Home made caps

[user 54092]

I use a acetone nail polish mixture and find it holds it fine, the nail polish has to be thinned quite a bit or it'll clog the nipple. I might try the glue mix next, I saw one guy on u tube use Elmers clear glue and water.

 

[n.h.schmidt]

Elmer's school glue works .Three drops in a tablespoon of water. Shaken up in a small bottle and dripped into the cups with a dipstick. I have used this and it's ok. Best thing is almost everybody has Elmer's on hand

 

[n.h.schmidt]

I forgot to add this. If you are going to use the Elmer's and water binder,leave out the small off white bag of powder. . That will kill the charge.

 

[Shiloh]

I’ll try both doubling the smaller cans and trying some taller cans before trying to expand out the teeth. Thanks for the help.

update: doubling the can material did the trick. When I can get one of the tall cans I'll try that as well.

 

[mjpchief]

update: doubling the can material did the trick. When I can get one of the tall cans I'll try that as well.

I also doubled the can material and that worked great. Also have a batch drying that I used the tissue paper in. I like that method of sealing the compound. Will find out in the morning how well that works.

 

[mjpchief]

Using the tissue paper is the answer. Works great and no spillage of compound after drying. I have made a fixture out of wood to hold the caps while I fill them and cut the tissue paper. No more using needle nose pliers to hold the caps. And they go boom on the pistol. I think I have got this figured out with all the help and ideas received here.

 

[user 53891]

Received a cap maker for Christmas and have already made about 50 caps. So far they are working fine but was wondering about production procedures of these caps. The kit comes with a compound that you mix together for the caps. What I was wondering about is there are 4 parts that you mix together to get the compound. These 4 parts come in 4 different bags and mixing these parts together can be kind of tedious. Are these 4 parts measured out equally in these bags. Could a guy just mix all the bags together at once and just use what’s needed out of a common container when needed. Probably not necessary but would make mixing a lot easier if the 4 separate bags are measured out to be used up at the same time over time? Hope I made myself understandable in this question.

Contact the supplier and see what they say. We make our own also, probably different supplier though.

 

[longwalk]

I reload for my rifles and pistols, so I use empty large pistol tray that hold the primers to fill my homemade caps.

 

[TDM]

I have both the #10 & #11 22LR sets but not used them yet. I also bought a pack of .005" soft sheet brass to use when I do finally get around to it. Can't prove it by personal experience but older post on this say the soft brass and aluminum pie plates work well. I'm soaking up what y'all are saying about sealing the priming compound.

 

[rhart]

I have both the #10 & #11 22LR sets but not used them yet. I also bought a pack of .005" soft sheet brass to use when I do finally get around to it. Can't prove it by personal experience but older post on this say the soft brass and aluminum pie plates work well. I'm soaking up what y'all are saying about sealing the priming compound.

I either read or watched a YouTube video that seemed to imply that .005" thick copper sheet is what used to be used in making caps back in the 1800's and that they had less "cap-sucking" issues on the pistols. I could be wrong as my memory isn't what it used to be...

 

[TDM]

I either read or watched a YouTube video that seemed to imply that .005" thick copper sheet is what used to be used in making caps back in the 1800's and that they had less "cap-sucking" issues on the pistols. I could be wrong as my memory isn't what it used to be...

Interesting, I'd think some .005" soft copper would work really good. Have to look for some.

 

[mjpchief]

While the double layer of Pepsi can works fine I tried using an aluminum pie pan. Tried it single and double layer. The double is best but the caps were not as consistent as the Pepsi can. Will try some copper sheet next as soon as I find some. To those who have used the copper, did you use a single layer or double layer?

 

[BackDraft]

I have both the #10 & #11 22LR sets but not used them yet. I also bought a pack of .005" soft sheet brass to use when I do finally get around to it. Can't prove it by personal experience but older post on this say the soft brass and aluminum pie plates work well. I'm soaking up what y'all are saying about sealing the priming compound.

I bought .01” sheets. Saw on here about doubling up pop cans and thicknesses of each layer was between .004” and .006”; makes .008” and .012”. Be interesting to see how it works out.

 

[TDM]

I bought .01” sheets. Saw on here about doubling up pop cans and thicknesses of each layer was between .004” and .006”; makes .008” and .012”. Be interesting to see how it works out.

Yes, anxious to here how that works for you. Looking around yesterday I found a variety of copper on Amazon with 1mm(.004) and 2mm(.008) thickness. Probably had thicker ones too.

 

[n.h.schmidt]

TDM You need to add a decimal point to your MMs .Like .1mm and .2 For instance .004 =. 1016mm. I would not start getting this so thick with brass as it's going to be very hard to pound out and could break or bend the teeth on the punch. I do use soft .005 brass myself for my revolvers. That is difficult enough as it is.

 

[TDM]

TDM You need to add a decimal point to your MMs .Like .1mm and .2 For instance .004 =. 1016mm. I would not start getting this so thick with brass as it's going to be very hard to pound out and could break or bend the teeth on the punch. I do use soft .005 brass myself for my revolvers. That is difficult enough as it is.

You are correct!!! My mistake.

Just added the appropriate decimals.

 

[Piquant]

I use .003 shim stock in a single layer for mine. I experience no issues. Are there any machine shops near y'all. I bet you could get a piece cheaply.

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

I went to a craft store and bought some .005 copper sheets (on a roll.) I also set up the punch with an arbor press so I get consistent pressure and depth to the punch. Now i get usable caps. My only problem to date is drying out and losing the priming mixture from the caps if they are not carefully handled. I keep them in a primer tray with individual holes, which helps, but if they are jarred, they lose content. Clearly this is a tool for emergency use, not to make a large supply of caps for regular use (imho).

ADK Bigfoot

 

[TDM]

I've read older threads where cheap hairspray was used to seal/stabilize the mixture.

 

[Piquant]

I've read older threads where cheap hairspray was used to seal/stabilize the mixture.

Just don't spray to close.