Home made caps

You will find the binder that is in the kit( small off white bag) does not work well. Many just leave it out and use some other binder. As stated by Pioneer the Acetone and Duco cement binder is very popular. Two to three drops into a tablespoon of acetone and stirred. Use a dipstick to get a drop into the cups. There are other binders that work but this is foolproof.

I bought one of those. I haven’t been able to punch out a useable cap. They are lopsided and have holes torn in them.

mjpchief said:

Thanks for the answers. Probably would help if I made a scoop for loading the caps. Trying to figure out when the little scoop is 1/3 full is a pain. I think a scoop small enough to put correct amount in cap when scoop is level full would be a lot easier.

Click to expand...

I made a "scoop" by taking a spent small pistol primer from a 9mm case, used a pick to remove the anvil.....cleaned it up, then epoxied it to the end of a little dowel rod (I have wooden rod q-tips for gun cleaning, I just snipped off the tip).....anyhow, I have found that the volume of a small pistol primer cup works out pretty well

Shiloh. I have heard that some of these do not punch out very cleanly. Have you tried any other metals like copper or brass ? How about a double layer pop can? Fold the pop can lengthwise and iron out the crease and cut the outside edge to even it up.Doubled up I can punch out three rows of 17 each per can. They are much tougher than a single layer.I have worked on these dies to make them punch out cleaner I can do that to yours too. I work free on this. Beats not getting to use it.

I have not tried anything else as I was trying to follow the direction exactly. I will try doubling the can strips. Is there a de-burring I might need to do?

I have had better luck using the larger sized cans, the 16oz or bigger tall cans.

The bigger cans are thicker.006 as compared to pop cans .004. Doubled up you get .008 with pop cans. De-burring may help.The real problem is the sloppy fit of punch to the die. On my die set there was a .005 difference . I had to expand the cutting teeth outward to close that up.. Greatly reduced the problems.

I’ll try both doubling the smaller cans and trying some taller cans before trying to expand out the teeth. Thanks for the help.

Shiloh said:

I bought one of those. I haven’t been able to punch out a useable cap. They are lopsided and have holes torn in them.

Click to expand...

Too start make sure your holding the base vertical, so that the punch is not tilted on your cup material. Strike the punch with a firm blow from a rubber mallet.

I used a polishing ball for a die grinder to hone the inside of my punch. Your mileage may vary.

Do a search on line there are multiple people with various descriptions of making these puppies.

I’ve got the same kit you have. The instructions do mention that while mixing together the components to keep the container opening away from your face, so that’s a huge hint that mixing all together would be a terrible idea. Making the caps out of aluminum beer cans works for me but they don’t work in a percussion capper. Have fun and stay safe.

Definitely only mix in small batches. I have a very good friend who was EMT/Fire/Rescue at Lone Star Army ammunition plant, and have heard enough of his horror stories to heed warnings/suggestions.

I have the same kit, purchased mine from dixie muzzleloading. I use pop cans and pie tins doubled for caps. Made a scoop for filling them out of a 22 rim fire case and a17 hmr case that I drilled a 1/16 hole in then cut off and super glued a piece of 1/16 brass rod for a handle.

Found out that the binder in the kit doesn’t work very well as mentioned earlier in post. I decided to try super glue as a sealer. That didn’t work out at all. Lol.
This morning was talking to a shooting buddy about this project and he mentioned using a paper disc over the charge. I used my leather punch and with the correct diameter cutter I cut some paper discs out of notebook paper. I put the charge in the cap (I am now cutting double thickness cups) and put the paper disc over the charge and pressing it down with a kitchen match. The disc is a little larger than the cup so it will stay in place when pressed in. Made 5 and tried them. Every one of them fired and moved a piece of paper at the muzzle. Will make a few more and try them with a loaded chamber in a couple of days and see how they work. This has become an interesting project.

I personally don't fool with cutting the disks out. Once I add a drop of alcohol to the caps. Giving a minute for it to settle the primer. I use a strip of gift wrap tissue paper and a cut off #12 nail to pack and punch the paper into the cap. The alcohol wets the tissue enough to tear easily inside the cap.

Will definitely give that a try. Cutting discs is kind of tedious.

tgfrench said:

I personally don't fool with cutting the disks out. Once I add a drop of alcohol to the caps. Giving a minute for it to settle the primer. I use a strip of gift wrap tissue paper and a cut off #12 nail to pack and punch the paper into the cap. The alcohol wets the tissue enough to tear easily inside the cap.

Click to expand...

Sorry if I missed the answer to this question, how many tamp the primer down as per the instructions? I haven't since my first batch and can't tell if I have better results or not. Maybe someone hasn't and can say they noticed a marked improvement over hang fires. Or not.

Trgt said:

Sorry if I missed the answer to this question, how many tamp the primer down as per the instructions? I haven't since my first batch and can't tell if I have better results or not. Maybe someone hasn't and can say they noticed a marked improvement over hang fires. Or not.

Click to expand...

I don't tamp it. When I add 3/4 drops of acetone glue brew it levels it out for the most part and appears to shrink it somewhat. I use an eyedropper for the acetone glue brew. It works for me.

Does the paper disc clog the nipple? I tamp the mixture and use duco and acetone. Wondering if the paper disc will hold the priming mixture in cup better over a extened period of time with duco and acetone over top of paper.

What works best for me.I press the powder down once in the cups. Anything close fitting will do. You can use a lot of pressure if you want. I have used upwards of 40 lbs on this but now hand pressure is what I use. Then comes the binder like acetone/Duco cement or other. Let dry and done. Nothing else need be done. A paper disk is way too tedious

I have not needed anything more than just the paper. I have never seen any paper residue after the hammer fall.