Patch Questions????

[Doc Will]

I recently purchased 2 yards of .018 pillow ticking I will be using for patching for my hunting gun.
I have seen post that suggest washing the ticking to get the sizing out :whatwhat the heck is sizing?) :huh:, and I have seen post on never washing the ticking and it works fine. I have also seen post on if you use a liquid lube, do not wash and if you use a greese lube, you must wash.
I have always used Oxyolk precut, prelubed ticking patches in the past, and I would not have a clue if store bought prelubed ticking is washed before they are lubed.
Please let me know what method works the best for you. I will be using suggestions this weekend as I am shooting in and sighting in my new .54 slow twist rounball barrel.
Doc Will
Keep Yer Powder Dry :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I wash. Whatever is on the tic that might come off that easy I don't want in my barrel to add to the gumming up.

 

[Musketeer]

Sizing is a product (usually polyester resin) applied to fabric that stiffens the material and helps keep it from getting soiled. It's basically designed to keep fabric looking neat and clean on the store shelf. Washing the fabric removes the sizing, allowing the cloth to be more flexible and better able to absorb whatever lube you might use. As for me, I always wash material before I use it for patches. Make sure you wash the WHOLE piece of fabric first, and THEN cut it into patches (if your not going to cut at the muzzle), otherwise your patches will wind up frayed all to heck! Hope this answers your question. :thumbsup:

 

[musketman]

Sizing is a starch...

 

[Stumpkiller]

Shiver me timber. . .s! Musketeer, there be a new Avatar ye gots there? That, or it's been too long I've been away from port.

You'll be dinin in the captain's mess tonight, lad. We'll stay after and review your chart plottin lessons.

 

[Musketeer]

Yes, oh great Professor of Musketology :crackup:, sizing can also be a starch! Soy milk is sometimes used for this purpose (seriously!) :shocking: :crackup: :thumbsup:.

 

Doc: WASH IT! Whoever says different is simple.
Musketeer...WOW!! LOVE YER NEW HAIR DOO!

 

[musketman]

After you wash it, don't starch it...

You could iron it flat, or hang it to dry, or even tumble dry it... (use a dryer sheet, don't want static cling on your patches) :crackup:

And, as an added bonus, your wife will think you are doing the laundry and give you a gold star... :winking: :haha:

 

[doverdog]

I guess you'll have to call me Simple. I don't wash the stuff anymore. I used to but tried it without washing and found the difference to be negligeble. When washed, it comes out very wrinkled and needed ironing. I use a liquid lube of my own making so maybe if you use a solid type, washing might be a good idea. Wash a small piece and cut some patches from it and some from an unwashed piece. Try them both and use the one you like best. If you can eliminate the extra work of washing and ironing and worrying about threads and frattles, you are further ahead. :results:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Ok. "You're Simple."

When washed, it comes out very wrinkled and needed ironing.

I line dry mine and then cut it into 1-3/8" x 36" strips, and fold them in 3" +/- flat loops. After being squeezed and shoe-horned into my hunting pouch it loses all of the wrinkles.

 

[musketman]

If you cut patches at the barrel and lube them in your mouth (spit) before loading, you may want to pre-wash them, no reason to starch your tongue...

 

[doverdog]

I guess they would be OK to use in their washed and wrinkled state, being "bag pressed" and all, if you cut at the muzzle. I pre-cut mine on a drill press and need all the help I can get to keep the strips flat and straight for the operation. The liquid lube I use has MOS in it and does a good job of breaking the surface tension of whatever sizing is used on the ticking. As I said, I see very little, if any, difference in the effectiveness of the patches, unwashed, and the material is much easier to handle. I guess you could say the operation in "Simpler". :crackup:

 

Superflint:
Listen 'ol buddy. I wasn't going to tell you everything for fear of getting you upset, but you MUST wash your ticking to get the sizing out.
You won't always be able to see the nasty results from the sizing, but trust me, the University of Southern Higher Intellect and Teaching, (greeeeat football team!) did some secretive, but definitive tests on this.
Unwashed ticking improperly handled, specifically LICKED as in "spit" patch, can lead to an abnormal mental state and cause you to vote LIBERAL!! :what: :nono: :cry: :cry:
Be careful...your mileage may vary. :winking:

 

[Doc Will]

Thanks guys for all the input and then some. :master:I always enjoy it when Maxi, Stmpy and MM participate in a thread. :crackup: Reminds me of Moe , Larry, and Curly. :youcrazy: All kidding aside I do appreciate all you guys. :m2c: I have washed and line dried my ticking and will be cutting in strips and using Lehigh Lube. Will be cutting patches at the muzzle. I have seen mention dry lubes such as moose milk, has anyone else noticed that Lehigh is sort of a dry lube as well? I am glad I found out that the consumption of sizing will cause a person to become LIBERAL thats scary.
Doc Will
Keep Yer Powder Dry :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have seen mention dry lubes such as moose milk, has anyone else noticed that Lehigh is sort of a dry lube as well?

The moose milk is as wet a lube as lubes get . . . wet. The formula I use has castor oil, witch hazel and Murphy's Oil, all of which hang around after the water and alcohol dissapate; but I've never tried it as a lube in that condition. Now Moose Snot is a grease/wax lube, and won't leach out of a tin in your pocket (or off a patch in a ball-block worn around your neck onto your frock). Lehigh is pretty damp out of the bottle, but will air dry some. I don't consider it a dry lube 'tall. More a "gone" lube if you let the patch sit around too long.

 

[Doc Will]

Stumpy (Curly),
I have read that Dutch Shultz recomends a "dry lube" which I understand is water soluble oil. Mixed with water this becomes a milky looking formula "moose milk". If applied to a patch and the water evaporates over a period of time would that not be considered a "dry patch lube". I have prelubed patches with Lehigh and put in a tin. When used they seemed dry out but still a little slippery. I have no clue what Lehigh is made from. I may have the wrong idea of what "dry Lube" patches are. :: What would you consider a "dry lube"?
Doc Will
Keep Yer Powder Dry :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

A woise goy, eh?

I consider things like Ox Yoke's "Dry Patch" (which may in fact be dried Lehigh Lube??) prepackaged dry patches, Corbin Dip Lube allowed to dry and things like Magma Dry Lube for dies as "dry" lubes. It is not moist to the touch when the patch is handled. I never tried letting Lehigh lube sit and evaporate, instead using it right from a bottle.

You may have it right, I've never actually used a pre-lubed or what Ox-Yoke calls a dry patch. Maybe my grease & wax lube is what some would call a dry lube?

Would thixotropic suspension of polymerized fatty molecules describe it better than grease? :haha:

 

[Sparks]

I prefer ticking patches myself. I have found they come in a variety of sizes from "can use" to "can't use." I have miced it at .018 and .022. Next time I shoot I'll be using the .018.

"Sizing" is that junk they add to the material to give it stiffness and crispness (kinda like starch). If you wash the sizing out by laundering it, it gets softer and 'fluffier' and also expands in thickness. Consider sizing like that stuff they used to put in brand new bluejeans that made them so they could just about stand up by themselves.

We're working on a patch/ball combinations for our .54 flinters and have yet to come up with a pair to meet my needs. We can hit the target pretty well with relatively tight groups, but the recovered patches look like the had gone through a jet engine. They should be practically useable again, with some blackened groves where the cloth was forced into the rifling. They should not be cut along the edges of the rifling (meaning sharp rifling edges), they should not have burnt holes towards the center, no super blackened patches (ill-fitting patch with a lot of gas blowby).

I'm trying to meet that happy medium of a patch that fits tight enough for game-kiling accuracy while NOT using a short starter.

Sparks

 

[Sparks]

Indeed! I always though sizing tasted terrible! Maybe why I went to a .577 enfield with minie balls for so long before coming back to flinters and roundballs.