How i make HOT percussion caps

Status
Not open for further replies.
Thanks freedom475! What kind of hairspray did you use? I omit the dextrin from the "prime-all" kit and used a single drop of non-aerosol hair spray (i screw the top off and just stick a dropper in)...it also takes place of using the alcohol/acetone. It worked great but i never tried and experimented on wether or not it was moisture proof. I love the simplicity of the prime-all kit but i don't like how when fired they leave a thick sticky orange/yellow residue that makes the hammer stick after only 2/3 shots...which i noticed is affected more so by humidity and in south texas its always very humid. I wish they sold roll cap mix like they do the prime-all kit.
 
TheOutlawKid said:
A couple people have asked me how i make percussion caps so im putting together this small post. Its my version of making some very reliable MOISTURE proof caps that are very stong/hot...and the best part is theyre very inexpensive. Materials needed are:
...
Click to expand...

Excellent, detailed, clear post. Thank you. I've tried the plastic ring caps like articap mentioned. They worked well on one of my percussion revolvers, although they seemed weaker than CCI or Remington caps.
 
I like the paper cap and Duco glue method from what I have read. Maybe I didn't put enough of the Prime All in each cap.

I'M gonna try the P A compound one more time.
 
Thank you for the kind words Dave Markowitz! I tried the plastic ring caps as well and they arent as strong...also i had a hard time fitting them onto my nipples. I did get them to work very well if carefully took out the paper cover inside the cap and put a little 3f or 4f powder inside over the explosive charge...then i had to put the little paper cover back on to hold the black powder in. I liked their performance as it worked amazingly well...but the plastic cups are just a tad bit too small and dont fit the nipples well...most slipped back off or split down the side. I actually have taken the explosive charge out of them and placed them in my homemade aluminum/brass caps...both with a small sprinkle of black powder and also by putting two explosive dots in...and they were HOT! I now only stick to the paper roll cap method as its more cost efficient and i get more caps per dollar...but both methods are still cheaper than buying caps.
 
Very good post! Never heard of the nipple primer.

In the past, folks have mentioned using the plastic ring caps and said that they worked.
Click to expand...

They do for revolvers but not so dependable for sidelocks. Bet they would be better with that treso nipple primer though, although I would expect a bit of a hang fire with that...
 
Thank you noelf2, and yes the nipple primer was a great find and i swear by its performance. It guarantees ignition on sidelocks (or any gun/rifle with a nipple) especially when using homemade caps...and you can make "weaker" caps and save on roll caps. For my caps that are used on my side lock...i make the caps weaker and only put one or two dots of the roll caps. So one $3 pack of roll caps makes me anywhere from 1200-2400 percussion caps. And to me that is a huge savings and allows me to stockpile on the cheap. I recommend the treso nipple primer to everyone especially if making homemade caps. Some people try to fill the cap with 3-4f black powder and place the roll cap on top to seal it in...it works ok but you lose powder easily and sometimes even the roll cap seal no matter how well you try and keep it all together with hair spray etc. Id rather avoid the hassle and just glue the roll cap dot inside the cap and use the nipple primer to prime the nipple.
 
This video shows how to make very powerful caps using the compound contained in plastic ring caps.
There seems to be a lot more of the compound inside the ring caps than in regular paper caps and more easily accessible.
Why not fashion home made percussion caps using the much easier to acquire ring cap compound?
That is, if the ingredients contained in the toy caps can't be duplicated by making it in bulk any other way such as by buying the ingredients from a fireworks chemical supply house.

 
Last edited:
TheOutlawKid said:
Thanks freedom475! What kind of hairspray did you use? I omit the dextrin from the "prime-all" kit and used a single drop of non-aerosol hair spray (i screw the top off and just stick a dropper in)...it also takes place of using the alcohol/acetone. It worked great but i never tried and experimented on wether or not it was moisture proof. I love the simplicity of the prime-all kit but i don't like how when fired they leave a thick sticky orange/yellow residue that makes the hammer stick after only 2/3 shots...which i noticed is affected more so by humidity and in south texas its always very humid. I wish they sold roll cap mix like they do the prime-all kit.
Click to expand...

I think it was aqua-net(?)...but it was 2015 last time I made them.

I used tweezers to place the cap shells into an empty primer tray.
Then I made a little powder dipper, by soldering a wire handle onto the base of a spent "Small" pistol primer.
Filled a Visine bottle with acetone (label it!!) for adding a drop to each loaded cap.

My humidity is not really an issue...but yes the caps made a mess so I just tried them to say I did it. If I ever run out of factory caps its nice to be able to keep shooting.

The roll cap mix is quite volatile so use Great care when seating caps...
 
In the video above, he mentions making Armstrong Mixture:--->>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong's_mixture

Apparently it's a very volatile & dangerous substance in its pure form as described in this pyrotechnic thread.---->>> https://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/10517-armstrong-mix/

So that idea should probably be nixed.

However, my next question is whether toy caps are erosive or corrosive?
I've seen them cause damage to toy cap guns over time, and wonder if they will cause any additional cleaning issues with percussion guns such as the 2nd generation
of priming compound did that contained potassium perchlorate.

 
Last edited:
They are corrosive but i clean my guns right away so ive seen no adverse effects. But not nearly as corrosive as any of the earlier primer formulas like murcuric or the H-48 formula. Corrosive is corrosive period...but some are faster acting than others. The prime-all (H-48/42 formula) and murcuric primers are far faster acting...the roll caps i use are no where near as fast acting. So long as you clean ur guns well you wont be able to tell your gun in shooting the roll cap made caps vs. the non-corrosive store purchased caps. And the roll cap method is armstrong mix but isnt as sensitive as one might think the way they are packaged as little dots between paper...ive actually never had a cap go off while tamping them down in the cap with the metal hex head tool...yet they are submersed in glue..i still do put quite a bit of pressure. But not one has gone off...yet they always go off when the hammer strikes them.
 
Ring caps have only about twice as much compound as the rolls..its specifies the amount on the back of the package. States its .023 gn on paper roll caps and .041 gn on the plastic caps. The packages cost the same price which is $3... Id rather have 2400 dots that measure .023 grains of compound rather than 216 caps of .041 grains. The math is in the favor of roll caps...as you could only make 108 percussion caps measuring .082 grains of compound with the plastic caps packet ( two dots of compound) compared to making 600 percussion caps of .092 grains of compound (4 dots of compound) per paper roll cap packet. So for 3 bucks i can make either 108 caps or choose to make 600....i choose the 600. Its also just as easy for me to slice off the 4 dots from the paper roll as it is to slice 2 plastic ring cups and remove the compound...ive gotten the method down pretty fast as im sure any of you could once you get the hang of it. Also these caps are actually cleaner than store bought caps that leave the nipples black and sooty. My homemade caps leave almost no residue.
 
Oh forgot to mention that if any of you have the prime-all mix (or H-48 mix) you can help stabilize it and extend its shelf life by adding 0.2 grains of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to every 3.0 grains of sulfur. This small amount of baking soda makes a huge difference in the mix and helps portect it from degrading and seriously improves shelf life. Im surpised the prime-all mix doesnt come with the baking soda already pre-mixed in...and you can also add 0.2 grains of fine aluminum powder to the same mix and help make a "hotter" cap...the aluminum dust shoots out of the nipple as burning hot particles and really helps alot to make a highly successful primer compound. So if you have the prime-all kit already and want to make the best of it then just add 0.2 grains of baking soda and 0.2 grains of fine pyrotechnic aluminum powder/dust (used for firework making) to every 3.0 grains of sulfur...mix it up really good with a mortar anf pestol and just follow the prime-all mix instructions. Believe me it makes a difference.
 
Oh btw...when using the treso nipple primer there is NO HANGFIRE or delay whatsoever....its actually makes the charge seem hotter than a magnum percussion cap. Its a very loud crack. Ive shot it as a test without powder and ball...just the primed nipple with about 3 quick pumps of the priming tool (you push down the spring loaded tip against the nipples tip and powder falls down into the nipple channel/chamber) and put a homemade cap made of only one roll cap dot on the nipple ...cocked the hammer pulled the trigger thinking it would just be as loud as a regular primer....heck no! It was a loud crack explosion sound...almost as if i had shot a small caliber powder and ball gun. I was very surprised...and so was everyone else in the house who rushed into the room thinking i finally blew myself up or shot off a toe tinkering with dangerous things. Treso nipple primers are an amazing tool...i recomend them to all muzzleloader shooters. I got mine on ebay for 12-15 bucks. Well worth it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Treso-Nipp...955165?hash=item568fb1655d:g:AfkAAOSw4GVYF-Oo

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Treso-Nipp...BYAAOSw8kRcOT55:sc:USPSFirstClass!78599!US!-1
 
Looking good Pocket! did you push down and compress the roll cap dots after u put the dot of deco cement? Its an important step...you want to get it all smushed down to the bottom of the cap. Cant tell in ur pic...but your caps look great! How many roll caps did you use?
 
I used 4 roll cap dots in each one. I may have been to hasty on the glue. Of those 5 red caps none burned the powder. I wasn't using the DUCO either... I used an off brand.

I am gonna get the duco and try again.

The others with the hair spray were all duds.
 
Heres a pic of what the spent caps look like...they stay whole and open up into the shape of a recess peices peanut butter cup and dont turn into small peices that ja up the works
20190324_190940.jpg
And heres a low quality video i made just a few mins ago just to show them perform...theyre actually alot louder in person...i think the cell phones microphone dulls down the sound. I turned on the light at the end so that you can see the flame shoot out of the muzzle end...the last shot shows me shooting the gun pointing it away from me so u will see two flashes with the top flash being the flaah at the muzzle and the bottom flash is the flash at the cap. Its the weaker 4 dot caps...i usually do 5-6 so they are a lot stronger (although not needed for lighting black powder)

 
arcticap said:
In the past, folks have mentioned using the plastic ring caps and said that they worked.
Available at the dollar store for about $1 per 96 caps.
Case price for 48 cards X 96 caps each is $48 at Dollar Tree.--->>> https://www.dollartree.com/super-bang-ring-caps-96-shot-packs/141209
Or from Amazon, 572 ring caps for $6.29 delivered.--->>> https://www.amazon.com/8-shot-plastic-shots-sheets-Total/dp/B00WRJM4LK
For a little more than a penny each they could work as emergency caps, especially if a nipple is primed with black powder.
Use them with cap keepers made from aquarium tubing if needed.
I haven't used alternative caps yet but 1st want to try the small pistol primers held in place with the correct size plastic tubing.--->>> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ol-primers-instead-of-percussion-caps.844697/
There are some other inexpensive options besides making your own.
Click to expand...
I tried the plastic ring caps and they are way too weak, unless as you stated you prime the nipple,(a real pain with revolvers)!
 
Thanks very well written and useful as another tool. Do you think that the cement being wet helps from cap going off when positioning the cap? Peashooterjoe
 
Yeah ring caps are too weak alone without priming or without atleast putting double or triple the priming compound. My treso nipple primer doesnt fit into the nipple slot on the cylinder...so i cant reach the nipple to prime it. But on a rifle even weak caps paired with tresos nipple primer are a winning combination.
 
Peashooterjoe, thank you for the kind words. And i do think that the duco cement helps keep the roll cap compound from exploding. I put up to 6 dots..even as high as 8..and use one drop of glue then compress it while twisting to get all the compound sealed and stuck to the bottom of the cap...the thin red paper left on the "dots" actually helps build up nice seal with the glue and protects the compound.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Percussion Cap Metal Material Preferences
Replies
8
Views
4K
Lyle
Lyle
Oohrah!
  • Locked
Tap-O-Cap product review
Replies
8
Views
1K
Oohrah!
Oohrah!
raa-7
  • Locked
Making my own caps
2
Replies
39
Views
4K
ofitg
ofitg
Gatofeo
  • Locked
I Wish They'd Make ...
Replies
11
Views
844
Crownvicman
C
Gatofeo
  • Locked
Felt wads in cap and ball revolvers
Replies
4
Views
4K
Old Fuff
O
Back
Top