Pillow ticking from walmart?

[Sidney Smith]

Has anyone used the pillow ticking from wal mart for patch material? It looks to be of decent quality and is cheaper than buying small packages of it from say Cabelas or online. How thick does it generally run?

 

[Zonie]

I've used a lot of it and it works fine.

I've bought the red/white stripped and the blue/white stripped kind and they are just about the same thing. I think the red/white stripped pillow ticking might be a thousandth of an inch thinner or so but it works just as well in my guns.

 

[Grenadier1758]

As long as the bolt confirms that the material is 100% cotton, you should be ready to load it up. Do wash the fabric to remove the sizing.

 

[Carbon 6]

It works for me, just be sure to wash it first

 

[Adui]

+1 Ive always used WalMart ticking. It was the only place I could find it when I first started using it

 

[mhb]

Good stuff. I also recommend their 'Super Muslin', also 100% cotton, and excellent for patches.

mhb - MIke

 

[Don Steele]

It can work very well. I'm one of those who takes a micrometer with me when I am shopping for patch fabric. I've used WalMart blue stripe, and their tan stripe material in square bottom rifled barrels just fine. They sometimes have a much thicker material...sort of a "lite-canvas" that runs .018 or a little more..COMPRESSED measurement that works REAL well in a rifle I reserve for Table and Chunk shooting but results in a load that's too tight for casual offhand loading with a wood ramrod.
Lately, I've been shooting a lot with a Colerain "radius rifled" barrel ( we call that round-bottom rifled back home). To get a good seal, I'm using JoAnn Fabric 12 oz. denim with good results.
Whatever fabric you choose...wash it a couple of times in HOT water with NO fabric softener.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The Walmart material works. I do prefer the cotton utility cloth or cotton drill cloth from JoAnn's Fabrics. It appears to be a denser weave and you get a greater selection of fabric from drill to ticking to denim to canvas. Almost any day a discount coupon can be found on their web site to bring the cost in line with Walmart's.

 

[Sidney Smith]

When you guys wash the ticking, do you use any kind of detergent or just wet it and wring it out and let it dry? I've used ticking right from the package and I've used stuff I've " washed" by just soaking in warm water then drying before use. Never used any kind of soap though.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I use Wal Mart Blue and White striped pillow ticking. I wash it in hot water only and air dry. Mine is cut into strips and treated to a 7:1 Water/Ballistol bath. The dry strips are cut at muzzle. They are fantastic in all of my .54 caliber rifles. I have one .50 but have not used it in that one. I took a caliper to the store and the reddish/brown and white pillow ticking on-hand measured the same that day. I just prefer the blue/white.

 

[wzroberts]

So...
...how thick is the WMT pillow ticking? Does it vary from lot to lot?

 

[Maven]

So...
...how thick is the WMT pillow ticking? Does it vary from lot to lot?

It varies from lot-to-lot at Joanne Fabrics as well. At the very least, take a caliper, or a micrometer if you have one when looking for [100% cotton] patch material. Look at denim too, as it comes in different weights/thicknesses and can be quite useful as long as it's all cotton.

 

[S.Kenton]

I’ve measured the Walmart ticking and it has varied to some degree, but I find it generally runs about .016-.017 in thickness.

 

[Don Steele]

It definitely varies. Sometimes I've found the tan-and-white to be a better match to the blue-and-white I had been using than the current bolt of blue/white on the shelf. I've also found JoAnn's blue/white to be thinner material than some of the WalMart stuff I've used. I don't shop for patch material without a micrometer..( Thanks Dutch.)
All that said however...at the end of the day, for shooting my flintlock offhand a difference of even a few thousandth's in my patch material isn't gonna move those 7's into the "X" ring..!!

Table and chunk though...that's a whole different story.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've used it for many years. Measures .015" to .018". Both those thicknesses can be found on same bolt. Nature of the manufacturing I'm guessing. I wash in water only and machine dry. To lube I make my concotion into semi-soft bars and rub on the light colored side and store n baggies.

 

[S.Kenton]

Man, that’s odd. I always bring my mic with me when shopping for patching material. I’ve never had the blue and white off more than 1-2 thousandths. However I have found that I can over tighten my mic and make it read thinner as well measure it with mic too loose and get a thicker reading. I normally tighten up my mic so the patching slides freely through my mic with some, but not a lot of resistance... kind of the same premise as using a feeler gauge to measure the points or spark plugs on an old car or tractor, a little resistance but not a lot.