Bench capper doesn't cap as good as it used to

[tld6008]

I've found that the press-formed bells are always slightly out of round but they will also stretch open over a long life of use. You can increase the quality of the crimp by performing one press, then rotate the bottle 1/8th turn and do it one more time. That's a huge hassle but the only way to really improve the situation long term is to buy a capper with a machined or cast bell.

The cheaper COLT bench capper has a cast bell but there are parts of the unit that are plastic.
While not for the budget conscious, this is my favorite hammer for this particular nail:
https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/benchcapper_grifo.htm

When I was capping bottles I always rotated the bottle approx 1/3 between the first and second pull

 

[hottpeper13]

If you only pull once is that premature capping?

 

[Dr_Jeff]

If you only pull once is that premature capping?

yes