Sticking Caps

[Pete G.]

I built a cap gun for a friend and we are having the problem of the fired caps becoming lodged in the recess on the hammer nose. Any suggestions for a fix ?

[jim m]

cut a small v notch in the nose of the hammer. even if a cap sticks it's much easier to remove

[northmn]

V notch as mentioned is the standard cure

DP

[Pete G.]

I didn't mention it, but I have done that. The caps just sort of flare out and fill up the recess in the nose and most of the time split where the notch is, leaving very little to get a grip on to pry the little devils out.

[Metalshaper]

Pete,

 Might try to see if there are any 'burrs' in the recess?? and then try and polish it out with some emery paper..  smooth it up as much as possible and give those lil buggars as little as possible to grab onto! 

Some of the hammers that I've had trouble with.. actually had some small machine marks inside the opening.  this allowed them to hold onto the cap.

Respect Always
Metalshaper

[ChipK]

Check the nipple - if the hole is wrong it can generate a lot of preasure forcing the cap back inot the hammer.

[Dphariss]

Nipples erode. I would replace the nipple. Avoid the "hot shot" style.
If shooting bullets an eroded nipple is likely the cause or if it has been shot a lot with heavy RB loads.
May have been bad from start.
It may be the recess in the hammer is too small. Some are.

Dan

[hatchetdan]

      I like to polish out the insides of the hammers cup, no burrs or milling marks , caps usually fall right out, a dremell works well.

[T*O*F]

we are having the problem of the fired caps becoming lodged in the recess on the hammer nose

Is the "problem" simply the fact that the caps are sticking, or do they cause the gun to misfire?

My gun will stack 3-5 caps in the hammer during the course of a 25 shot match.  The gun never fails to go off.  It does it with new or used nipples, and the hammer is also V'd.  Therefore, it's not a "problem" for me.  I just dig them out with a dental pick when I clean the gun.

[Roger Fisher]

Go in to the hammer nose with your friendly dremel and open up her nose hole this should result in an improvement.....

[Pete G.]

Not causing misfires, merely aggravation. A brand new build, so the nipple should not be the problem. I could probably tolerate this if the gun were mine, but it is for a good friend, so I want it to be as perfect as I can make it. I'll try the dremmel approach. Thanks guys.

[Acer Saccharum]

Pete, you are taking a good approach with the dremel. See if there is enough metal to grind a slight outward taper to the hammer recess. This will help a lot. Polished helps, too.

Acer

[George F.]

I have a percussion Hawken (T/C, and don't tell anybody I have a percussion) that the caps would be hard to remove. I noticed the top edge of the nipple was rolled over some from the hammer striking it. This made the cap  hard to remove, I replaced the nipple and didn't have a problem, for awhile. The next nipple, I filed the rolled edge off.  ...Geo.

[Acer Saccharum]

Speaking of hammer and nipples, the contact between hammer face and nipple should really be paid some attention. A good fit will prevent uneven peening of the nipple, promote longer nipple life, and more concentrated flame down INSIDE the nipple.

Prussian Blue on the nipple face and touch the hammer to it, and the high spot shows inside the hammer cup. Take you dremel with a flat endcutting burr, and carefully grind off the blue. Touch hammer to nipple again, grind and repeat until you have 100% contact.