Bore Too Tight?

[don hepler]

Pocket Drill is a stout cotton material. Look at the pocket cloth inside a pair of jeans.

There are other unbleached drill materials, that are often used for patching material. Walley world, Jo Ann Fabrics, have a good selection, ranging in thickness of .010 to .025. Might even be a wider range.

I take a pair of mics. with me. Tighten the thimble and feel the resistance as the cloth slides thru the mics. If I mic. .015 and someone else mics. .018, it really doesn't matter. If what I mic. as .015 works in my rifle, and I am consistent in measuring, that's what counts.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Pocket drill is also referred to as utility cloth. So you have pillow or mattress ticking, denim, pocket drill (utility cloth), or canvas. What's important is for the material to be 100% cotton. You can also go the 100% flax linen, but it's hard to find a really tight weave.

 

[ZUG]

Beg to differ on those Harbor Freight digital calipers - the will vary 0.001" to 0.0015" and repeat all day long for as long as the battery is good and you don't drop them. I have checked mine (I have two) with a 0.0000" (4 decimal place) Starrett micrometer that has been calibrated and certified by NASA aerospace labs. I am a retired mechanical engineer for a leading areospace company for 44 years and have my own R&D machine shop. You also can get a bad one but on the whole they are OK for the "average Joe".

 

[El Toro]

Beg to differ on those Harbor Freight digital calipers - the will vary 0.001" to 0.0015" and repeat all day long for as long as the battery is good and you don't drop them. I have checked mine (I have two) with a 0.0000" (4 decimal place) Starrett micrometer that has been calibrated and certified by NASA aerospace labs. I am a retired mechanical engineer for a leading areospace company for 44 years and have my own R&D machine shop. You also can get a bad one but on the whole they are OK for the "average Joe".

Yeah that variance on the Mic is probably about right. Repeatability is a rough 98%. I only mentioned it was a Harbor Freight micrometer because I know its not 100% accurate and I really wanted to know what the true bore diameter should be.

I think what I may be measuring on the round balls is probably not a huge issue. Could be flat sides on balls that bang together during packaging or shipping. 100% lead deforms pretty easy.

 

[nhmoose]

What did the TC patches measure??? You mention the ball sizes with your equipment but I missed if you did the patches.

Some TC's I had 20 years or more ago said .015 but were .020.

Thinner patch will be easier to find than .480 balls IMHO.

Also get a range rod made from Stainless Steel with muzzle protector Please, I have seen a wood rod through a hand twice at matches. One was at the old Fort Ty ML shoots. They are not pretty or fun for the shooter.

 

[mooman76]

Harbor Freight calipers work fine. All you have to do is repeat your results to see if it always measures the same. RB are round and sometimes you can be off a hair when/where you measure to get a different reading. Also how much tension you use when measuring. Use the clutch mechanism to get more accurate results.

 

[El Toro]

What did the TC patches measure??? You mention the ball sizes with your equipment but I missed if you did the patches.

Some TC's I had 20 years or more ago said .015 but were .020.

Thinner patch will be easier to find than .480 balls IMHO.

Also get a range rod made from Stainless Steel with muzzle protector Please, I have seen a wood rod through a hand twice at matches. One was at the old Fort Ty ML shoots. They are not pretty or fun for the shooter.

The T/C patches mic'd at exactly 0.015 when completely compressed.

Any source for a good Stainless Steel rod that is at least 46 inches? Im thinking maybe just getting some 3/8" rod from Grainger and drilling and tapping the end.

 

[ravenousfishing]

RMC makes a 48" long 3/8 solid brass ramrod that works great as a range rod. I use their 36" for all my muzzleloaders and hunt with a wooden rod.