How i make HOT percussion caps

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Awesome pocket! Im very glad it worked out for you! I have used a safety pin as well just like you but have since used the hex tool and have gotten used to it. The tool helps me compress the Duco glue and roll cap "dots" down to the bottom of the cap...real nice and tight and sealed from moisture. The Duco cement makes a huge difference in performance...its also my glue preference when making paper cartridges. Also a good thing about these caps is i can put them in a tin and shake them all around and not worry about the caps losing any of the priming compound....this glue makes sure everything stays put. Also the Duco cement doesnt negatively interfere with the priming compound as other glues can.
 
Oh also forgot to mention that the Deco cement can be thinned with acetone and used with a dropper if you need too. Ive tried it this way and it works just as good...and even used it when making caps from the Prime-all compound. It can help extend the amount of ur glue...although one tube makes a whole bunch of caps...hundreds...as u only need about half a drop if that per cap.
 
Yeah its great to be able to run ur guns on caps n powder u made. I make my own powder too, also pour my own lead...even made a custom .36 conical that has huge lube grooves and is my go to bullet. I experimented a lot with different charcoals for powder and have now settled on only using red alder. Cleanest fasted powder ive used. I also customize my cap guns internals for very slick action. So did u notice this method of homemade caps is alot cleaner than the prime-all mix made caps?
 
Hey TheOutLawKid,,

Your recipe is a winner, 6 cap dots and one drop of the DUCO glue...Kaboom !!!!!!
I did one thing different, I used a safety pin to load the cap dots into the cap hull.

Pocket, did you need to prime the nipples with black powder?
 
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Not at all. Just 6 cap dots and I drop of the Duco glue seated with the Allen wrench and it fired my homemade powder in my Uberti -Remington Pocket. I was impressed.
 
Yeah its great to be able to run ur guns on caps n powder u made. I make my own powder too, also pour my own lead...even made a custom .36 conical that has huge lube grooves and is my go to bullet. I experimented a lot with different charcoals for powder and have now settled on only using red alder. Cleanest fasted powder ive used. I also customize my cap guns internals for very slick action. So did u notice this method of homemade caps is alot cleaner than the prime-all mix made caps?
Yep. Soooo much cleaner than the PA.
I think I have watched every YouTube video about making these caps and this seems to be the best way that really works. That glue seems to be the key component.
 
Pocket, thank you for taking the time to try out my method. Im glad i was able to pass it on to others who would see the value of having this knowledge and put it to good use. I was surprised someone put it to the test so fast...thank you for helping me show others that this is a successful method.
 
Pocket you should invest in the sturdier brass sheeting...comes in .005 thickness and it makes the best caps. They are REUSABLE! They also stay whole and help concentrate the force of the primer in the direcrion of the nipple chamber. You can get the brass sheeting at Hobby Lobby and get it at 40% off with the online coupon that can be used online or in store.
 
That will be my next stop
HOBBY LOBBY here I come...

Ya know, this black powder gun hobby is kinda like catfiahing.
If some body said you can catch catfish with soured pig crap, we would try it at least once.
Same way with DYI percussion caps, gotta try it to see if it works.
This seems to be a good recipe !!!!!
 
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I agree the black powder gun hobby is quite the addiction. You wont regret using the .005 thick brass sheeting...just remember to use the 40% off coupon online. Ive experimented with so many ways of making caps and this is the best ive come up with and my favorite way of making them too. Once u get the hang of it and practice its really easy and fast to churn out an easy hundred. I like to punch out the cap hulls and get a nice pile of those while im doing something that doesnt take much concentration...likr watching tv etc.. then fill them with roll cap dots and glue at a later time when i can concentrate on what im doing.
 
Yep, thats the coupon. Quit question...what wood charcoal do you use for your black powder?
 
Yikes...mesquite?! Isnt that too slow of a charcoal? Even the firework makers steer clear of it. Have you not tried willow or alders for a faster performance powder? I currently get a lil faster than swiss powder numbers using red alder.
 
Do you add a binder and wet screen ur greenmill to grain size of preference or do you compress in a die and "corn"? I ball mill then compress in a die to make pucks and break up (corn) in a ceramic grinder and sift to my desired size...which is 3f. Corning is needed to get the best possible performance out of ur powder....but charcoal choice make or breaks ur powder.
 
Pocket...my friend...i urge you to read the sticky at castboolits forum about powder making. It has so much accumulated knowledge. Charcoal choice is what determines ur powders performance. Not just any charcoal will do...i mean it will go bang...but id rather get the the cleanest and fastest burning powder i can make. After i started trying different charcoalsa nd experimentinh i saw a huge difference in my powders performance. I urge u to read the castboolits forum sticky and read all the experimenting posts and knowledge thats posted. Fly is a member there and he makes amazing dies for compressing pucks and shares lots of knowledge. But i urge u to try better charcoal woods...if u have no access to willow then lemme know :) . I get my red alder from a friend up north who owns a charcoal company...thats my charcoal of choice. Clean and fast powder that beats swiss...not by much...but still beats it.
 
20190329_210550.jpg Went to Hobby Lobby at lunch today.
After the 40% off the .005 brass sheet was $2.33 TT &L.

That little sheet punched out 108 cap hulls.
The first thing I noticed was the thicker material produced caps hulls with a flat bottom vs the lighter soda cans that always had a rounded bottom. Very nice!!
 
$2.33 huh? In my opinion thats well worth the small investment for reusable caps! Hmm i usually get the 1 foot wide by 5 foot long roll...its usually about 5 bucks total and i get 48-50 per inch of material..i just punch them really close together almost touching and it helps make the most of the material. So i get a minimun of 2,880 hulls per 5 foot long roll. In this pic you can see how close i punch each hole to the other...im cheap and dont like wasting material lol.
20190323_134305.jpg
 
Id also recoment the .005 aluminum sheet rolls at hobby lobby, cost about 5 bucks without coupon. 10 feet long. Its a strong material and beats messing with cans. It isnt as strong as the brass but still a good material. I use both...and sometimes i double layer the aluminum but its not an absolute requirement for usable caps...more of a personal preference. Ive tried using the aluminum roof flashing that measured .0078 and it was too strong of a material..i think its mixed with other metals because it almost broke teeth off of my cap maker...definately dulled it. I recommend steering clear of roof flashing.
 
Awesome! The brand you got, K&S precision metals, is the only brand ill use as ive noticed their brass and aluminum is always consistent. I had gotten some off brand .005 aluminum on amazon and it was very flimsy, had to double layer the material just to make it as strong as the K&S brand even tho they both measure .005
 
I found 2 posts on THR warning about the danger of accidental detonation of toy caps during capping due to their extreme sensitivity.
It happened to 2 people when each of their guns fired by accident.
They did not specify exactly which type of toy caps were being used but I'm pretty sure that they were using plastic toy caps.
But please please please be careful using any kind of toy caps in place of percussion caps since both paper and plastic toy caps are made from the same impact sensitive material.
I wish that I could retract my previous posts in this thread about using plastic toy caps. But since I can't, I can only issue this warning.

Here's the 2 posts:

Skinny 1950 posted:--->>>[Post #41] https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...rcussion-cap-maker.351665/page-2#post-7036183

I was using toy caps for quite a while with my Uberti 1851 Navy until a cap went off as I was putting it on the nipple,the ball shot out the side of the gun hit the frame and shaved a slab off. I don't know where the ball went but I sustained a minor injury to my thumb. Good thing it was pointed downrange or someone could have been hurt. Up to that point the toy caps were working great as they don't jam up the gun like the CCI #11's. Anyway the toy caps go off a lot easier that metal ones and could lead to injury.

Busyhands94 posted:--->>>[Post # 22] https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...er-thumb-to-seat-the-cap.649105/#post-8034499

Just an FYI guys, do NOT use toy caps in your percussion guns. Although they are cheap and plentiful they are so dang easy to set off it's scary. The sensitivity is many times more than just a percussion cap, it's very dangerous.

I once had my NAA companion go off from using toy caps as the primers, I was putting the cylinder in (I was in my room, going out to the shop to shoot) and I had three chambers discharge due to the gun being loaded with toy caps. It scared my mom pretty bad, it made me jump. I'm a jumpy guy, kinda paranoid sometimes. But stuff exploding is one of those things that makes me cringe. Using toy caps to ignite blackpowder is a dreadful habit. Don't do it!

Also, an SASS member permanently damaged his thumb in 1986 when a regular percussion cap detonated by thumb pressure during capping and the gun fired out of battery.
It was a very rare situation and there's only been a few documented cases found. But this is one of them.
Use a push stick when capping especially if using home made or toy caps and always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction during capping in case the gun fires out of battery.

index.php


The details from the victim can be read about in this post by makos_goods:--->>>[Post # 7] https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/cap-last.585328/#post-7220032
 
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Thanks for the headsup articap. Im very aware of the dangers and try my best to take precautions as i advise everyone else to do. When i first made them without glue they were sensitive, especially when i used just the red plastic caps and had a couple go off testing on empty chambers (one reason i dont use plastic ring caps on nipples)...but when i made them myself and doused them in Duco cement it made them less sensative to shock. I test my caps A LOT...this is gonna be emberassing...but i actually shoot these caps in empty chambers messing around the house when no ones home (Kinda like an adult version of a toy cap gun)...im guessing that its the Duco cement thats cushioning the priming compound and keeping them from being so sensitive. Although i never seat with my finger...wooden dowel or hammer is what is used to seat the caps. I ask all of you to take articaps post very serious as ur safety should be ur number one priority. So please use a dowel to seat these caps , or ur hammer if u can safely do so and only if u feel comfortable doing so.
 
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