Magma Engineering "Cast Master" vs. "Master Pot."

pcmacd

Member
Well, I managed to cast around 120 Lee 38 spl bullets with the Lee TL-356-95-RF 90672 in my ten pound Lee pot.

Geeze that is slow going with a ten pound pot. It took a very long time waiting to melt adds to the pot?

I sold my Master Caster before I left Commiefornia. Am trying to decide betwixt a Magma Engineering "Cast Master" vs. "Master Pot."

The Cast Master is $50 cheaper, holds 90# of molten lead and has no mold guides, holds 2x+ the amount of lead. 240v is not a problem in my shop. If I go with that, I plan to mount it on a big piece of oak or 1/4" aluminum plate, and make my own mold guides which is pretty easy to do.

I've read not so nice things about the mold guides for the Master Pot. So why spend $50 more for something you need to modify to suit your needs, that holds less than half the lead of the Cast Master?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

pcmacd
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have the 40# master pot. Never had trouble with the mould guides as I use a ladle exclusively. By the time the pot is low enough to need refilling I am beat anyway. I can get 350+ 250 gr bullets from a pot with no trouble.
 

pcmacd

Member
I had the Master Caster, which is the same basic pot, and drilled only one or two holes in the base casting on the right side to make it accept a shelf so I could put regular molds under it when I removed the other stuff beneath the pot.

I could change it from the two mold, crank it out conventional system to gang molds and back in around 20 or 25 minutes.

It was awesome.
  • I sold it because I thought I would be paying by the pound to move from Orange County to Greater Phoenix.

In the interim, I have had my 2 cavity Magma molds converted to hand held 2 cavity molds. Lee handles, and a sprue cutter/ top plate manufacturer I don't recall.

~~~~~
The Master Caster is a great tool. I just needed to use other molds for the stuff I do, so that's why I modified it.

I have pictures if anybody wants to see them. It was a really simple modification.

So, I guess I am going to buy the Cast Master. Igot 240 AC in my shop, no worries.

And if I could drop 350 or so 200 grain 45 caliber bullets on that Master Caster with a full 40# hopper, I guess I'll get 2.5x that amount on the Cast Master.

Iben using the 10# lee for a couple of years. It is just so painful to make 80 or so bullets, and have to wait 45 minutes to heat up a new batch of lead. 65% of the melt goes to sprues or rejects.

I've got an automatic weapon on order. Can't be dealing with silly shite like that ten pound pot?

Going for the 90# pot. The Cast Master.

The time consuming shite on the Lee 10# pot is waiting for stuff to get liquid, cleaning the melt up, etc.

With a 90# pot? I'll probably be casting for 2 or 3 hours w/o having to re-charge the pot.

Rock on!

??
 

Loren

Member
To keep my production up with my Lyman Mag25, I have a Lee 20lb furnace that I pre-melt in to feed the Lyman. Use a big stainless ladle to fill the Lyman from the Lee. Once both furnaces have the melts up to temperature, I am never waiting on more lead to melt to keep casting.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
their 40 lb pot is held in place with 2 bolts.
it's a simple matter to make a simple stand for the pot out of 3/4" angle iron and drill the two holes to mount the pot at any height you want off the bench..
i went high enough to build a box underneath to simply set the mold on top with about 3/4 of an inch clearance.
i can just leave any size mold sitting there with no adjustments.
 
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Mowgli Terry

Active Member
I cast using the pot on the Master Caster. I also have the option of using usual MC function. We did have to replace the heating element. The part ran $150.00. Company did great helping us to get pot going back together. Should I need to get an another pot it would be a Magma. I'd have to do some homework. The PID is the finest thing since sliced bread.
 

pcmacd

Member
I cast using the pot on the Master Caster. I also have the option of using usual MC function. We did have to replace the heating element. The part ran $150.00. Company did great helping us to get pot going back together. Should I need to get an another pot it would be a Magma. I'd have to do some homework. The PID is the finest thing since sliced bread.
Those are just Watlow cartridge heaters which you can get anyplace for perhaps $40 (a guess.) I had to replace the cartridges in my MC a couple of times. When I got the first replacements, I saw they were Watlows which I was familiar with from my work at a mechanical test lab. So for the next failure I ordered from a conventional supplier. I don't understand how Magma E can inflate a part that much and sleep at night. They are good guys, but this is a bit much.

Did they tell you to coat them with Milk of Magnesia before you inserted them? It apparently acts as a heat xfer agent, my guess.


Take the number off your old heater, but I'd wager this is the one:

 
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pcmacd

Member
their 40 lb pot is held in place with 2 bolts.
it's a simple matter to make a simple stand for the pot out of 3/4" angle iron and drill the two holes to mount the pot at any height you want off the bench..
i went high enough to build a box underneath to simply set the mold on top with about 3/4 of an inch clearance.
i can just leave any size mold sitting there with no adjustments.
I just drilled a hole two on the right side of the casting, mounted a large steel angle iron with an aluminum plate attached.

Take out the guides and mold, tie down handle on right side.

About 20 minutes to configure as shown (I made some guides later) and about 25 to set up as it was intended to be used:

P1010101.JPG
 

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
Heating Element: What we had and what we got were two different elements. We attempted to track down the make to save some money. That did not pan out. The element we got was ready to go. The leads for the PID were attached. The replacement part was ready to install as it came. I agree the prices was high but it was a finished part. I wish it were possible to come with some more specific information. My active role in that drama was to fork out money. Numbers will be forthcoming.

Wager I suspect we are talking about different pots. No wager. People get offended when checks and credit cards are not accepted-cash only. :)

Added: I prefer to use a ladle. This use works out well using the MC pot. The bottom pour was not used until a run of bullets was made with the MC.




































t\
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pcmacd

Member
Heating Element: What we had and what we got were two different elements. We attempted to track down the make to save some money. That did not pan out. The element we got was ready to go. The leads for the PID were attached. The replacement part was ready to install as it came. I agree the prices was high but it was a finished part. I wish it were possible to come with some more specific information. My active role in that drama was to fork out money. Numbers will be forthcoming.

Wager I suspect we are talking about different pots. No wager. People get offended when checks and credit cards are not accepted-cash only. :)

Added: I prefer to use a ladle. This use works out well using the MC pot. The bottom pour was not used until a run of bullets was made with the MC.




































t\
t
I'm sorry, sir, but I don't understand your point.

Magma E uses Watlow heater cartridges, or at least they used to.

Did you look at the link I sent? This is probably the proper heater cartridge, but as I don't have a broken ME Master Caster cartridge in front of me, I am working from memory. I took a wild guess at the wattage, and am probably correct on all accounts of the specification of this cartridge.

Again, it has been a very long time, sir.
  • It's been at least 20 years since I replaced a MC cartridge heater for the second time on my machine.

The cartridges that were in my Master Caster were identical, (right down to the Watlow markings) to the heater cartridges we used to compression test Hexcel mechanical load bearings at temperature that were used in the Arizona Palo Verde Nuclear generating plant west of Phoenix, a very long time ago.
  • The bearings that sit under the reactor vessel to minimize reactor vessel damage in an earthquake.

This is not complicated stuff, and I apologize profusely if I have misunderstood your thoughts.

Take care.

mac
 

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
.That element that was used to repair my pot is totally different from the pieces of the Watlow elements in your link. My background is not technical. Our replacement here was done in the last six months. From Watlow nformation we are talking about a "band heater," I'm not a technical person which makes it possible that I missed the mark. When the element failed there were wide swings in the temperature. The machine did not work. More information to follow. Thanks for your interest.
 
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Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
I want a master pot. Like the idea of more consistent alloy simply a larger volume. For that price I’m going to live with the smaller pots.
 

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
I suggest looking at the PID option also. I realize that options is expensive. But to me, it was such a tremendous improvement over what I had been using it was well worth the money. Get into using those pots and you can fly through serious amounts of lead.