Making your own percussion caps?

[bakerjw]

Try using just the Red plastic caps. I use them on all my #11 percussions. With real black though.

So you take a red plastic cap and add some black powder to it?

 

[Tasbay]

So you take a red plastic cap and add some black powder to it?

No I just use the red toy cap they are called Star Caps and come in a sealed flat pack of 72. I always use real Black and lay the rifle over and slap the action to make sure some powder goes into the flash channel. Make sure you carry a pin on you somewhere to dig out the little red plug that sometimes get left behind in the top of the nipple.

 

[Stephen_D]

Tannerite will soon be off the market. ...

That really doesn't matter because it's so easy to make at home, and the homemade mixture doesn't require the energy from the impact of any bullet. You can set it off with a flash powder firecracker.

 

[Stephen_D]

Today I shot my 54 cal Lyman GPR using homemade powder, and caps I made with the #11 percussion cap maker and Prime-All. They worked every time. I don't have to rely on Goex or CCI any more. I'll have to chronograph my loads someday. But the thump was solid with a 230 gr ball and 80 gr of FFFg.

 

[Zonie]

One of the forum rules:

42: Members may not discuss the making of black powder or post links to web sites that offer instructions for making black powder.

 

[Kappa]

You can buy nitrocellulose lacquer online, fireworks suppliers and such. It works great, burns completely and can be thinned as much as needed.
BUT!!!!

GREAT CARE needs to be taken when you have anything more than tiny amounts of the friable compounds inside the caps. The amount needed to go from just burn to explode in an uncontained area is not that much. It is dangerous stuff. If you try to combine your own, which you can buy the supplies for, be prepared to get hurt. I've been making fireworks for year, I am licensed by the BATF and have the proper set up... and I don't mess with anything but the smallest amounts of flash or picrates.
Commercial caps and powders have a long history of built in safety that you won't have at your work bench.

 

[Kappa]

And how!

 

[user 34300]

Sorry if that been covered already.....Foresters Tap-O-Cap advised to use toy roll caps. They provided a hole punch of the right size. You punched out the dot of pyrotechnic mixture and put it in the cap you made with a little dowel. It took two dots to make reliable caps. It is important to wear safety glasses because one in 100 the caps fires when you cut it out.

One could experiment with a grain of 1F or ?? under the paper cap for more zing.

All real lacquer is nitrocellulose in solvent.

I absolutely would never make priming compounds at home. I have been injured by such endeavors one to many times. That stuff got old when I was a teenager.

 

[Brokenbear]

How does the over all height of the cup that the Sharpshooter tool creates compared to a Remington #11 or a RWS #11 equivalent

I ask because my Colt 1849 Pocket uses a #11 primer HOWEVER.. it only uses a Reminton which is the shortest in height as compared to "normally" available brands in the USA

The RWS is a taller cup than the Remington ..to the degree that due to the backing plate the Remington will barely start on and seat ....the RWS will not start on due to length with out severe deformation

Of course both slide on the nipple handily when cylinder is off the frame ..so they bot fit ..just the RWS is too long/tall go on the way the Colt is made

I have 400 RWS #11 (1075 I think is actual factory #) as trading material I suppose!!!!!!!!

Bear

 

[J. Paul]

One of the forum rules:

42: Members may not discuss the making of black powder or post links to web sites that offer instructions for making black powder.

And I apologized in advance 3 years ago or so about discussing it. It's legal and safer than the 5 gallons of gas in most garages that no one worries about

 

[Zonie]

And I apologized in advance 3 years ago or so about discussing it. It's legal and safer than the 5 gallons of gas in most garages that no one worries about

I wasn't addressing you.

I posted the forum rule so that others who haven't read the rules or have forgotten about it wouldn't get into discussing the making of black powder which would force me to delete their posts.

 

[VADSLRAM]

Sorry if that been covered already.....Foresters Tap-O-Cap advised to use toy roll caps. They provided a hole punch of the right size. You punched out the dot of pyrotechnic mixture and put it in the cap you made with a little dowel. It took two dots to make reliable caps. It is important to wear safety glasses because one in 100 the caps fires when you cut it out.

One could experiment with a grain of 1F or ?? under the paper cap for more zing.

All real lacquer is nitrocellulose in solvent.

I absolutely would never make priming compounds at home. I have been injured by such endeavors one to many times. That stuff got old when I was a teenager.

Not so. Most of the newer lacquers are one form or other of a polyurethane. They are more resilient as a covering but they most definitely don't burn cleanly. Plus they are "safer" BECAUSE they don't burn as well. Like Nitrocellulose film vs plastic.

 

[mooman76]

Sorry if that been covered already.....Foresters Tap-O-Cap advised to use toy roll caps. They provided a hole punch of the right size. You punched out the dot of pyrotechnic mixture and put it in the cap you made with a little dowel. It took two dots to make reliable caps. It is important to wear safety glasses because one in 100 the caps fires when you cut it out.

One could experiment with a grain of 1F or ?? under the paper cap for more zing.

All real lacquer is nitrocellulose in solvent.

I absolutely would never make priming compounds at home. I have been injured by such endeavors one to many times. That stuff got old when I was a teenager.

I actually gave someone the idea when we were discussing how to make them better. He went with it and said it worked very good for him. H used a CF fired primer cup as a dipper that he made soldering a piece of wire to the cup.

 

[Ponderosaman]

Not so. Most of the newer lacquers are one form or other of a polyurethane. They are more resilient as a covering but they most definitely don't burn cleanly. Plus they are "safer" BECAUSE they don't burn as well. Like Nitrocellulose film vs plastic.

I found that banjo picks (the plasticky thumb ones) are made out of some kind nitro cellulose. I wanted to heat it to bend it to a more comfortable shape with a lighter and it went up like a firework. You have to heat them in boiling water to form those picks.

 

[user 34300]

"Not so. Most of the newer lacquers are one form or other of a polyurethane. "

Then that is not lacquer. Look up the MSDS the product and see what you have.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3836825263...001&customid=35eb10db0a02fd965c2183b945cb9a2a
You could also dissolve some smokeless powder in acetone.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I found that banjo picks (the plasticky thumb ones) are made out of some kind nitro cellulose. I wanted to heat it to bend it to a more comfortable shape with a lighter and it went up like a firework. You have to heat them in boiling water to form those picks.

Ping Pong Balls also....

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Duco cement is a nitrocellulose-based glue. 3Rivers Archery sells a "Nitrocellulose Adhesive Fletching Glue" intended for use in attaching feather fletching to arrows.

I've good good results with caps made with a small amount of 3Fg black powder topped with two dots from paper roll caps in my cap and ball revolvers, sealed with a drop of Duco. It works to reliably set off Triple 7 in paper cartridges.

I specifically tested with T7 and paper cartridges to see if they were hot enough. They should have no problems setting off real BP.

I made a scoop from a spent large pistol primer glued to a piece of bamboo from a chopstick to measure the BP for use in my caps. I used one scoop.

I made another batch and sealed the caps with cyanoacrylate cement (AKA superglue). I hope to test them this weekend.

 

[Archer 756]

Just got my punch question has any one notice any difference with any alum cans that might have thicker wall thickness or thinner

 

[n.h.schmidt]

Yes There is some difference.It is slight though. The Pepsi brand cans are .004 thick. The other brands usually come out at .0035. The bigger ounce beer cans are .006 thick. I make mine using two pop can layers. You get your pop can all cut out and flat. Fold in half the long way. Flatten the crease and even out the other edge with your cutters. Insert the trimmed edge and start punching them out. when done with that trim off the punched out edge and start again. With care I can get 48 cups from a can. Here there is a .005 deposit on cans. So I get nearly 10 cups per penny. The two ply cups are much tougher and just work better.
n.h.schmidt

 

[VADSLRAM]

"Not so. Most of the newer lacquers are one form or other of a polyurethane. "

Then that is not lacquer. Look up the MSDS the product and see what you have.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3836825263...001&customid=35eb10db0a02fd965c2183b945cb9a2a
You could also dissolve some smokeless powder in acetone.

MSDS on Minwax brushing lacquer, Has cellulose nitrate AND isomers and epoxy polymers. Most of the spray and brushing lacquers follow suit. The one you looked at is a specialty coating for instruments. NC has less elasticity and is supposed to make a crisper sound board... or so the snooty makers will tell you.
Section 3. Composition/information on ingredients 1-Butanol ≥10 - ≤25 71-36-3 n-Butyl Acetate ≥10 - ≤25 123-86-4 Methyl n-Amyl Ketone ≤10 110-43-0 Cellulose Nitrate ≤10 9004-70-0 Di-isobutyl Ketone ≤10 108-83-8 Xylene, mixed isomers ≤10 1330-20-7 Acetone ≤10 67-64-1 2-Propanol ≤5 67-63-0 Ethylbenzene ≤2.3 100-41-4 4,6-Dimethyl-2-heptanone ≤3 19549-80-5 Epoxy Polymer <1 1675-54-3 Heavy Aliphatic Solvent