pillow ticking patches

[snagg]

Hi:
Being a newbie to muzzleloading I have been spending considerable time on this board reading different postings of interest. I came across one about the pillow ticking being used as the patch wad. When I purchased my accessories to shoot my F/L I bought pre-cut, pre-lubed patches. They have worked great, but wanting to be a bit more " do-it-yourselfer" I wanted to make my own patches.
So, off I go to JoAnn Fabrics and buy a couple yards of pillow ticking.( I did take my micometers along to check the thickness.)
The wife asks me how I plan on cutting the material into little, perfectly roung patches like the ones I bought.
Well, I gave her the " you'll probably do it for me" look. And of course she just started laughing so hard I wasn't sure she'd recover.
Now, the big question is, " How do you folks cut your patches into those perfectly round patches".
I have Bore Butter to use as my lube after getting the patches made.
Thanks, snagg

 

[Big John]

They don't have to be round. Cut the ticking into strips of about 1.25 in. wide , then if you want into small rectangles approx.[url] 1.5in[/url]. long. If you want round patches, one way is to take a wood hole saw, file the teeth off, make a sharp edge on the rim and fold strips of ticking over and cut with the hole saw. I use strips that are cut at the bore while loading, this insures the r.b. is fully surrounded by the patch and excess is cut away.

 

:rotf: One time long ago, I took the mics to the fabric store, the lady wanted to know why I did that,My reply was hat I wanted to make a very small pair of shorts for my tiney girl friend, big silence and eye rolling. My buddy came in and ordered enough duck to make a leanpee, same question what are you going to do with all that material? his reply was ,to make my wife a nignty.This was not a set up,honest, but the lady that owns the shop sure remembers us.

 

[MikeChapin]

I use hole saws with the teeth ground off and an edge ground on for making round patches. I just chuck up the proper size in the drill press and zing them out. I do it this way because it is convient and fast not because there is anything special about using a round patch.

As Big John mentioned, you don't need to use round patches. Cut them into squares it you want or just cut strips and cut them at the muzzle as you need them. I haven't seen any difference in accuracy because of the shape of the patch.

 

[bwhoffman]

....for my 50, i took a 1 5/16 hole saw (that got to see some fire brick)and chucked it up in a cordless drill, I then ran the drill on a belt sander at the flattest angel I could get and with both tools on and a little time, sharpened the ex-holesaw to razor blade quality, I also ran the holesaw over my assorted whet stones. I can shave my arms with this thing!
Mine is on a doorknob and I cut into a rubbermat, worksgreat and perferctly round. can do a pic if you would like to see it!

Brett

 

[Landngroove]

I use a sharp pair of scissors to cut square patches. Square ones work the same as round. I use a store bought round patch as a width guide. I lay it on the pillow ticking material, and use the pillow ticking lines as a guide to cut the cloth. I cut one long strip, the proper width, then using the round patch, again as a width guide, cut the individual patches. This process actually does not take that long.

 

[mbw907]

Brett, your idea for a patch cutter is really neat. It sounds like you probably have other gadgets that you figured up to make muzzleloaders life easier.Great tip! Shantheman :grin:

 

[jtmattison]

They really don't have to be round.
Cut them 1 1/4 inch square and you're ready to go.

Matter of fact. I was shooting today and using both round and square cut pillow ticking.
I got my best groups of the day using square patches.
With a square patch it is uaually easier to center the ball when loading.

HD

 

[snagg]

Hi:
Thanks for all the great replies and outstanding suggestions. I believe I'll give the square patches a go on accuracy. And in the mingst time will hit some flea markets and garage sales for a hole saw.
Thanks a bunch, snagg

 

[skunkskinner]

I rip the ticking into strips 1 1/2 inches wide and 2 feet long.Then lay the end of it on the end of the barrel,put the ball on it,start the ball, then use the patch knife to cut of the excess.Perfect fit every time.I use saliva for the lube.

 

[longfowler]

My wife is big into crafts, and bought this machine called a "sizzix" . It's designed to make die cuts in fabrics & paper. you buy different dies to go in it, and guess what? they make a die that cuts 4 different size round holes at the same time. this rig cuts right thru wall mart pillow ticking with the pull of a lever! the largest one makes a good patch for my 12 ga musket, the next one smaller fits her .54, then one for my .50. the smallest patch that comes out would probably be good for a .32 or a .36.( I think now I should I buy a gun in that caliber so I'm not wasting good patches.)I'm glad my wifes craft addiction is finaly paying off!!

 

[ronrryan]

I have mentioned this dodge before, but here goes again: Wash your ticking, cut into strips appropriate to the caliber (.50, .60, etc), then fold over in a square, keep folding until the whole strip is nicely folded. Then take your scissors and trim the four corners. This gives you a long strip you can hang over your horn strap, or whatever, and cut your patch on the muzzle with practically no effort from your patch knife, scissors, ot what you will. If you like you can pre-lube either as a whole strip, or by individual patches. Works for me, ron in FL

 

[TexiKan]

They really don't have to be round.
Cut them 1 1/4 inch square and you're ready to go.

Matter of fact. I was shooting today and using both round and square cut pillow ticking.
HD

Now I am curious, Huntin' Dawg. I assume you cut the excess material off at the muzzle and then shoot......or did you leave the excess of the square patch material? I have always been told to cut the excess, flush with the muzzle. Never really knew if the excess would cause lots of problems or not......just always did it!

TexiKan

 

[musketman]

They really don't have to be round.
Cut them 1 1/4 inch square and you're ready to go.

Matter of fact. I was shooting today and using both round and square cut pillow ticking.
HD

Now I am curious, Huntin' Dawg. I assume you cut the excess material off at the muzzle and then shoot......or did you leave the excess of the square patch material?

That would be redundant to trim a pre-cut patch, might as well cut at the muzzle to begin with...

As long as it is not an extremely amount of material extending past the round ball, the patch itself will not act as a bore obstruction, obviously you shouldn't have a 2 inch in diameter patch with a .315 round ball, but a square patch won't cause much trouble in the bore...

I use triangle patches myself... :haha:

 

[snagg]

Musketman:

Are you funnin around or do you really use triangular patches?

They actually look quite easy to make.

Take care, snagg

 

[jtmattison]

They really don't have to be round.
Cut them 1 1/4 inch square and you're ready to go.

Matter of fact. I was shooting today and using both round and square cut pillow ticking.
HD

Now I am curious, Huntin' Dawg. I assume you cut the excess material off at the muzzle and then shoot......or did you leave the excess of the square patch material? I have always been told to cut the excess, flush with the muzzle. Never really knew if the excess would cause lots of problems or not......just always did it!

TexiKan

I don't cut off the excess. The corners of the patch don't cause any obstruction.
As I said, I have found square patches a lot easier to center the ball in.

HD

 

[musketman]

Musketman:

Are you funnin around or do you really use triangular patches?

They actually look quite easy to make.

Take care, snagg

You just never know with me... :grin:

It comes from years of watching Mrs. Musketman changing cloth diapers on the Musketkids... :haha:

Oh, and I was just a funnin everyone, I really use octagon patches (square patches with the corners trimed), I hear oval patches works too... :hmm:

 

[snagg]

ronrryan:

I noticed you mentioned washing the ticking. Does this make it more pliable? or is there another reason? Just curious as this is the first time I saw that mentioned.

Thanks, snagg

 

[musketman]

ronrryan:

I noticed you mentioned washing the ticking. Does this make it more pliable? or is there another reason? Just curious as this is the first time I saw that mentioned.

Thanks, snagg

New material contains sizing (starch) in them, this is to keep the cloth looking like new until sold, it is also suppose to prevents the threads from fraying when cut...

Washing the cloth removes this sizing and makes the cloth more pliable, I think the sizing also prevents the lube from fully soaking in, but I can't prove that...

In my opinion, 'tis better to line dry the cloth than it is to tumble dry, keeps the cloth flatter with less wrinkles...

 

[BS]

ronrryan:

I noticed you mentioned washing the ticking. Does this make it more pliable? or is there another reason? Just curious as this is the first time I saw that mentioned.

Thanks, snagg

New material contains sizing (starch) in them, this is to keep the cloth looking like new until sold, it is also suppose to prevents the threads from fraying when cut...

Washing the cloth removes this sizing and makes the cloth more pliable, I think the sizing also prevents the lube from fully soaking in, but I can't prove that...

In my opinion, 'tis better to line dry the cloth than it is to tumble dry, keeps the cloth flatter with less wrinkles...

Just how I do it also. :grin: