Pillow Ticking Patching

[Don Steele]

This:

To all;
There is no defined difference in the thickness of "ticking" material in regards to color.
Red,Blue,Green,Purple or Pink w/flowers matters not. Even bolt to bolt of fabric at the same store a year apart will not mean it's the same thickness.
The only way to know is to measure it with micrometers or calipers.

Before I go on, I will add that if you're perfectly happy with "minute-of-Deer" groups out of your rifle....you probably don't need to read any further.
With that out of the way, if you are like me then don't worry about the little old ladies at the fabric store looking at you funny... :grin:
Take a decent micrometer in with you, and KNOW what you're buying. KEEP RECORDS of what you bought so you will know what to look for next time. You might discover that the material you select measures a little differently after being washed so when it's time to get more...just measuring what you have on hand (already washed and cut..) can be a little misleading. :shake:
I went into Jo-Ann looking for "blue-stripe ticking" and found the bolt of it that they had was considerably thinner than the material( also "blue-stripe ticking) I had previously purchased.

 

[azmntman]

I find that patches cut from the knee area often load easier, somtimes that taken from the backside does as well. Depends on the source. :grin:

Been proven that the small amount of patch material from a old pair of jeans cut from the circular pattern where the can of skoal makes the round outline shoot way better than knee or butt patching. Studys on going for coppenhagan, grizzly and others. Dont get much so gotta by these at good will etc.

PS works best with plain ol spit patch.... :rotf:

 

[Rifleman1776]

You have already seen a lot of responses that just tell you everyone has their own way of doing things.
To answer a couple of your concerns: I wash my new ticking in the washing machine. It does fray but that is a minor issue. For consistency take a micrometer to the store with you (ignore the strange looks from wimmens there :wink: ) and measure thickness. Cloth varies with lot. Do make sure it is pure cotton. I always look for USA made but that can sometimes be hard to find.
I lube my ticking in large pieces and fold into a plastick storage zip lock bag. For use I tear off a strip apx. 2" wide and cut at muzzle.
In the field I use a small belt knife to cut. At the range I have a dedicated thin blade knife.

 

[Grenadier1758]

For my own way of patch selection, I use Jo Ann's cotton drill or the utility cloth. Ticking can be pillow or mattress. You can take a look at the canvas selections for extra thick material.

 

[MSW]

To all;
There is no defined difference in the thickness of "ticking" material in regards to color.
Red,Blue,Green,Purple or Pink w/flowers matters not. Even bolt to bolt of fabric at the same store a year apart will not mean it's the same thickness.
The only way to know is to measure it with micrometers or calipers.

oh my gosh!!!

common sense rears its ugly head!!

now, really folks, we must put a sudden stop to this common sense thing, for everyone knows that the best patch material is the [strike]blue[/strike], [strike]red[/strike], green stuff. you must cut it with an iron knife, at the muzzle, and only under a quarter moon, and the stripes must align with true north (not magnetic north, as some might wrongfully have you believe), and you must repeat the following incantation (but is Farsi, and while standing on your left foot only): "please god-of-bang, make my shot fly true."

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:


in all seriousness, do whatever makes you happy. I would get to the local dry goods store, with my caliper in hand, and take down the lot number so that (if after washing firing) I get a really good result, I can go back and buy the rest of the bolt.

Keep notes, don't put any synthetic cloth (rayon, Dacron, cotton/polyester blends, etc.) through your rifle, and you'll do fine.

for the best treatise on this subject, check out Dutch Shoultz' method.
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/

 

[RogerWYO]

I see no mention of "pocket cloth". I use a .020 pocket cloth patch with a .440 ball in my 45 and it has worked very well for me. I use the same material to patch my 36, 54, and 50. I also use it for cleaning patches and char cloth.
Bottom line, pillow ticking isnt the only game in town. If it is tight weave and 100% cotton try it.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Sometimes pocket drill is called utility cloth at Jo Ann's. You can call it pocket cloth. It's very tightly woven and about 0.018" thick. I use pocket drill in preference to pillow ticking.

 

[Dr5x]

Several things.
My European customers report that 100% cotton is difficult to find over there, the artificial fabrics have pretty mush replaced cotton usage.
Checking your fabric thickness with a caliper will usually either give you a false measurement or will damage the caliper. A cheap micrometer from Sears or some of the Bib Box stores can do the job as well as an expensive model. I picked up my micrometer for $5 at a gun show.


I also suggest that the only measurement that has any merit is the compressed measurement as when the fabric is
in place to do its job it is compressed between ball and barrel wall.

If ticking works for you, great, but the next time you resupply your patching you stand a great chance of getting a similar looking fabric that is actually a material that is a bit different when compressed and your accuracy might well go off.

Just a thougt.

Dutch

 

[George]

If ticking works for you, great, but the next time you resupply your patching you stand a great chance of getting a similar looking fabric that is actually a material that is a bit different when compressed and your accuracy might well go off.

Hey, Dutch. I use ticking sometimes, but I also use several different types of cloth, and I have a different take on the compression thing. It seems to me the most important function of the patch regarding high accuracy is to form a good seal. When compressed properly it forms a barrier which prevents gasses from blowing past the ball in an inconsistent or random fashion. More compression forms a more dense barrier. I imagine there is a threshold of compression, though, so that once you reach that certain density which forms a good barrier, making it tighter is not necessary, does nothing more to improve the barrier or the accuracy.

I found out early in my BP experience that tight balls shoot more accurately, but it never seemed to me that the type of cloth used in the patch was particularly important. I use a variety, ticking, old linen, cotton pillow slips, etc., and it doesn't seem to make a difference in my shooting so long as the cloth was tightly woven and tough, and that a certain level of compression is reached.

Spence

 

[hanshi]

I use (I guess) "mattress" ticking in my rifles. It measures .024" and I've bought it with blue stripes and brown stripes. Just as long as it measures .024" I'll buy and use it regardless of color.

 

[Dr5x]

Hi Spence, I always thought you were older than me and as I am ending my 88th year you just have to be younger, or a walking miracle.

I see we agree 100%. No matter what you are using for patching, striped, checkered or plain, as long as it creates that seal you are on the right track
For some reason this seems to be difficult to convince folks/
The example I try to compare it to is the piston rings in your vehicle engine. Stuff start blowing by and performance declines.

Do young ladies ask you what Lincoln was really like?

Glad to see you are still out and about.

Dutch

 

[Dr5x]

The oddest "Ticking" problem I have come upon was a subscribe who couldn't get a consistent measurement of his Blue striped ticking material. He sent me a sample (It was the traditional blue so highly valued, and I couldn't get a consistent measurement either.

Closer examination showed that the material was actually plain white with blue threads embroidered right into it so that it was thicker on the stripes than on the white.

I converted him into trying a denim fabric and that seemed to end his erratic effects.

Dutch

 

[MSW]

yes, my mistake ... I meant caliper ... :redface: :redface: :redface: