Rotary Capper

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Stoney1 Made this for me back in September! A neat little capping gadget that rotates to reveal the next percussion cap.

His words,

Here's something that I made back in the 70's.

It's a "Rotary Capper"
I can't take credit for its authenticity, but I can take credit for re-introducing it to the Black Powder community. I actually found one of these in a "Mountain Man museum" here in Pennsylvania back in the 70's. Whether or not it was from the imagination of the owner I can’t say?

This was supposedly something that Mountain Men in the 17 and 1800's made and used? I didn't have an opportunity to "handle" it so I had to depend on my memory to recreate it when I got back home.

This is as close as I could get! I hope you find it interesting?

I'd be curious about your thoughts and any information you might have on this Supposed invention. I know it works, I used this one for years. Thank you.
God bless:
Two Feathers
at The mountain Man Emporium

100_0611.jpg
 
He built that? Cool. How about a 'How to?' Or, a picture of all the parts? What did he make it out of?

And, the 'cool factor' of having an engraved personal gift from a man named Two Feathers? Priceless.
 
Kentucky Colonel said:
He built that? Cool. How about a 'How to?' Or, a picture of all the parts? What did he make it out of?

And, the 'cool factor' of having an engraved personal gift from a man named Two Feathers? Priceless.
Kentucy Colonel
Yup...I built it. It's not the easiest thing to make, but it's well within the abilities of any of you crafty folks here on the forum. I forgot all about it for a year, then I made one from memory, (not this one), this one I made for Frontier Gander. The first one I made and used for years is a lot rattier than this nice new one, but it still worked and I still have it. Thanks.
Stoney
 
Kentucky Colonel said:
He built that? Cool. How about a 'How to?' Or, a picture of all the parts? What did he make it out of?

And, the 'cool factor' of having an engraved personal gift from a man named Two Feathers? Priceless.
Kentucky Colonel
Sorry...I missed the other part. A "how to" Hopefully. "Pictures of the parts", Definitely, just as soon as I get back into my shop to do another one. What it's made of? My original is Copper and Leather. This one is Brass and Leather. I'll try to explain it to you. My stroke makes it a little hard to organize my thoughts, but I'll give it a shot. I quit teaching because of my " scrambled brain."
The hardest part is cutting the 2 circles out of Copper or Brass, after that; the rest is tedious, but not impossible.  I use a floor model scroll saw, a drill press, and a belt grinder. I break a lot of blades! I'll try and get some pictures of the parts with measurements and of the whole thing "In progress" will that be acceptable?  Thanks for the interest guys. I really appreciate the support I get here on the forum.
Stoney (Two Feathers)
 
That is beautiful, I love it and knowing that you made it makes it even better.
 
rebs said:
That is beautiful, I love it and knowing that you made it makes it even better.
rebs
 Thank you very much. I appreciate your support.
I plan on doing a little "pictorial tutorial" ;) as soon as I can. I hope people like that idea. I know I'm a firm believer that " a picture is worth a thousand words."
God bless:
Stoney
 
It sure looks nifty. Maybe you can set up so you can cut out a bunch of the disks at one time and  proceed to each step with multiple repetitive procedures producing several at a time. Then you could sell them. -- Maybe have some friends or relatives do the tricky steps. 

I see a market for these.
 
rebs said:
I would definitely buy one
rebs
 Thank you for the vote of confidence, but they cost too much to make. Waaaaay to labor intensive. I have all the supplies here. The materials are not bad. Being a leather worker, I have tons of scrap 8-9 oz. leather, and I use .035" Brass sheet stock, which you can get at an Ace Tru Value Hardware store for about $12.00 a sheet. The other things are a Copper Rivet, solder and iron . You could use a small torch, but the flame is too hard to control and you end up ruining the leather. The labor cost is HORRIBLE! It takes me about 3 hours to make one. I'd have to charge $25.00 a piece!? Thanks again.
God bless:
Stoney
 
rebs said:
This could be the start of a small business for you
rebs
 Thanks, but I have a small business. I'm the maker of the patch knives and other accessories listed in the Mountain Man Emporium on this website. If I couldn't make any money on the cappers, it wouldn't be of much use to me to try selling them? I doubt that anyone would pay $25.00 for one? You can get a straight line caper online for $5-10 bucks. Thanks again for your support, advice, and compliments.
God bless:
Stoney (Two Feathers)
 
patocazador said:
$25/each? If they function properly, I think they'd be well worth that much.
patocazador
Sorry, I didn't see this reply. Maybe there IS a market for these?
Thanks for the confidence.
God bless:
Stoney
 
rebs said:
similar cappers on TOTW are a little more than that
rebs
 I'm terribly sorry, but like I told patocazador, I didn't see your reply. For some reason I only get email updates about certain replies to my posts???
 I wasn't aware that ANYONE else in the world sold something even similar to these? I (really) thought that this design came from the mind of a grizzled, eccentric old guy who fancied himself a Mountain Man and Historian here in N.E. Pa. back in the 70's. Guess I was wrong? Thanks for the information.
God bless:
Stoney (Two Feathers)
 
rebs said:
That is beautiful, I love it and knowing that you made it makes it even better.
rebs
 I promised you that I'd do a little tutorial with photos on this rotary capper. I'm a man of my word, so I'm starting one this morning. I'll take as many photos as I can (with the best explanations that I can give) and I'm hoping that with Frontier Gander's help we can get them posted? Once you see how it's made you may want to try it yourself, however if you don't, I'll be happy to sell you one.
Right now I have a guitar repair, 6 knives and a Flintlock build for my doctor, :slaps: on the go, but I'll try to move this tutorial along as fast as I can. At any point if I'm not clear, please feel free to email me. I think any of the guys (or girls) on this forum should be able to make one of these. This can all be done with simple hand tools, I just happen to be fortunate enough to have the power tools to do it, so this saves me a little time. I'm 68 and retired. Time is something I have a LOT of.:pete said what.  Keep an eye out for the post. I'll get it ASAP. Thank you for your interest.
God bless:
Stoney
 
Kentucky Colonel said:
He built that? Cool. How about a 'How to?' Or, a picture of all the parts? What did he make it out of?

And, the 'cool factor' of having an engraved personal gift from a man named Two Feathers? Priceless.
Kentucky Colonel
I promised you that I'd do a little tutorial with photos on this rotary capper. I'm a man of my word, so I'm starting one this morning. I'll take as many photos as I can (with the best explanations that I can give) and I'm hoping that with Frontier Gander's help we can get them posted? Once you see how it's made you may want to try it yourself, however if you don't, I'll be happy to sell you one.
Right now I have a guitar repair, 6 knives and a Flintlock build for my doctor, :slaps: on the go, but I'll try to move this tutorial along as fast as I can. At any point if I'm not clear, please feel free to email me. I think any of the guys (or girls) on this forum should be able to make one of these. This can all be done with simple hand tools, I just happen to be fortunate enough to have the power tools to do it, so this saves me a little time. I'm 68 and retired. Time is something I have a LOT of.:pete said what.  Keep an eye out for the post. I'll get it ASAP. Thank you for your interest.
God bless:
Stoney
 
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