbs" was in George Hensley, James & Wayne Gibbs.

[mastercast.com]

Ballisticast was owned by Dennis?.

Pieter Niess(NICE...not hardly) is the new owner, along with his wife, Mariah...or perhaps his girlfriend. They do Plastic Extrusion...they bought BallistiCast, for reasons only known to them. The last time I spent money with them, they did not have a clue what they were doing with cast bullets.

[jameslovesjammie]

I don't know as I have never done any business with them. I am just in the same town.