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Thread: cap making dies

  1. #21
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nobade View Post
    I have been wondering about the feasibility of having a set of dies made that work like Patmarlin's checkmaker dies, only used to make percussion caps. Since the Forster tap-o-cap is no longer on the market, I would think such a setup would be attractive to a fair number of people. What say ye?

    -Nobade
    Nobade, getting back to your original question, I think a number of people would be interested in the dies you propose..... including hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of shooters living outside the U.S.

    The filler for the hulls is not a great hurdle. Some people make their own blackpowder, and believe it or not, some people mix their own primer compound for percussion caps.

  2. #22
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    I think I'll try Hatcher's compound. The Cap maker looks like an interesting project for my machining students.
    Last edited by drhall762; 03-15-2013 at 07:39 AM.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
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  3. #23
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    I found the antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate and sulfur all from this source: http://pyrochemsource.ecrater.com/
    Prices are pretty good as is shipping. We shall see how prompt they are as I ordered 1# of each.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  4. #24
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drhall762 View Post
    I think I'll try Hatcher's compound. The Cap maker looks like an interesting project for my machining students.
    Drhall762, please keep us in the loop if your machining students work on this.

    Mixing the primer compound is straightforward, just use small quantities and never grind/stir the ingredients. Perotter offers some good tips for mixing in this thread -

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...iming-compound

    It was also mentioned that potassium chlorate can be made at home, using an electrolysis rig to convert potassium chloride (eg, water softener salt).... yes, it works..... for the time being, it is probably more convenient to get potassium chlorate from a pyro supplier.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master trapper9260's Avatar
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    I think in the past you can get cap making dies from Dixe gun works.Sorry if i spell worng because I got one usen soda cans to make them ,I do not remember for sure if that is where I got it from but can check . I did got a roller for my balls to cast for my .50cal to do ball and patch .you see a differnet in the way it shoots when you roll them I also do it with the 00 buck shot also.
    Life Member of NRA,NTA,DAV ,ITA. Also member of FTA,CBA

  6. #26
    Boolit Master
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    If the potency is too low for a rifle to fire could 22 casings be shortened and new plugs made to accept them, obviusly they could be lengthened for the right amount of compound? I like this thread, lets continue to become self reliant.
    Look twice, shoot once.

  7. #27
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    Just my opinion, but if we can swage .22 cases to make jackets, why not primer cups. I am going to thry both good old aluminium soda cans and come very thin copper. See what happens.

    On the chemicals, they shipped today. Gotta' say these folks are easier to deal with than Skylighter.

    On mixing, I so agree very small quantities and NO pounding. LOL.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master Nobade's Avatar
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    Yep, you can make about 100 caps with 2 grains of mix so no need to make a lot of it!

    -Nobade

  9. #29
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    As best as I can measure it, I load 1/2 grain of the KClO3-based primer compound into each Tap-o-cap hull.

  10. #30
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drhall762 View Post
    Just my opinion, but if we can swage .22 cases to make jackets, why not primer cups. I am going to thry both good old aluminium soda cans and come very thin copper. See what happens.
    A couple of years ago I was experimenting with alternatives to the Tap-o-cap and I came up with something rather unorthodox.
    I bought a 1960s-vintage gizmo called the "Mattel Vac-U-Form". I vacuum-formed 0.02-inch-thick polyethylene (ie, milk jug plastic) over the points of 8-32 machine screws, and then I trimmed the little plastic cups to the proper length.
    The plastic conformed to the screw threads so the little plastic caps were internally ribbed, and they fit perfectly on the nipples of my Uberti revolver. The plastic caps seemed totally serviceable, but fabricating them was very time-consuming.....

  11. #31
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    Over here I posted some stuff on a ML made from a .30 caliber barrel. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...t-Twist-Rifles. Has some info in it about using .22 RF casings for primers. See no reason they could not be used with priming compound and a machined nipple to fire any ML.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  12. #32
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Instead of making caps fit the nipples, we could make nipples fit the caps..... I applaud this "outside the box" thinking.

    If .22 rimfire brass was not available, I wonder what else might be used (with custom-size nipples?).....

  13. #33
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    Since it is the compound that is shock sensitive and the striking of the "cap" onto the nipple that causes the firing, the gates are pretty much open. Molded plastic could be an option. Virtually anything that will contain the compound and direct the flash even somewhat should work. If the plastic cap-gun caps will work the bar isn't too terribly high. Looks like this just became an experimenters dream.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  14. #34
    Boolit Buddy

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    UPS just delivered the chemicals. Now to find some time to get busy.
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  15. #35
    Boolit Master newton's Avatar
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    Please take pictures and good notes on your adventure. It would be a very cool thing to see how it goes for you and could help out a lot of us in our future endeavors.

  16. #36
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drhall762 View Post
    UPS just delivered the chemicals. Now to find some time to get busy.
    Here's an idea I found useful for loading the wet-mix "sludge" into the empty Tap-o-cap hulls -

    I built a simple tool for loading - I took a 8D framing nail, filed off the point, and lathed a "skinny section" in the center of the nail. Then I took a short length of 5/32" brass tube (from the hardware store) and crimped one end down around the "skinny section" in the nail. After the nail and brass tube were joined together, I carefully filed off the other end of the brass tube so that when the nail head is pulled away from the brass tube, it opens up a small chamber which is 0.10 inch deep. When the nail head is pushed toward the brass tube (like a tiny syringe), the material in that chamber will be expelled.




    I use a small knife blade to pack the moist "primer sludge" into the chamber of the loading tool, then I expel the sludge into an empty percussion cap hull. Next I use the butt end of a 9/64" drill bit to hand-press the sludge down into the base of the hull. Be gentle, it only takes one or two pounds of force. Allow the cap to dry out overnight and it's ready to use.

  17. #37
    Boolit Grand Master Nobade's Avatar
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    That is a pretty good idea. I would thoroughly clean it after use though, any dry dust that accumulated between the nail and the tube could be ignited the next time you used it.

    What do you wet your primer mix with? Alcohol I would imagine? Or Acetone?

    I like the ideas of using spent 22LR cases as caps. I haven't checked yet, but if they were derimmed using the available swage dies for making bullets out of them, and then trimmed to length, I wonder how close they are to fitting on a musket cap nipple? Something I need to look at.

    -Nobade

  18. #38
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nobade View Post
    That is a pretty good idea. I would thoroughly clean it after use though, any dry dust that accumulated between the nail and the tube could be ignited the next time you used it.

    What do you wet your primer mix with? Alcohol I would imagine? Or Acetone?
    The primer mix I use includes 2% shellac as a binder, and I wet the mix with denatured alcohol. The mixtures dries out rapidly, so it's necessary to add a few more drops of alcohol periodically to maintain the desired "toothpaste" consistency.

    Yes sir, I learned the hard way about cleaning that tool immediately after use.... it didn't go "bang" but I had a heck of a time trying to clean it after the shellac had hardened/dried out.

  19. #39
    Boolit Buddy

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    Do you use standard yellow shellac from the pyro houses?
    Dave

    In 100 years who of us will care?
    An armed society is a polite society.
    Just because they say you are paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you!

  20. #40
    Boolit Buddy ofitg's Avatar
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    My dry chemicals (excluding the shellac) add up to 33 grains per batch - then I add 0.3cc of "Bulls Eye" Clear Shellac (from the hardware store) - this stuff is advertised to be 21% shellac solids by volume -



    Then I add a few drops of denatured alcohol to achieve a "toothpaste" consistency.

    I never tried the shellac from pyro suppliers, but I imagine it would work just fine.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check