I always have been told to try the correct traditional way of patching, which is linen. I currently use .020" cotton patches. How in the world do I figure out linen material thickness? No fabric stores nearby to sells linen.
Linen patch material?
- Thread starter Frontier's
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ok but thats cotton, not linen.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Try googling linen. I found a source for it and probably saved the URL but I'm away from the desktop right now.
I think you might get away with something a bit thinner than cotton. Also look up the site for minutemen purveyors of patch material.
I think you might get away with something a bit thinner than cotton. Also look up the site for minutemen purveyors of patch material.
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I looked pretty hard at linen a few years back, but only on walk-ins at stores and nothing online. I'm sure my impressions reflect only what the stores happen to be carrying and little about what I might learn if I did a whole bunch of ordering just so I could pinch and squeeze the goods. But here's what I came away with.
The linens available for fold and sniff in stores weren't all that thick, only going up to .013 on my mic as I recall. Seemed a lot tougher than cotton, so I picked up some .08 to try in a gun that needed a thin patch for the balls I had available. It was a patch blowing monster using cotton patches, but I didn't want to order a smaller mold if I didn't have to. Tried the linen and problem solved for about $6 as I recall, and I'm still using some of that original purchase years later.
Not seeing any heavier stock but curious, I doubled up the .08 and shot that in another rifle that liked .015. Bingo. Recovered patches were in lots better shape than ticking, and if I was a better shot I might have claimed better accuracy. But I wasn't about to go through the folferol of setting up a benchrest, so all shooting was offhand.
Couple of sips from a bottle doesn't tell you much, but that's what I got about linen. Sure seems like the answer any time a guy needs thin patches and cotton won't do the job. Looks like it's dandy for thicker patches too, but I got a problem there. Our local Chinamart shut down their fabric department and I was able to buy a whole bolt of cotton ticking for $1 a yard. Even using it for big projects like bag liners, I figure there's enough there for my great-great grandkids someday to be using, so there's just no sense buying more thick patching any time I can make the ticking work. Doesn't say a thing about how well thick linen will work for patches too. Just sezz I'm cheap.
The linens available for fold and sniff in stores weren't all that thick, only going up to .013 on my mic as I recall. Seemed a lot tougher than cotton, so I picked up some .08 to try in a gun that needed a thin patch for the balls I had available. It was a patch blowing monster using cotton patches, but I didn't want to order a smaller mold if I didn't have to. Tried the linen and problem solved for about $6 as I recall, and I'm still using some of that original purchase years later.
Not seeing any heavier stock but curious, I doubled up the .08 and shot that in another rifle that liked .015. Bingo. Recovered patches were in lots better shape than ticking, and if I was a better shot I might have claimed better accuracy. But I wasn't about to go through the folferol of setting up a benchrest, so all shooting was offhand.
Couple of sips from a bottle doesn't tell you much, but that's what I got about linen. Sure seems like the answer any time a guy needs thin patches and cotton won't do the job. Looks like it's dandy for thicker patches too, but I got a problem there. Our local Chinamart shut down their fabric department and I was able to buy a whole bolt of cotton ticking for $1 a yard. Even using it for big projects like bag liners, I figure there's enough there for my great-great grandkids someday to be using, so there's just no sense buying more thick patching any time I can make the ticking work. Doesn't say a thing about how well thick linen will work for patches too. Just sezz I'm cheap.
I have gotten linen (100% made from flax) from JoAnne's Fabrics. You do have to look for a tight weave fabric. Linen is more expensive than cotton. Due to the expense, there are too many linen polyester blends and too many loose weaves to recommend going to the trouble of finding real flax linen. You measure it with slight compression with a micrometer. Linen is stronger than cotton and will resist shredding from a sharp crown or rifling.
Some of the reenacting fabric suppliers have linen. 96 Storehouse, Wm. Booth Draper, Period Fabric list linen. They may be more helpful in determining which bolt of linen will be suitable for patching than JoAnne's.
My go to patching is the cotton drill cloth in utility cloth section. Once washed and line dried, the drill measures 0.017" and 0.012" compressed. They also have all the standard pillow ticking, canvas and denims to select a suitable fabric.
Some of the reenacting fabric suppliers have linen. 96 Storehouse, Wm. Booth Draper, Period Fabric list linen. They may be more helpful in determining which bolt of linen will be suitable for patching than JoAnne's.
My go to patching is the cotton drill cloth in utility cloth section. Once washed and line dried, the drill measures 0.017" and 0.012" compressed. They also have all the standard pillow ticking, canvas and denims to select a suitable fabric.
I had an old linen vest I worn a bit,tried it and didn’t notice a difference, tried some as rag tinder and couldn’t tell it from cotton.
There is a very large flea market about 30 miles from where I live.
In the indoor part, they have tables piled high with all kinds of fabric and things made from fabric.
Years ago table clothes were made from linen. You can go there with your micrometer and buy all the linen table cloths you want and they are cheap.
Another place to check is Goodwill or a similar place for linen.
In the indoor part, they have tables piled high with all kinds of fabric and things made from fabric.
Years ago table clothes were made from linen. You can go there with your micrometer and buy all the linen table cloths you want and they are cheap.
Another place to check is Goodwill or a similar place for linen.
Some years ago I was at a yard sale and saw some pretty simple green curtains. The shooter part of my mind said "Fabric!", so I checked the manufacturers tag. 100% linen! I probably paid $2 for about 6 or 8 yards of fabric. Later I found the same drapes in red linen, but I already had enough to cover full length picture windows, so I passed on it.
