I'm done with EMSS patch material.

[NorthFork]

This is now the second time in a year I've bought Eastern Maine bulk patch material and it's not even close to advertised thickness. The first time was their .015" material. It actually mikes out at .011". Well that's ok I thought, because I also needed some .010" for pistols. No biggie other than I have bought several 1/2 yard packs. Now I need their .020" bulk material. I'm on my last 1/2 yard from a several pack order I bought a few years ago. Well guess what? It mikes out at .015". Same model # on label as the old stuff just much thinner. You can feel the difference with your fingers. Once again several 1/2 packs were bought. NO MORE! I can use the .015" material but I NEED .020". So I guess I'll have to start shopping at a fabric store now. Yet another 'ole reliable' source for muzzleloading is no longer reliable.

I know some will say to send it back. Not worth the return shipping to do so when I can use it for other ml's. It just irritates me to no end that it just seems like everything you buy today is 'new and improved', comes 'pre-broken' for your inconvenience, or is just flat out the wrong thing because no one could bother to check the specs .

 

[Ed C.]

In this world of internet shopping, there is still nothing that beats a "hands on" purchase.

 

[stikshooter]

This is now the second time in a year I've bought Eastern Maine bulk patch material and it's not even close to advertised thickness. The first time was their .015" material. It actually mikes out at .011". Well that's ok I thought, because I also needed some .010" for pistols. No biggie other than I have bought several 1/2 yard packs. Now I need their .020" bulk material. I'm on my last 1/2 yard from a several pack order I bought a few years ago. Well guess what? It mikes out at .015". Same model # on label as the old stuff just much thinner. You can feel the difference with your fingers. Once again several 1/2 packs were bought. NO MORE! I can use the .015" material but I NEED .020". So I guess I'll have to start shopping at a fabric store now. Yet another 'ole reliable' source for muzzleloading is no longer reliable.

I know some will say to send it back. Not worth the return shipping to do so when I can use it for other ml's. It just irritates me to no end that it just seems like everything you buy today is 'new and improved', comes 'pre-broken' for your inconvenience, or is just flat out the wrong thing because no one could bother to check the specs .

Joannes Fabric store is where everyone goes ,bring calipers . Once you find what you want buy a bunch as it changes every time they get a delivery ,if you don't don't complain !/Ed

 

[Jim K]

I bought a yard of ticking at Walmart.020( I take a mic with me). Went back and got the rest of it on the spool. A little over two yards. I don’t know if they’ll get more in. This will last for awhile. Good luck with your search. I’ve also bought patching from suppliers that wasn’t marked correctly!

 

[oldwood]

Don't be too hard on Eastern Main Co.. All patching material should be measured with a compression mic. . Why these folks that sell patch material can't use the correct micrometer is beyond my pay grade. If you use the type mic. , compression mic.. , you can deduce the correct thickness. People selling patches use the type mic. , that looks like a bird beak , (doesn't compress the fabric) , and gives a reading several thousandths thicker than a compression mic. does. What you experience with patch thicknesses is typical. Keep at it , use a comp. mic. , and you will get the hang of it.

 

[Frontier's]

try Bridgers Best

 

[pacanis]

Yeah, I'd try to send it back.
Tell them to swap it out for the next size up and cover shipping if they want it back.
Worth a try. They might turn out to have good CS.

 

[NorthFork]

Oh good grief!! I've had one heck of a frustrating morning! I now think I know why some folks say their rifle just stopped shooting good groups. You can't expect good groups when your patching material is drastically changing thickness from one package to the next.

I drug out all my patching material. .010", .015", .018", and .020" is what the factory packaging says it is. I have patching from both Ox-yoke and Eastern Maine. I leave the material, either bulk, strips or precuts, in the original package for storage. I miked every package multiple times. If it was several years old, it was either dead on or close enough. If it was newer than that, then all bets were off. I marked every package with it's correct thickness. I now have .010", .012", .015", and .018". None were thicker than advertised. Some were drastically thinner such as one package of .018" pillow ticking that is actually .012". It went into the same box as a bunch of .015" that also miked out to .012". How can you in good conscience sell .020" when it really is .015 when compressed? It was .018 when not compressed.

Next week I'm off to the fabric store to find true .020" cotton. Thin about it. Your rifle shoots well with XYZ brand .015" patches. You run out and buy another pack of the same patches. Now the rifle shoots differently. You pull your hair out trying to figure out why. Well maybe it's 'cause the patches are really .010" masquerading as .015"s.

 

[Ed C.]

Oh good grief!! I've had one heck of a frustrating morning! I now think I know why some folks say their rifle just stopped shooting good groups. You can't expect good groups when your patching material is drastically changing thickness from one package to the next.

I drug out all my patching material. .010", .015", .018", and .020" is what the factory packaging says it is. I have patching from both Ox-yoke and Eastern Maine. I leave the material, either bulk, strips or precuts, in the original package for storage. I miked every package multiple times. If it was several years old, it was either dead on or close enough. If it was newer than that, then all bets were off. I marked every package with it's correct thickness. I now have .010", .012", .015", and .018". None were thicker than advertised. Some were drastically thinner such as one package of .018" pillow ticking that is actually .012". It went into the same box as a bunch of .015" that also miked out to .012". How can you in good conscience sell .020" when it really is .015 when compressed? It was .018 when not compressed.

Next week I'm off to the fabric store to find true .020" cotton. Thin about it. Your rifle shoots well with XYZ brand .015" patches. You run out and buy another pack of the same patches. Now the rifle shoots differently. You pull your hair out trying to figure out why. Well maybe it's 'cause the patches are really .010" masquerading as .015"s.

Well, you are on the right track. Once you stumble on the magic combination of powder, patches, lube and cleaning for good shooting every little thing needs to stay the same. Once I found what works in my gun I bought enough of that ticking to last years. Probably more years than I have left.

 

[user 31232]

Makes me wonder did our forefathers worry so much about patch thickness or just use whatever was at hand. I'm really curious about this. Any replies greatly appreciated

 

[pacanis]

Well, if you ever watched Last of the Mohicans, they do worry about patch material.
Preferring silk for those times you absolutely needed to make that long range shot

 

[R I Jerolmon]

Yeah, I'd try to send it back.
Tell them to swap it out for the next size up and cover shipping if they want it back.
Worth a try. They might turn out to have good CS.

My experience has been "they will make it right" give them a call and explain the problem, they can not fix what they do not know is broken.

 

[longcruise]

Many years ago I made a change in thinking. It went like this; There is no such thing as "patch material", there's only material suitable for patching. Find the right stuff locally and buy a bunch!

I've found JoAnne's #40 drill to be excellent and I use it in most of my guns. I'll adjust the ball size to make it fit!

 

[stikshooter]

Oh good grief!! I've had one heck of a frustrating morning! I now think I know why some folks say their rifle just stopped shooting good groups. You can't expect good groups when your patching material is drastically changing thickness from one package to the next.

I drug out all my patching material. .010", .015", .018", and .020" is what the factory packaging says it is. I have patching from both Ox-yoke and Eastern Maine. I leave the material, either bulk, strips or precuts, in the original package for storage. I miked every package multiple times. If it was several years old, it was either dead on or close enough. If it was newer than that, then all bets were off. I marked every package with it's correct thickness. I now have .010", .012", .015", and .018". None were thicker than advertised. Some were drastically thinner such as one package of .018" pillow ticking that is actually .012". It went into the same box as a bunch of .015" that also miked out to .012". How can you in good conscience sell .020" when it really is .015 when compressed? It was .018 when not compressed.

Next week I'm off to the fabric store to find true .020" cotton. Thin about it. Your rifle shoots well with XYZ brand .015" patches. You run out and buy another pack of the same patches. Now the rifle shoots differently. You pull your hair out trying to figure out why. Well maybe it's 'cause the patches are really .010" masquerading as .015"s.

Why is it if it works you cant go back and buy as stated previously , buy all you can . Or better question is buy a lot and if it doesn't work for your rifle , take up sewing !/Ed

 

[stikshooter]

Makes me wonder did our forefathers worry so much about patch thickness or just use whatever was at hand. I'm really curious about this. Any replies greatly appreciated

Well for the most part ,they did have short life spans /Ed

 

[Jim K]

Many years ago I made a change in thinking. It went like this; There is no such thing as "patch material", there's only material suitable for patching. Find the right stuff locally and buy a bunch!

I've found JoAnne's #40 drill to be excellent and I use it in most of my guns. I'll adjust the ball size to make it fit!

What does that material mic at?

 

[longcruise]

I measure with a dial caliper and apply hard pressure. Comes up at .018

 

[user 31232]

Well, if you ever watched Last of the Mohicans, they do worry about patch material.
Preferring silk for those times you absolutely needed to make that long range shot

Hmmmm ladies silk undies

 

[NorthFork]

Many years ago I made a change in thinking. It went like this; There is no such thing as "patch material", there's only material suitable for patching. Find the right stuff locally and buy a bunch!

I've found JoAnne's #40 drill to be excellent and I use it in most of my guns. I'll adjust the ball size to make it fit!

I'm finding this to be true. "Material suitable for patching" says it all.

 

[BP Addict]

I have come to the conclusion that the thickness on the label is measured SNUG and NOT compressed.

My local shop usually carries Bridgers Best but sometime EMSS. They occasionally buy another shop's inventory when they close their doors. You can tell that some of this stuff is years old. I usually opt for Pillow Ticking. I've gotten different thicknesses from one pack to the next. The contents of one package looked stiffer and appeared as though the sizing was not washed out. Fabric is made in lots and can vary from one to the other.

I'm going back to buying in bulk at the fabric store. I'll either cut at the muzzle or use a method a freind came up with. Go to the 2nd hand store or Pawn Shop and buy a used hole saw for the size of patches he wants. They're cheap. Usually less than a buck. He takes the drill bit out of the center of the Mandrell. He chucks it in his drill press, turns it on and takes a file to the teeth, removing them. He then tapers the edge to make it sharp. He folds the material up and cuts through serveral layers. He can make 100s of precut patches in a short period of time.

Walt