Forgot I had these .........
Making Percussion Caps
- Thread starter Ironwrx
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I bet you could reuse those caps you make...
Funny my friend and I were saying the same thing
I have not tried it yet but will in the futureSandro_Ventania
40 Cal
Perfect!!!
longcruise
70 Cal.
Mine disintegrate. Much more so than commercial caps.
@Cliffdweller yours is probably a Tap a Cap. Still available at DGW. The Sharpshooter is virtually identical and I suspect are Ta a Caps that he bought up at a good price. I bought the Sharpshooter just to get the compounds too.
The one I have is made by Forster Products. It’s made to go in a press and the piece on the right to go in a shell holder, although when I used it, I just screwed it into the top of my press and just tapped it from the top without putting the other piece in a shell holder I’m still not even sure what size it takes. I have not gone through my shell holders to see if I have any that fit.
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longcruise
70 Cal.
That does seem to be a third option. It makes a nice cap.
Ironwrx
32 Cal
So, since I started this thread, a lot has happened. I set up the cap maker I had in an arbor press and punched out some caps made from Foster’s aluminum, some .005 copper, and some .006 sample brass from TMF member Songwriter (THANK YOU!!). I also procured an eye dropper bottle and mixed up a batch of 5:1 acetone/Duco to fix my Prime-All into the caps. I also made myself a mortar and pestle for breaking up Prime-All (powder L2) out of a concave bottom shot glass and a flat-backed glass gem epoxied to a dowel with a turned down pointed end for packing the wet Prime-All.
I originally set up the punch on the ram of my press with the die on the bottom. But quickly learned that it would be better with the die on the ram, and the punch on the bottom, so the formed caps could be harvested on the bottom. Eventually I will make a special punch holder that has a cap exit hole in the front. For now, my die held with a magnet to the ram and my punch hand held on a block seems to work well. And so much easier than punching with a mallet.
I found the Foster’s beer cans to be a lot better than soda can aluminum. And I think the cap to nipple retention to be better still with the .005 copper I got on eBay. But the staying power from the donated .006 brass was definitely the strongest. I’d say any of the aforementioned materials are good for caps, although I personally feel the copper and brass to be better for retention on the nipple.
I definitely like the 4:1 acetone/Duco mix for fixing the priming compound. 1 drop per cap is recommended, but I’ve heard 1-2 is ok. I’m going to try 2 and will get back with results. In the 20 shots I fired over the weekend. I only had one FTF. So, I feel as a novice cap maker, that’s pretty good.
I originally set up the punch on the ram of my press with the die on the bottom. But quickly learned that it would be better with the die on the ram, and the punch on the bottom, so the formed caps could be harvested on the bottom. Eventually I will make a special punch holder that has a cap exit hole in the front. For now, my die held with a magnet to the ram and my punch hand held on a block seems to work well. And so much easier than punching with a mallet.
I found the Foster’s beer cans to be a lot better than soda can aluminum. And I think the cap to nipple retention to be better still with the .005 copper I got on eBay. But the staying power from the donated .006 brass was definitely the strongest. I’d say any of the aforementioned materials are good for caps, although I personally feel the copper and brass to be better for retention on the nipple.
I definitely like the 4:1 acetone/Duco mix for fixing the priming compound. 1 drop per cap is recommended, but I’ve heard 1-2 is ok. I’m going to try 2 and will get back with results. In the 20 shots I fired over the weekend. I only had one FTF. So, I feel as a novice cap maker, that’s pretty good.
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Ironwrx Does the arbor press ram have a hole drilled into it from the bottom? If so how big is it? The reason I asked is you can get a threading die holder that may be able to have the stem fit that hole. The cap maker die has a body of .980 ( at least mine did) That would fit into a one inch die holder and is held with set screws. The die holder is only about $10 or so and could solve some problems. In my drill press setup I used a 2x4 With a shallow 1" hole drilled in the center and a 5/16" hole drilled all the way through the board in the center of that. I used big washers as hold downs to hold the punch to the board and clamps to hold the board to the table.
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Ironwrx
32 Cal
Ironwrx
32 Cal
N.H. Schmidt- thanks for weighing in on this. Yes the ram of the arbor press has a 1/2” hole in it. I have seen someone either here, or on some other forum who suggested the die holder as well. It’s definitely on my “to do” list. Luckily I also have a lathe and milling machine, so I plan on turning a die holder adapter myself. I’m sure the commercial ones are cheap enough, but homemade is cheaper still. And I do enjoy making my own tools. The punch holder (which is usually the die block) will have an angled hole in it from the center under the punch, to the front where the caps will come out. This is my idea how to make it. I’ll post when I get it made.
It seems kind of strange that the percussion cap punch and die makers, don’t make one that would work in a Lyman, Lee, RCBS or other standard reloading press. Oh well. I guess it’s all part of the fun. Happy cappin’ - Jon
It seems kind of strange that the percussion cap punch and die makers, don’t make one that would work in a Lyman, Lee, RCBS or other standard reloading press. Oh well. I guess it’s all part of the fun. Happy cappin’ - Jon
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What is the reactive ingredient?
First let me thank @Songwriter for sending me samples of his sheet brass to test! I made a batch of caps using the sheet brass and aluminum from a can of Dos Equis and my die and punch from 22 reloader.
First observation- the caps punched from the brass sheet were better looking than my beer can caps. They also required a heavier rap with my mallet to form the caps - not a problem, just a noticeable difference to punching caps from beer cans. After I punch the caps I put them through an 1/4” aluminum plate using a punch to push them through and flatten the bottom of the cap. See pics below.
I took them to my range yesterday and it took a lot of effort to get the brass caps onto the nipple of my rifle and a revolver. I think the thicker material results in a slightly tighter opening and I really had to work at getting them onto the nipples. Once I got them on they all worked perfectly. My beer can caps went onto the nipples easily and all caps fired flawlessly.
Interesting results from both type caps - most of the brass caps had holes blown through the top although a few stayed whole. The beer can caps all had gaping holes in the top - they are shown in the bottom of the following picture. I don’t see any way to reuse either of these type caps.
In conclusion I think I will stick with the aluminum caps simply because they are easier to put onto the nipples. Neither of these caps will work using my 3D printed cappers, but I normally will only use homemade caps on my rifles and stick with factory caps in my revolver.
@Songwriter, thanks again for sending me the brass to test and I am going to send you some samples of both type of caps and you can prime them and test them yourself
Gary
First observation- the caps punched from the brass sheet were better looking than my beer can caps. They also required a heavier rap with my mallet to form the caps - not a problem, just a noticeable difference to punching caps from beer cans. After I punch the caps I put them through an 1/4” aluminum plate using a punch to push them through and flatten the bottom of the cap. See pics below.
I took them to my range yesterday and it took a lot of effort to get the brass caps onto the nipple of my rifle and a revolver. I think the thicker material results in a slightly tighter opening and I really had to work at getting them onto the nipples. Once I got them on they all worked perfectly. My beer can caps went onto the nipples easily and all caps fired flawlessly.
Interesting results from both type caps - most of the brass caps had holes blown through the top although a few stayed whole. The beer can caps all had gaping holes in the top - they are shown in the bottom of the following picture. I don’t see any way to reuse either of these type caps.
In conclusion I think I will stick with the aluminum caps simply because they are easier to put onto the nipples. Neither of these caps will work using my 3D printed cappers, but I normally will only use homemade caps on my rifles and stick with factory caps in my revolver.
@Songwriter, thanks again for sending me the brass to test and I am going to send you some samples of both type of caps and you can prime them and test them yourself
Gary
Another member said this works fine out of a #11 cap maker for the #10 caps, does it or will we need the # 10?
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Ironwrx
32 Cal
Please go over your reply. This doesn’t make any send to me.
I miss typed. Does it? In other words will the # 11 cap maker work for #10 caps on revolvers?. Should make send to you now lol
Ironwrx
32 Cal
lol. I think it’s catching…readers beware…typo fever is running rampant.
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My Cap Maker is for the #11 size. The cups fit fine on my revolvers and I use the stock nipples mostly.
tgfrench
40 Cal
Interesting how we each want to reinvent the wheel. Just follow the directions. If your concerned with primer compound falling out. Either use the duco cement method. Or as I do place a single drop of alcohol in each cap, Wait a couple minutes for it to saturate the compound and using a #12 nail ground flat, punch and tamp a single layer of gift wrapping tissue into each cap. Let dry and fire away.
You will experience flying aluminum shards, so WEAR YOUR SAFTY GLASSES.
You will experience flying aluminum shards, so WEAR YOUR SAFTY GLASSES.
