Jo-anne's confusion

[CWC]

My GPR doesn't seem to like pillow ticking too much, so I decided to go to Jo-annes to grab some of the cotton drill I've read about on this forum. So far I've been to 3 of them, with about the same scenario from the lady helping me.

Me: "Hello, I'm looking for some cotton drill."
Her: (Looks at me like I'm stupid)
Me: It's the stuff used to make blue jean pockets"
Her: "I'm kinda new here, let me go ask someone."

Twice they've come back and said that the most knowledgeable person in the store has never heard of it. Today (Jo-ann's # 3, the new "super center") she came back and said that the expert lady said that she's heard of it, but never seen any. However, she thought it was similar to muslin. She then showed me to a row of 30 different types of muslin.

Well, are drill and muslin the same? If not has anyone tried muslin? Where can I get genuine drill?

 

[J.D.]

Cotton drill is a light weight, tightly woven canvas. I have heard the same song and dance about cotton drill being used to make pockets, but it seems waaayyy too heavy a fabric for any pockets I have had my hands in.

Go back and ask for a light weight canvas. Take your micrometer and mic the various bolts of canvas 'till you find the correct thickness, about .015-.017, if my memory is correct.

100% cotton denim of the same thickness might work, if you can't find the drill.

The bolt of drill I find at our local Jo Annes is in the cotton fabric section, as opposed to the upholstery section.
J.D.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Never heard of Joanne, but we get our material at Hobby Lobby. They have a very good selection at the store I go to in Amarillo. All different weights of Canvas, drill, muslin.

If you have those stores in your area, you might check them out.

 

[Raynor]

The 2 Jo-Annes I go to both have cotton drill, it's in the same row as the ticking. The Wal-Mart's I've been into also have cotton drill.


I have some on my bench and just measured it.

Drill .017
Ticking .022

 

[Russianblood]

The cotton drill at my Jo-Anns is right next to the pillow ticking as well. Mine was labelled Cotton Drill 40. It miked out in the store to .016 and went up to .019 after washing. I does crush back down when loaded though and works great with no burn thru or cutting even out of a brand new GPR barrel and 90gr 3f!

 

[jtmattison]

I got mine at joanne. walked in the door, asked where the drill cloth was, got escorted right to it, out the door, no problems. This was in Ohio. I haven't looked for any in Texas yet because I still have several hundred patches left from the first yard of drill.

HD

 

[shortstring]

Go to Jo-annes web sight with your credit card & order Drill 40. You'll have it in a few days.

 

[CWC]

Cotton drill is a light weight, tightly woven canvas. I have heard the same song and dance about cotton drill being used to make pockets, but it seems waaayyy too heavy a fabric for any pockets I have had my hands in.

Hmmm...the main reason I wanted it was because I thought it was pocket fabric, which is nice and thin. My GPR is shooting best with some factory pre-lubed pre-cut .010 patches. I was wanting to keep with about that thickness, but get a few yards so I can cut at the muzzle or make my own patches. What would be a good fabric for me to use?

 

[Russianblood]

Go to Jo-annes web sight with your credit card & order Drill 40. You'll have it in a few days.

It is $3.99 a yard in the store. If it's more than that on-line, I'd go back and look harder in the store.

 

[Raynor]

Whenever I want a .010 patch I use Muslin. Just double checked and it measured right at .010

Seems like the last I bought was $1.00 a yard at Jo-Annes.

Sign up to be on their mailing list and they'll send you a 40% off coupon every couple weeks.

 

[CWC]

Whenever I want a .010 patch I use Muslin. Just double checked and it measured right at .010

Muslin is what they tried to sell me instead of drill. There were at least 20 different types. Do you know what type you have that is .010?

 

[bob1961]

got any old jeans or old dickie work pants ya can cut the pockets out of :v .............bob

 

[Raynor]

I didn't know there were that many different types of Muslin. The stuff I have is just plain old off white, natural color and looks like cotton drill. (only thinner)

 

[tmdreb]

Never rely on the opinion of the store employees on what's in the store. As nice and helpful as they are, they quite often don't know what exactly is there.

Cotton drill is a bit heavy for pockets, but would be good for the pants themselves. The weave isn't a tabby weave like canvas, but is twilled like denim, and looks basically like undyed denim.

Wal-Mart sells what they call "plain ticking" which is essentially a drill that is lighter than what Jo-Anne sells.

 

[Mad Monk]

JD,

The #40 cotton drill was once known as pocket drill. What is used for pants pockets these days in denim pants is a lot thinner than the cloth used 30 or 40 years ago.

When a shooter in Ohio turned me on to the #40 cotton drill I hit the Jo-Anne fabric store out in the Temple area. As I was looked through the bolts of cotton cloth a grey haired woman approached me. She worked at the store. When I asked about #40 cotton drill she said, "Oh, you shoot muzzleloaders".
Turns out that her late husband was a ml gunsmith for years. Her son has continued that. Her husband used the #40 cotton drill for ball patching in addition to selling it to shooters he dealt with.

Then the local store no longer carried it. Then I ran into some out near Harrisburg and bought the bolt they had in stock.

I did find that one bolt ran around .020" that would crush down to about .016". Then around bolt was .018" that crushed down to .015".

But running into a store clerk that actually smiled when she said muzzleloading was a treat.

 

[redwing]

I ask Joanns for 40 Drill pocket liner in Ogden, Ut.The lady took me to the ticking etc. and heavy drill cloth.
As I was checking out the clerk said pardon me but you look like some one who is a BP Shooter. I don't think we look like most of the other customes in a Fabric shop.
She said her husband had just got in to M/L and every patch they tried caught fire. We got the Info. from hubby and I set them up with a .015 pillow tick etc. :thumbsup:
And like the Lone Ranger I rode away leaving a happy new M/L and I had my 40 drill. :thumbsup:

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Any that mikes .012 before washed so it can be around .015 after washed?