Not a caster, but ended up with molds

[ThreeTwentySeven]

I responded to FS post on a local site regarding a jug of powder and ended up with the jug, 2 presses, a tumbler, and a dozen molds among other odds and ends.

One is an old George Hensley (#49-358-158) with handles and the other 11 are Magma brand but appear to be the ones for the casting machines, not handles. Oddly 7 of them are 45-250-RN and the others are various 9mm. I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do as I've been interested in casting, but have no other equipment and with Magma moving to Australia I don't know if I'll ever get a machine to use them. Can they be converted to use with handles? Why did he have so many of the same one?

[Winger Ed.]

Almost sounds like someone that used to mass produce and sell boolits.

[1eyedjack]

IIRC there is a machine that uses 8 molds in a rotating system with air or electric operating system for high volume production. I purchased a single rcbs 115gn round nose from evil bay from a vendor that had sets of 8 molds and no takers offered a low price for the single mold just for grins and giggles. Removed the mounting blocks, trimmed the 1/4" thick sprue plate and modified a set of lee handles to make a functional hand casting mold. It's heavy, casts 2 bullets at a time and they will shoot fairly well. If you gotta deal on the batch you can't go wrong, it's how I ended up with a room full of "stuff "!

[elmacgyver0]

I responded to FS post on a local site regarding a jug of powder and ended up with the jug, 2 presses, a tumbler, and a dozen molds among other odds and ends.

One is an old George Hensley (#49-358-158) with handles and the other 11 are Magma brand but appear to be the ones for the casting machines, not handles. Oddly 7 of them are 45-250-RN and the others are various 9mm. I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do as I've been interested in casting, but have no other equipment and with Magma moving to Australia I don't know if I'll ever get a machine to use them. Can they be converted to use with handles? Why did he have so many of the same one?

You are going to love casting.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Interesting. I'll try and get some pictures later today just so you guys can confirm I don't have my wires crossed. The story from the seller was that his buddy was cleaning out his grandpa's storage unit and came across the stuff, and almost threw it away until he asked to let him try and sell it. Really a case of one man's trash being another man's treasure.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Here is how the Magma molds are marked:
(7) 45/230/RN
(2) 09/120/CN
(1) 09/125/CN
(1) 380/95/RN

I have pictures but it keeps saying upload failed. They appear to be in really good shape, and it looks like there are conversion kits to use them with handles but they run about $30 a set. Maybe I should try trading them off for ones I can use? Unless someone has a Master Caster for sale at a reasonable price haha.

[Sam Sackett]

List them on the Swapping & Selling. There are a few folks looking for Magma molds from time to time. Sell them and buy the molds you really can use.

Just my 2 nickels…….

Sam Sackett

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Maybe that will be the ticket. I can't seem to find the requirements to be able to post in that forum. I'm assuming I have to amass a certain number of posts?

[Dusty Bannister]

Might want to check the join date and number of posts Sam. Today is August 1 and he has 3 posts on this thread. Do not encourage him to violate list rules.

[Barry54]

Maybe that will be the ticket. I can't seem to find the requirements to be able to post in that forum. I'm assuming I have to amass a certain number of posts?

30/30 rule. You need 30 meaningful posts and 30 days. I think there’s an exemption though, if you pay to be a patron member.

And welcome to the forum! Hope you stick around!!

[Winger Ed.]

Maybe that will be the ticket. I can't seem to find the requirements to be able to post in that forum. I'm assuming I have to amass a certain number of posts?

Very true.

Towards the bottom of the main page/forum list is a section called 'Swappn & Selln'.
To see it, be sure you're logged in.
Click that.
At the top of that page is "S&S rules"
Please read them throughly.

We want members to have a good experience there, but the rules are strictly enforced.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

30 days and 30 posts suits me just fine. That will give me plenty of time to make an informed decision about what to do. I cleaned them all thoroughly with a bronze bristle brush and Marvel Mystery Oil so they are in good shape for whatever I decide to do with them.

[atfsux]

I looked on my Magma mold chart (circa 2008) and found these which I think are what you have, just so you can copy the pictures to put in your ad if you wish. Magma made 2 versions of these;...flate-base and bevel-base. The pictures I have included are of the bevel-base versions. The molds SHOULD be marked with BB on them if they are bevel-based. Otherwise that should indicate they are flat-based.

The 125 grain conical 9mm is common, as are the 95 grain round nose .380 and the 230 grain round nose .45 molds. But the 120 grain 9mm conical is curious. My chart for the flat-base options back in 2004 show a 115 grain CN, but not a 120 grainer on either the BB or FB charts. But Magma has been making those molds all the way back to the 70's, so maybe it was an earlier variant? I don't know.

While molds were designed to be used in either the 8 mold mass-production Bullet Master or the single mold Master Caster,...some folks have had them modified to be used manually, so they are not useless to you if you are only hand-casting.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Looks pretty spot on!
45/230/RN

09/125/CN

380/95/RN

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Here is one of the 9mm molds.

[atfsux]

Those appear to be in great shape for having been stored away all this time. I've seen a lot of molds that are rusty and even beyond use.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

They really are! I wish I could post larger pictures but they really seem to be well taken care of for the most part. Figures I would get into this stuff right as the support for it is being pulled. I really like the idea of a Master Caster.

[atfsux]

They really are! I wish I could post larger pictures but they really seem to be well taken care of for the most part. Figures I would get into this stuff right as the support for it is being pulled. I really like the idea of a Master Caster.

There is a Facebook group for Magma machine users called "Magma bullet casting equipment owners". Lots of guys on there from across the world. They might be interested in your machine, or if you want to use it, they are a great source of info and advice. Many of the guys on there actually run their machines as part of their bullet business, so they are intimately familiar.

[ThreeTwentySeven]

Oh I don't have a Master Caster unfortunately, just the molds. That may temp me into making a Facebook account. I'm thinking about hanging out on to one of each type just in case, but then I'm wondering if the smaller ones could be bored out into something larger, or if it's even cost effective to do so. Lots to learn and decide on.

[jdgabbard]

Those molds are worth a pretty penny. If you don't plan on buying a Magma machine you might look at offloading them. The H&G mold is collectible no matter what. Those were like the Rolls Royce of the casting molds at one time. They made a lot of larger molds, 6 cavity, 8 cavity, 10 cavity... The #50 is the standard 38spl wadcutter mold that has been copied several dozen times over. I can't say I've seen the #49, but I'm sure it's similar. Somebody would pay good money for it. As for casting with any of them, it would probably be more economic to buy modern molds. The H&G will work fine, but the magma molds will need modified handles to use. But even the H&G unless it's a large multiple cavity would be slower than using any of the modern 6-8 cavity molds that are available. Not to mention HEAVY... I was just talking in another thread about how heavy those molds are. You can get a 6cav brass mold that weighs about as much as a 4-cav iron mold these days. If you're willing to go aluminum you can get a light weight mold that will cast 8 at a time...