My thoughts/opinions on cap making

[NorthFork]

I use a rubber mallet and almost never have a bad cup. Any bad ones I get are because I'm being too stingy with the aluminum and end up punching 2 holes too close together. Otherwise, they all look the same to me and they all work well.

I use Duco and that has been a major game changer. I mix it about 60/40 acetone/duco in an old nail polish container and give 2 drops per cup.

I recently smacked a CCI cap on the anvil just to compare. Hadn't done that for a while. Sounded like a cute little *snap* compared with the 22RL ones that give a distinct *POW!*

Yes, the 22 Reloader caps are definitely more energetic.

 

[Muzzle57]

I use a rubber mallet and almost never have a bad cup. Any bad ones I get are because I'm being too stingy with the aluminum and end up punching 2 holes too close together. Otherwise, they all look the same to me and they all work well.

I use Duco and that has been a major game changer. I mix it about 60/40 acetone/duco in an old nail polish container and give 2 drops per cup.

I recently smacked a CCI cap on the anvil just to compare. Hadn't done that for a while. Sounded like a cute little *snap* compared with the 22RL ones that give a distinct *POW!*

Yep, mine are at least twice as loud as the cci’s. Don’t know if that equals more power, but they sure sound good.

 

[Trapper-Jack]

I mixed up a batch of the priming compound last night, enough to load up 15 caps. I used the acetone fingernail polish remover from the dollar store. I dumped in what I had left over of the IMR 4064 but I believe it was more than I needed. It has about a quarter inch of a goo sludge in the bottom of the bottle so I just used the saturated acetone from the top of the bottle. I used a coffee stirring straw to put the drop into the cap, like a pipette. I could do three caps per each dip of the straw. Tried a couple this morning and as you guys say, they are way loud. Thanks guys for the info.

 

[n.h.schmidt]

I should bring this up. When I press the powders down. I do this dry .I long ago tried to do it like in the instructions. What a cluster mess.Never again. Power is hard to judge. I have had some using toy pistol caps and even match heads ,sound powerful. They just didn't work well at all. The match heads ones could not set off hardly anything. The toy pistol role caps can work but not well with pyrodex and I had to use so many that the price was too high.
A pipe cleaner works for me as a dip stick .Holds a lot of binder and is cheap

 

[büchsenmacher64]

We all know #10/#11 caps are near impossible to find. And will be for the near future. Much has been said about the 22Reloader dies and primer compound. In my opinion if you are not making caps you are in a tough spot.

I have have had both the #10 and #11 cap dies and primer compound for over 1 year now. I have had many struggles and disappointments. Here are my OPINIONS on making caps.

Read the darn instructions!

1. If you do not have an arbor press or a reloading press you will have a lot of cap cup rejects. Any sideways pressure on the die results in very poorly made cap cups or flat out failures in either single thickness aluminum pop cans, doubled up pop cans, or .005" thickness brass stock. I use my reloading press. I am able to get 9 out of 10 perfect caps. If I use hand pressure or a hammer, I'm lucky if I get 5 out of 10 acceptable cap cups.

2. Mix the ingredients EXACTLY as described. NOT heaping scoopfuls, but level scoopfuls.

3. Use exactly 1/3 scoop (small end!!) of mixed compound to fill cap cups. I use a 3" by 2" piece of paper folded longwise as a funnel to get the primer mixture from the scoop to the cap cup.

4. I use acetone as the solvent. 1 drop per cap cup.

5. I then use a special binder. I got this from the cast boolits forum. Dissolve a single base (NOT a double base) smokeless powder (does not matter which) in acetone in a sealed pint mason jar. It will form a viscous goo after a few days wait. Put one drop via a toothpick on the primer compound.

6. Wait 24hrs. This makes for a nearly waterproof, very hot and powerful cap that will result in a 100% success rate. The single base smokeless powder dissolved in acetone makes a hard tough highly flammable binder/glue,

I have no intentions of ever buying percussion caps again, at any price, no matter how cheap, after a few months of making and using these caps. Hope this helps someone.














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How much single base powder to acetone mixture please? Thanks for sharing your research!

 

[NorthFork]

How much single base powder to acetone mixture please? Thanks for sharing your research!

It does not take much. Sorry I don't have a scientific measurement for you. I put a spoonful into a pint mason jar and it took filling the jar almost all the way up with acetone to fully dissolve the spoonful of powder. All you want is a runny goo. It dries fast and hard/tough.

 

[Trapper-Jack]

I used maybe a half teaspoon of the IMR 4064 in a 7 ounce bottle of acetone fingernail polish remover. I've got powder goo in the bottom that would not absorb into the acetone. When the acetone gets used down I plan to add to the existing. That may take a while though.

 

[Muzzle57]

Maybe a magnet would work. I was thinking that a 1" threading die holder with a 1/2" shank for use in a lathe would be almost perfect for this Kitts sells this kind of stuff . Low prices too. I guess NorthFork and I have different ways to make things work After putting the powder in I press it down dry. It gets very compact and then I use the binder. Whatever that may be ,there are so many binders that work. I also get 100% success out of the last two years in matches.

I expanded my die with a 7/16” steel ball bearing from Rural King. Also ordered a 1” die holder with 1/2” shank for my drill press. Bound to work better than using a hammer.

 

[AlexB]

I don't use the tan bag and mix duco cement in acetone at 10:1 for a binder.
Dry tamp first then two drops on top.
100% and since I started doubling the can layers zero cap fall offs.
Not getting 2000 caps per batch though maybe half that.

 

[AlexB]

540 N Hwy 50 Business Loop

Olathe CO 81425
Not sure why this won't get out of my head but it's just.........bugging me.
That is the shipping address for both 22lrsharpshooter.com and also 5ddefense.com.
The address itself is registered to a company called sample solutions llc.
Seems kind of weird or is that a liability thing or is it what?