Cap maker

[lead chucker]

Hey guys. I made a cap maker a while back and have not had much luck making priming compound so i ordered some. while i wait for it i figured i would try to improve my cap cups so im trying to up load pics to see what you guys think.

[lead chucker]

can you tell the difference between them?

[lead chucker]

These are for a #11 caps and they seem to fit good. I would be easy enough to make one for #10 caps for my BP revolver. I like making things on my little lathe that might actually work for what im trying to do.

[Rockingkj]

Looks good. So a second die to tighten up the sides of the cap”? I have one of the commercially made cap makers and my only criticism is the sides of the cap is a bit sloppy looking. Two years ago at the NE state shoot that was all I used, homemade caps. Never had a failure. However I like to use my Cash capper and the homemades are too crude to work thru the capper. Your caps are an improvement on appearance.

[Rockingkj]

Ps you do super dandy lathe work.

[Sasquatch-1]

I like to use my Cash capper and the homemades are too crude to work thru the capper. Your caps are an improvement on appearance.

I was going to ask how well these work in the commercially available cappers.

[rancher1913]

ardvark reloading has several videos of making your own primer compound, they have it to 100% useful

[n.h.schmidt]

Having done this a few times,I have some questions.. Did you hand file the teeth? Why the extra push through die and punch? If you make one for musket caps you could sell them,there is some interest. I do like the nice look of what you have made. What lathe are you using?

[Gtek]

I love knurling, nice work!! One thing I think I see is something that I have a problem with, sweaty hands. The little pieces I have made I have been sending them for a little swim in some OSPHO (Phosphoric Acid) after a glass bead but not being required. Dry very well when removed and they seem to be a little less inclined to go off. I have been wanting to try the .2 of #4 covered with a cap gun cap then sealed with hair spray run. Cap material being aluminum?

[LAGS]

I bought a 22 Reloader cap maker a couple of years back.
The cap cups it makes work really fine made out of soda cans , pie pans and even .005" copper sheeting.
They are a little rough looking on the outside , but work great.
I made a forming plate and punch to run them thru to tighten up the outside to make them look more like a factory cap.
It is just a piece of steel plate with a hole drilled thru it.
I run the new formed caps thru it with a punch as it sits on a steel plate to flatten out the bottom of the cap.
Then push out the nicer formed cap as it sits over a block of wood with a hole drilled in it to catch the cups.
The caps fit the nipples so much better , and seem to fire better with the little dome on the cap flattened out.
Yea,
It is a little more work making the caps.
But to me , it is well worth it.

[Gtrubicon]

This is an excellent idea! I’m going to try this next time I make a batch of caps. What size hole are you using in the steel?

[LAGS]

I will have to go dig out my steel plate and see what the final dimensions are on the hole in the steel plate and what size the punch I made is for pushing it thru.
This design goes back to when I was a kid back in the '70's when I made my own caps using blocks of wood with holes drilled in it to form the caps.

[LAGS]

I went out and checked my tools that I made.
The 1/2" steel plate has a .201 hole drilled in it with a #7 drill bit.
Then I used a tapered hand reamer to widen out the one side to start the formed cup into the plate.
The punch I use is made out of an old 1/4" bolt with it turned down to .165"
This plate narrows the outside of the primer caps so they are not all raggedy flared like most cap makers produce.
They are not as perfect as a factory primer.
But they fit #11 nipples real good.
I can't post pictures right now of the set up I did.
But I will work on that and might have a friend post pictures when he comes over for me to teach him how to make his own primers.
You can probably just drill the hole in a hard block of wood.
But wood does wear out over time.
Now this plate and punch were made with a hand drill, file and long tapered hand reamer.
So you don't need to have a machine shop to make simple things like this

[Gtrubicon]

Thank you for the information. I will be making this set up.

[lead chucker]

Its a cheap 14 inch China mini lathe. I drilled the hole and then used a #21 reamer then countersink with a bigger drill bit so the cap would start strait. i put a taper on the top hole to help from tearing the cap. Polished it up a little bit and that was it. I used scrap steel from other projects that didn't turn out. Pretty elaborate for what it is. All you need to do is drill a hole in a pice of steel or aluminum and push the cap through, you would probably get the same results.

[lead chucker]

On the pop cans is it better to have the paint on the inside or outside or does it even matter? Does the primmer compound stick to the aluminum better than the paint?

[LAGS]

The finish on the pop cans doesn't matter.
In fact.
There is a finish on the inside too.
I actually prefer using aluminium pie plates or disposable aluminium cooking pans for my primers.
I do use .005" thick rolled copper sheeting for some caps.
I have used .005" thick brass too.
But it is harder and more expensive.
I have not had any issues with the priming compound coming loose if I use Duco Glue thinned with Acetone or nail polish thinned with Acetone.
But I have had issues if I use straight Acetone for a binder.

[Trapper-Jack]

I've been using doubled up beverage cans because we have quite a few of them. For the binder I've been using a single based smokeless powder dissolved in acetone. So far it seems to have worked well.

[n.h.schmidt]

Lags is right.There is a coating on the inside of the cans. I have not seen any problem when using the pop cans either way. I always double up the can or use 36 gauge .005 brass. The brass works really well in the revolvers as they don't fragment. If you resize them you can get another shot from them. I have used all the binders.Lately I use a fast pistol powder (700X) dissolved in acetone. The only binder that has not worked is the one in the kit. Duco cement is perfect as a binder. Nearly fool proof.
Lead chucker Do you mean 14inch between centers? What is the swing? I have a Austrian made lathe from Sears its a 8" X 18"

[Trapper-Jack]

My daughter was over today to check the sights on their rifles. She had some caps that she made last year using the supplied binder from Reloader 22. She had several that had lost the priming compound. She noted that it was the caps that had the painted side of the can inside the cap. They used the caps I had made and no misfires due to the caps. They are double layered with the silver side inside and out, painted sides together.