DIY cleaning patches

[smoothshooter]

I'm thinking of just getting some cloth from the fabric store and making my own cleaning patches.

Have you guys done this?
Do the patches have to be round, or can Just cut squares?
Can I use muslim cloth instead of t-shirt cloth?
What size for .50 cal and 12 gauge?

Old white tee shirt material is the best. MUST be 100% cotton.
I cut mine in random shapes; square, triangle, rectangular, trapezoid, whatever.
Shape is not critical.
I wet a patch and wrap it around an undersized copper brush and run it down the barrel. Give it a couple of twists when the cloth/brush bottoms out against the breech plug. Use in conjunction with a breech plug scraper that is contoured to match the face of your breech plug. Some are flat and some are dished out. One of the reasons I despise patent breeches is that you cannot clean them this way.

 

[Warfaremilitary]

I’ve used cotton flannel for decades. Works great and cleans quickly. I make my own solvent which I’ve used for many years skirmishing with the N-SSA.

As a Christmas present every year (c.1968 until the early 1980s) I’d receive cotton flannel pajamas. I’d also receive flannel shirts throughout the year. Old pajamas/shirts wouldn’t be thrown out but would be recycled for cleaning patches. A pair of pajamas or shirt would yield a couple hundred or more patches. Long Winter evenings would spent cutting up the garments into patches. I’d cut the garments into 2” square patches.

Hope that helps!

 

[flconch53]

I’ve used cotton flannel for decades. Works great and cleans quickly. I make my own solvent which I’ve used for many years skirmishing with the N-SSA.

As a Christmas present every year (c.1968 until the early 1980s) I’d receive cotton flannel pajamas. I’d also receive flannel shirts throughout the year. Old pajamas/shirts wouldn’t be thrown out but would be recycled for cleaning patches. A pair of pajamas or shirt would yield a couple hundred or more patches. Long Winter evenings would spent cutting up the garments into patches. I’d cut the garments into 2” square patches.

Hope that helps!

I go to Joann's after Christmas and buy the Christmas print flannel that is marked down. I don't worry about cleaning patches being 100% cotton as you can see many others don't either and I sure don't worry about the thickness.

 

[smoothshooter]

I go to Joann's after Christmas and buy the Christmas print flannel that is marked down. I don't worry about cleaning patches being 100% cotton as you can see many others don't either and I sure don't worry about the thickness.

Any cleaning patch material that has any synthetic fibers woven into the fabric will not absorb your cleaner of choice or wet fouling as well as 100% cotton.

 

[flconch53]

Any cleaning patch material that has any synthetic fibers woven into the fabric will not absorb your cleaner of choice or wet fouling as well as 100% cotton.

If it is a a cotton blend most of the time it is 80% cotton. This will work just fine. Most T shirts are a blend anymore and they still work fine.

 

[JDBraddy]

I was using Midway 1.5" gun cleaning patches, but bought a seamstress cutting wheel and matt at Walmart while there to get a couple yards of denim for loading patches. I cut up an old T-shirt first, and it was basicly worthless, way too thin and flimsy, had to fold them over or use two or three at a time. Next, I cut up a torn flannel plad shirt, and it's doing much better. A shooting buddy uses some thin orange craft felt he bought on clearance, I like it, will probably try something like that next.

 

[Mzzlldrinpa]

Been buying from Hobby Lobby. I think every other week, fabric is 40% off. Usually get pretty good deals that way.

 

[AZ Muzzleloaders]

I use the baby blanket cotton fleece from Joann's, a fabric cutting wheel and the cutting board makes cutting large numbers of cleaning patches very easy.

View attachment 354776

I use the same on flannel sheets from the thrift store. Thousands of patches for a couple of bucks.

 

[ZUG]

I want a cleaning patch to have some "body" to hold my cleaning solution. For me T-ee shirt material is too thin. Years ago I purchased two bags of 5000 qty military surplus cotton cleaning patches at a discount price. I still have some. I can trim them down to fit most of my guns. For my big smooth bore and shotguns guns I go to Joann Fabrics and get a few yards of cotton flannel and cut them with one of those rotary cutters - square works just as well if not better than a round patch. You can also wash them to get more milage out of them.

 

[WonkyEye]

Just an alternative suggestion, I found a pack of 1800 flannel patches on Amazon for $15 and have been good for a while

 

[WALT53]

I use the same on flannel sheets from the thrift store. Thousands of patches for a couple of bucks.

I do the same I buy flannel sheets at the thrift store and other stuff .

 

[SDSmlf]

I believe there is a big advantage getting larger quantities of cotton patch material and the resulting consistency you get, though others will disagree, and no argument here if things work for you. Problem I find with odd rags and t-shirts is they vary in thickness from piece to piece, some being a tight fit on your jag, others being loose. Not a big deal, but still a bit of a PIA. I find old high thread count bed sheets will provide a nice quantity of consistent material (if you live in a supervised domestic environment you will discover that bedsheets are rotated out and replaced on a regular basis), or you can spend the big bucks ($1-$2 per yard by 56”- 60” wide) on close out cotton flannel, or better yet if you can find it, cotton flannelette. A yard of 60” wide material will give you nearly 240 3” square patches. That is less than a penny a patch if you can find it for $2 per yard. Might end up with some unique colors and patterns on close out, but who cares.

Once you have a quality of cleaning patch material, figure out a patch and jag size. This may mean modifying your jag. Difficult to figure one out without the other. For my use, I take the old high count cotton bed sheets mentioned above and tear them into strips (once you figure out the knit pattern you can consistently tear any width strip you want), typically 1”, 1-1/2”, 2”, 3” and 4”, plus any other sizes I may need. I then mark and cut strips to make square patches and fill one or two clear plastic containers with each size (I believe I am using old 2lb or 3lb rice containers). This gives me an easily visual of my patch inventory. As a FYI, I find that I mostly use 2”x2” followed by 3”x3” patches for most bore cleaning. With a proper jag, a 2”x2” patch can work for me from 45 to 58 caliber. What you use will depend on your jag and patch material thickness. For field use I carry strips of cleaning patch material with notches in it to allow me to easily tear a square patch off the strip (I do the same thing with my roundball shooting patch material for those times I don’t cut at the muzzle) in an attempt to keep things simple, though I must admit, this rambling post likely makes things sound complicated.

Some will suggest using whatever you have. Guess that can work for cleaning and roundball patch material, just don’t get upset when things are too loose or too tight as you randomly use old t-shirts, skivvies, rags or whatever and things don’t work out.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

For cleaning patches, my number one go to is the red shop rags. They are all cotton. What I like best they are very coarse. They have a weave that is not too tight so any fouling and black powder bits easily get caught in the coarse weave and gets carried out. Being the rags are coarse, they also do an excellent job of scrubbing the barrel helping to make the barrel squeaky clean. A bag of 6 is only couple of dollars at Menards and will last a long time being cut in little squares.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[waksupi]

Tow lasts forever. And cleans well.

 

[flconch53]

I believe there is a big advantage getting larger quantities of cotton patch material and the resulting consistency you get, though others will disagree, and no argument here if things work for you. Problem I find with odd rags and t-shirts is they vary in thickness from piece to piece, some being a tight fit on your jag, others being loose. Not a big deal, but still a bit of a PIA. I find old high thread count bed sheets will provide a nice quantity of consistent material (if you live in a supervised domestic environment you will discover that bedsheets are rotated out and replaced on a regular basis), or you can spend the big bucks ($1-$2 per yard by 56”- 60” wide) on close out cotton flannel, or better yet if you can find it, cotton flannelette. A yard of 60” wide material will give you nearly 240 3” square patches. That is less than a penny a patch if you can find it for $2 per yard. Might end up with some unique colors and patterns on close out, but who cares.

Once you have a quality of cleaning patch material, figure out a patch and jag size. This may mean modifying your jag. Difficult to figure one out without the other. For my use, I take the old high count cotton bed sheets mentioned above and tear them into strips (once you figure out the knit pattern you can consistently tear any width strip you want), typically 1”, 1-1/2”, 2”, 3” and 4”, plus any other sizes I may need. I then mark and cut strips to make square patches and fill one or two clear plastic containers with each size (I believe I am using old 2lb or 3lb rice containers). This gives me an easily visual of my patch inventory. As a FYI, I find that I mostly use 2”x2” followed by 3”x3” patches for most bore cleaning. With a proper jag, a 2”x2” patch can work for me from 45 to 58 caliber. What you use will depend on your jag and patch material thickness. For field use I carry strips of cleaning patch material with notches in it to allow me to easily tear a square patch off the strip (I do the same thing with my roundball shooting patch material for those times I don’t cut at the muzzle) in an attempt to keep things simple, though I must admit, this rambling post likely makes things sound complicated.

Some will suggest using whatever you have. Guess that can work for cleaning and roundball patch material, just don’t get upset when things are too loose or too tight as you randomly use old t-shirts, skivvies, rags or whatever and things don’t work out.

In regards to your concern about T shirt thickness. I have several that I have cut up for shop rags. They mic (with real micrometers) between .018 and.020 thick . Plenty close enough for cleaning patches as your cleaning jag should be at least .020 under bore size

 

[JDBraddy]

In regards to your concern about T shirt thickness. I have several that I have cut up for shop rags. They mic (with real micrometers) between .018 and.020 thick . Plenty close enough for cleaning patches as your cleaning jag should be at least .020 under bore size

Then your T-shirts are definitely much thicker than the one's sold locally here that mic .005" - .007".