Making Combustible Paper Cartridges Using the Crossen Cartridge Former Kit

Edit 05NOV2021

When I originally posted this I said I wished he would offer his kit in other calibers, and he now does so.  I just acquired the pieces necessary to load .36-caliber cartridges, and he has also added a kit for .44 Dragoon cartridges.  Pictures of the new .36 Richmond Lab cartridges coming soon, along with a review of the upgraded bits he sent me for my .44 kit.

Introduction

Readers of this blog may already have seen my previous post about making combustible paper cartridges for Civil War revolvers using the excellent formers sold by Balázs Németh of the Cap and Ball YouTube channel.  For new readers, I would suggest reading that post for a discussion of the history of combustible revolver cartridges and also for detailed descriptions of how I nitrate the paper, grease the bullets, and package the finished cartridges in historically accurate arsenal packs.  The post can be found here:
https://historicalshooting.blogspot.com/2020/10/making-civil-war-style-paper-cartridges.html

While Mr. Németh's formers work very well and produce excellent and very functional cartridges, I have discovered a new way of making them using a superb cartridge former system called the Crossen Cartridge Former.  This system is more than just a mandrel and base, it includes a full set of tools, forms, and a forming system which is faster, more precise, easier to use, and which produces more consistent cartridges.  Mr. Crossen does not have a web page, but can be found on Face Book by searching for "Crossen Cartridge Former" or by going here.   That page provides numerous videos showing how to use the system.  After trying this system it will now be my primary method for making paper cartridges.  Unfortunately, it only works for .44-caliber cartridges for regular revolvers, not for other calibers or for the .44-caliber Walker or Dragoon revolvers.

The kit as delivered.

The picture above shows the full kit as provided by the manufacturer.  It includes a glue jar with an internal sponge; a separate piece of sponge for attaching the bases of the envelopes; a two-piece plastic holder for bullets and the envelopes; a small container of paste wax for the wooden parts; the crimping and forming unit; the envelope cutting unit (which includes 3-D printed templates for two different sizes of envelopes for conical bullets and a third for round balls); a bullet-handling device to keep your fingers out of the glue; a mandrel for forming the envelopes; extra pieces of wood for the base of the envelope cutting device and extra wooden shims for the crimping unit; a crimping die for conical bullets; a crimping die for round-balls; and a die for forming the envelopes.

The user must provide a cutting tool (e.g., an Exacto knife or razor blade); a punch for making the paper bases; a powder measure; a small piece of wood on which to glue the envelope bodies; 3F black powder (or Pyrodex P); wood glue (they recommended Tight Bond 2, which is what I used); an Elmer's Natural Glue Stick (the natural sticks are starch based and burn better); nitrated coffee filters; and pure lead bullets in .44 caliber.  I cast my own .44 Kerr bullets using a mold from Eras Gone Bullet Molds, however, the system was designed for the .44 Johnston and Dow bullets (the molds for which are also available from Eras Gone)--either bullet type works well in this system.

Making the Envelopes

After nitrating the paper, I fold it into wedges as shown below.  The envelope cutting unit comes with three different templates for cutting out the cartridge bodies: 19mm, 20mm, and a larger one for cutting envelopes for round balls.  The smallest template is best for the Kerr bullets, while the 20mm template is best for the Johnston and Dow bullets.  The templates have a heavy rubber band on the top which is stretched across two screws.  The rubber band goes over the disk on the locking arm for the cutting unit; this makes the templates easy to switch out.  The folded paper is placed on the base of the unit and the handle pushed forward to lock it into place.  Once secured, a razor is used to cut the paper envelope bodies, as shown in the picture below.  By carefully positioning the paper it is possible to get several batches of envelopes from each filter.

The envelope cutting unit with a template in place.

After making the envelope bodies, use a 3/4-inch craft punch to cut the bases for the envelopes from filter paper (either scraps of the original pieces used for the bodies or a separate sheet) as shown below.  Alternatively, the template can be removed from the cutting unit and a 3/4-inch nut can be held in place in it to cut them out.

The bodies and bases cut out.

Once the bodies and bases of the envelopes have been cut out, lay an envelope body on a piece of scrap wood and apply a small amount of glue to the edge of the paper as shown below.

Gluing the envelope body.

Use a Q-tip to apply a very small amount of the paste wax included with the kit onto the mandrel and on the inside of the wooden crimping block.  This will help to keep the paper envelope from sticking to the mandrel and block.  Alternatively, a little paraffin can be used for the same purpose.

The envelope body is then wrapped around the mandrel and the glued edge pressed in place to make the envelope body.  The manufacturer recommends letting the lower edge of the paper extend about 1/8 of an inch over the end of the mandrel as it is rolled in place, then pushing the envelope body up so that the bottom of the edge of the paper aligns with the bottom edge of the mandrel.  This will ensure that the envelope body is very tight and snug.

Next, apply a small amount of glue to the bottom edge of the envelope body using the glue stick while it is still on the mandrel.

Applying the glue for the base.

Place an envelope base on the sponge provided, and press the mandrel down on the center of the base.  This step isn't strictly necessary (it can be done with your fingers), but it starts to push the base up onto the body of the envelope so that it wraps neatly and firmly.  This won't fully glue the base in place, it just gets it started.

Pressing the base onto the envelope.

Next, insert the wooden envelope crimping die into the crimping and forming unit.  Put the small wooden block in beside the die with the laminated wooden shim on the outside (toward the lever arm).  The shim on the side of the wooden block will eventually get worn by the action of the lever arm, so the manufacturer has included some replacements.  Slide the wooden pin on the front of the unit in front to hold the die and block firmly in place.  Put the lever arm into the middle (neutral) position so the crimping die is able to move open slightly, and push the envelope, still on the mandrel, down into the crimping die.  Then push the lever arm backward to squeeze the die closed around the paper envelope and mandrel.  If the paper is not perfectly formed by this, rotate it slightly in the die and crimp again.

Crimping the paper envelope.

Repeat this process as many times as necessary for the number of cartridges you wish to make and put each finished envelope into deeper side of the plastic holder provided.

Assembling the Cartridges

Preparing to make the cartridges in advance will make the process much easier, much like preparing all of the ingredients for a dish before cooking.
1.  Prepare the glue jar by removing the sponge inside (note that this is a different sponge from the one used to form the envelopes) and filling the jar half full of wood glue, then put the sponge into the glue and let it sit to soak in.
2.  Place a piece of paper towel under the glue jar to wipe the bases of the bullets after applying the glue.
3.  Place your bullets into the shallow side of the plastic holder.
4.  Replace the wooden envelope crimping die with the plastic cartridge forming die you wish to use (one is for conicals and the other--the darker one--for round balls) as shown below.
5.  Set your powder measure for the appropriate amount of powder (in this case, 25 grains).
6.  Place a formed envelope into the cartridge crimping die.

Preparing to make the cartridges.

Once all is ready the cartridges can be formed.  First, lower the funnel over the envelope in the die.  The powder is poured through the funnel into the envelope--tap on the funnel and powder measure to ensure that all of the powder goes in.  Tap on the crimping unit, too, to settle the powder in the envelope.

Pouring the powder.

Next, rotate the funnel back out of the way.  Pick up a bullet using the wire tool; squeezing the free end of the wire opens the loop enough to go over the bullet.  Push the bottom of the bullet well down into the sponge in the glue so that the sponge covers the lower sides of the bullet.  Then drag the base of the bullet on the paper towel to wipe all of the glue off it it, otherwise the glue could damage the powder under the bullet.

Dipping the bullet into the glue jar.

Still holding it with the wire, gently set the bullet down into the filled paper envelope in the crimping die.

The bullet set into the envelope in the crimping die.

Push the bullet down onto the powder with a finger to compress it, then use the lever arm to crimp the bullet firmly in the paper envelope, just as when crimping the paper envelope above.  Lift the finished cartridge out of the crimping die with the wire tool; as with crimping the envelope, the bullet can be rotated slightly and re-crimped if there are any wrinkles in the paper.  If the paper does not extend far enough up the side of the bullet in any location it can be worked upward slightly with your fingers while the glue is still wet.  When satisfied, place the finished cartridge in the plastic holder where the empty envelope had been and repeat the process for the rest of the envelopes and bullets.

Formed cartridges ready to be dipped in grease.

Once the cartridges have been formed the bullets should be dipped in grease and allowed to cool, then placed into arsenal packs ready to take to shoot.  See the link in the Introduction to my previous post about combustible cartridges for detailed instructions as to how to do these things.

Greasing the bullets.

Filled arsenal packs ready to take to war (or the range).

Conclusion

There is a learning curve involved in this process, just as there is with any other method of making combustible cartridges.  Once that is overcome, however, this method of manufacture is faster, less prone to errors caused by shaking hands and bad eyesight, and produces a neater and more consistent result than any other process I have tried.  The equipment goes beyond just being well made into the realm of nearly being art.  It is amazingly well made in terms of both durability and design, and Mr. Crossen has thought of and included nearly everything needed (except as noted above), even including replacements for the cutting unit surface and the shims for the blocks that compress the dies.  It has exceeded my expectations in every way.

I can think of very little that needs improvement for this system.  Its only drawback is that it cannot be used for anything except standard .44-calber revolvers, and it is to be hoped that in the future dies will be made to allow the manufacture of cartridges in other calibers and for the Walker and Dragoon revolvers; I suspect that it would even be possible to make dies for Sharps cartridges.