leather capper

[tblack]

I just saw a leather capper offered as part of a gun package. How are these made and how good do they work.

 

[SgtSchutzen]

They`re usually pieces of thick leather with holes punched in them to hold the caps. The holes are of a size to snugly hold the caps that are pressed into them. To use you put a cap on the nipple then peel away the leather. They actually work pretty good. Better than fumbling around with them little bitty caps with your fingers. I used to use them all the time, but now I have a brass capper I like.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've made and used them plenty. Use leather about the same thickness as a cap. I drill the holes on a drill press about 1/8" in from the edge the cut a slit to the edge with a razor blade. Can be made in any shape or size you want. IMHO, much easier to use than the fancy brass or silver cappers. And we have several of those, they look neat but are difficult to use. BTW, the leather ones will last many years. And, they are cheap. Scrap leather and five minutes work.

 

[Supercracker]

Another bonus to making your own leather capper. When I made one to use with my Kodiak double rifle. I also left a tag of leather hanging with another hole punched in it. Then I dipped that in beeswax. After I put the cap on the nipple I can take this waxed hole and put down over the cap, twist it around and pull it off. This left a tiny bead of wax around the base of the cap and sealed it to the nipple for extra waterproofing. A big consideration in Florida.

 

[shortbow]

I've used them for years and find them the best way.

I make them with 10oz veg tan leather. I cut two same size disks about two inches diameter. In one, punch cap size holes much the same as Rifleman says and cut the slit, same.


But I then glue this holey disk to the other one without holes except for one in the middle thru with I run a thong to hang the capper from my shooting pouch strap. This second layer of leather helps keep the caps in and also provides a backing plate that allows you to exert more pressure when capping and keeps the whole shebang working right.

 

[tblack]

Thanks for the info. I had never seen one until that add. I am new to muzzleloading and am "ate up ". Love everything about it. Will make a few of the cappers myself.

 

[BrownBear]

Watch the weight (thickness) and temper (stiffness) of the leather. For my tastes 4-5 oz leather with a fairly hard temper works best. Each oz equals 1/64", so 4-5 oz is 1/16 to 5/64" thick. Perhaps not coincidentally, that's the weight preferred by lots of folks for making muzzleloader shooting bags- lotsa scrap laying around.

For comparison most new western-style belts are usually too thick at 8-9 oz, but about the right stiffness. Look at what Tandy has to offer about leather thickness and other characteristics. If you don't have a bunch of leather scraps laying around, they sell scrap bags. It's a very generous quantity for not much money, and these days they do a bit of a sort for type. "Tooling" leather is what you want.

 

[tblack]

I have some leather scraps but did not know about the weight. Thanks for the information. I am really looking forward to making cappers and all the other things used.

 

[BrownBear]

Have a ball with them!

One correction on my previous post. I was in the Tandy catalog just now putting together an order, and the remnant bag I references is called "veg tanned" rather than "tooling."

 

[tblack]

Thanks again