Cheapest Material for Cleaning Patches?

[Bob J]

Just paid $5.90 a yard for cotton flannel at Jo Ann Fabrics. Has this stuff gone up in price or what? Wonderin' if there is a cheaper alternative...remember reading someone reused dirty dirty patches by putting them inside pantyhose and runnin' 'em through the washing machine. :hmm:

 

[fyrfyter43]

Every couple years (when I need cleaning patches) I "let" my wife buy a new set of flannel sheets for the bed. I take the old ones and cut them up for cleaning patches.

 

[roundball]

So far, haven't had to buy any...been able to keep enough cleaning patches on hand from accumulating all the various pieces of worn out 100% cotton like T-shirts, flannel shirts, the wife's flannel PJs / night gowns, wash cloths, hand towels, and so on

 

[Adui]

So far, haven't had to buy any...been able to keep enough cleaning patches on hand from accumulating all the various pieces of worn out 100% cotton like T-shirts, flannel shirts, the wife's flannel PJs / night gowns, wash cloths, hand towels, and so on

Thats me as well. I always have old T-shirts around. Need another rag, i go to my closet and take one of the really worn ones I dont wear anymore. (usually my wife has already tossed these into my gun rag bin)

 

[Stumpkiller]

Every couple years (when I need cleaning patches) I "let" my wife buy a new set of flannel sheets for the bed. I take the old ones and cut them up for cleaning patches.

Ditto.

 

[Skychief]

Dixie Flinter, I use "Super Flannel" from China-Mart. I don't remember what I last gave for it though. It seemed quite a bit less that the price that you paid. :hatsoff:

 

[bob308]

i use the whole hog. first i wear the t shirts. then when they get old and holes. they become cleaning rags for the harley and vette. then they get cut up for cleaning patches.

 

[Herb]

You can use paper towels. I get the thick kind used in shops. For .50 caliber, I cut them about two inches long and one inch wide. Fold in half to make it one inch square, doubled. Don't wet the center very much and it will clean very well and not tear through. You can flip it over and use the other side, too. Just don't get the center very wet.

 

[ohio ramrod]

The wife does a lot of sewing for the grandkids so I have a good supply of flannel scraps. :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

As frugal (cheap? :redface: ) as I am I don't consider a few dollars a couple times a year as much of an expense for flannel. I buy baby blanket flannel from Wal-Mart and cut it up myself.

 

[PA.1740]

Iam a T'shirt&flannel sheet man myself :thumbsup:
Have Fun
Phil

 

[mageckman]

My mother-in-law volunteers at a local hospital. She gets the sheets and gowns when they are too old or too far gone to reuse in the hospital. She gives some to me. Cheap(free) and they work great, though I wouldn't recommend shooting with them.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Around some industrial areas there still are sewing factories. The material is shipped to them in large rolls. They often cut two inches off both ends of the roll before it goes to the cutting department to lay it out for cutting the individual pieces. These end rolls are often given to the employees. As long as I can remember folks around here have used these up to 100 yd rolls of two inch wide cloth tape for tying tomato plants to stakes etc. My aunt worked at such a factory until she retired 20 yrs ago. She gave me a few rolls of cotton flannel end cuts. Since I have purchased a few more. for maybe 25 cents to a buck a roll. I use a long bladed sharp shears and cut the strips into 2 inch squares. I can get a 100 patches in less than a 3 minute commercial break during a TV show. Depending on material, a roll can produce up to 1800 patches to a roll. Extreme dirt cheap. I swab the bore between shots at the range. A wet patch followed by 2 dry patches. One of the dry patches becomes the wet patch for swabbing after the next shot, so I average 2 patches used per shot. It isn't unusual to go through 200 patches in an afternoon of shooting.

The sources are drying up. The only sewing factory left around here is making gymnastic outfits of spandex, so decent cleaning patch material is no longer available. But two months ago, I picked up a cotton muslin roll at a yard sale for 50 cents.

 

[Bob J]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm going thru all my old t-shirts and gonna start cuttin' little squares for the .30 and .36 and bigger ones for the .54.

 

[tecum-tha]

I use cleaning patches from a german manufacturer. They're thick, absorbant and non-fuzzing. They came precision cut in several sizes. I think about 500 per package.
A member from Germany will bring me a few packages to Friendship to restock my dwindling supply.
See supplier website here: http://stifters-gunflints.de/shop/index.htm
You need to click on :Reinigungspflaster in the navigation menu to the left.
When you buy enough packages, then they cost around 1.5 US Cents each. I use one damp patch for each shot and use both sides.
So a shot with 50 grains Swiss costs:
3.75 cents/lead ball
0.6 cent lubed patching material
20 cents for powder @$23/pound which includes priming powder. Same cost than 75 grains of Schuetzen or Goex
1.5 cents cleaning patch.
0.1 cents cleaning solution
Sum: 25.95 cents
With the powder costs make 77% of the overall costs.

 

[BrianL]

The wife does a lot of sewing for the grandkids so I have a good supply of flannel scraps. :idunno:

:thumbsup: My wife is a quilter and every one of her quilts lately has had a flannel backing which will be trimmed to fit. I generally end up with strips up to 6" X 120" and use it for patches and applying oils and stains.

 

[ihuntsnook]

I cut up good quality paper towels into one and a half inch squares. They are absorbent and stand up well to abrasion. Easy to work with, disposable, and cheap.

 

[Semisane]

Check the bed linens section at your local thrift stores (GoodWill, Salvation Army, Red White & Blue, etc.) That's where I get all of my cleaning patch material. About three weeks ago I picked up a queen size flannel flat sheet and fitted sheet - $4 for the pair.

 

[Greenjoytj]

"remember reading someone reused dirty dirty patches by putting them inside pantyhose and runnin' 'em through the washing machine."


That would be a real tight wad.

 

[Rifleman1776]

"remember reading someone reused dirty dirty patches by putting them inside pantyhose and runnin' 'em through the washing machine."


That would be a real tight wad.

Old idea. But, IMHO, not worth the bother.
Do wimmen's still wear pantyhose? :shocked2: