Pillow ticking

[Trooper]

I just purchased the only pillow ticking that I could find. It seems a bit thin measuring .006 in. Has anyone tried pillow ticking this thickness before.

 

[ohio ramrod]

.009 is the thinnest that I have ever used. It works well in my pistol, not so well in the rifles.

 

[Zonie]

I don't think you really got pillow ticking.
Pillow ticking is thick material meant to keep the sharp parts of bird feathers pillows used to be stuffed with from being able to stick thru it. It is usually .015-.020" thick. It almost always has blue or red stripes on it.

As for the .006 thick cloth you bought goes, most likely it would not work well for patching a round ball in a rifled gun although it might be OK for a smoothbore.
That's assuming the cloth is made out of 100% cotton. If it has synthetic material in it, I would use it for cleaning patches but not for shooting.

Rifled guns patches must be at least several thousandths of an inch thicker than the depth of the rifling grooves in order to properly seal them.
Rifles made for shooting patched balls have rifling grooves that range from .005 to .013 deep.
You might be able to get by using 2 or 3 of your .006" thick patches stacked together. The only way you'll know if it works is to try it.

 

[mooman76]

It doesn't have to be pillow ticking to use in a ML. I don't really believe most the pillow ticking is the same as it was many years ago. You can use just about any non synthetic natural material like cotton or linen. A thin denim, canvas material, drill or pocket drill will work. A good tight weaved cotton material should work fine.

 

[user 48679]

If you don't have a Joanne's Fabrics store or WallyWorld with a fabrics department locally, you can order ticking online with a little googling

https://www.hobbylobby.com/Fabric-S...cking-Striped-Cotton-Calico-Fabric/p/80894374

 

[LongWalker]

I've been buying it on Amazon. You do have to read the blurb pretty closely, other than that no problems.

 

[Versanaut]

I frequent the H' Lobby, Joanne's and the 'mart for ticking when I run low. I have seen the 'ticking' you are talking about. The stuff I've come across is cotton, but the stripes seem printed and doesn't have the stippling that you can see in the quality stuff. It just looked funny and didn't pass the 'feel' test. Just 7 or 8 bolts over was the 'good stuff' I was looking for along with some heavier canvas.

 

[nseries]

Here's a place I've ordered from before.

1 1/2" x 36" STRIPS
https://www.emshootingsupplies.com/store/c136/1_1/2"_x_36"_STRIPS.html#/
18" X 36" BULK SHEETS
https://www.emshootingsupplies.com/store/c137/18"_X_36"_BULK_SHEETS.html#/
DISCOUNTED BULK MATERIAL
https://www.emshootingsupplies.com/store/c141/DISCOUNTED_BULK_MATERIAL.html#/

 

[jcs266]

My local Walmart has both the red and the blue striped pillow ticking. The red is .020" and the blue I need to measure when it's back in stock. I plan to get a yard of it soon.

 

[Trooper]

I've been buying it on Amazon. You do have to read the blurb pretty closely, other than that no problems.

I just hit amazon too. I found a pillow cover set that is listed as pillow ticking and has the blue stripes that you see in ticking material. It's listed as pure 100% cotton. It should arrive mid may from the US. and listed as made in the US, not China.

 

[Trooper]

My local Walmart has both the red and the blue striped pillow ticking. The red is .020" and the blue I need to measure when it's back in stock. I plan to get a yard of it soon.

We never see materials like that sold at our Walmart stores here in Canukastan.

 

[jcs266]

We never see materials like that sold at our Walmart stores here in Canukastan.

It's in the yardage area where they sell material for sewing. I had to look for awhile but that telltale red or blue striped ticking stands out once u spot it.

 

[tenngun]

As noted it doesn’t have to be tick. A canvas or denim will work just as good.
It does need be all natural fiber. Cotton or linen. And hemp fiber canvas will serve, but it’s costly and hard to find.
Kid skin chamois or deer splits work also.
But just being 100% cotton isn’t enough. A flannel is great to clean with and can be the proper thickness but doesn’t work well. Stay away from even all natural fiber soft cloths.
The only reason that pillow ticking is so popular is the strips help you align your cloth. When the stripes point along true north south line ( not magnetic north south line, a common mistake by new shooters) you get your best groups.
Plain cloth requires a very close look to see if you are properly aligned.
While I’ve bought lots of cloth buying patching strips from a dealer is a little more expensive but I find it easier to get consistent thickness

 

[Trooper]

As noted it doesn’t have to be tick. A canvas or denim will work just as good.
It does need be all natural fiber. Cotton or linen. And hemp fiber canvas will serve, but it’s costly and hard to find.
Kid skin chamois or deer splits work also.
But just being 100% cotton isn’t enough. A flannel is great to clean with and can be the proper thickness but doesn’t work well. Stay away from even all natural fiber soft cloths.
The only reason that pillow ticking is so popular is the strips help you align your cloth. When the stripes point along true north south line ( not magnetic north south line, a common mistake by new shooters) you get your best groups.
Plain cloth requires a very close look to see if you are properly aligned.
While I’ve bought lots of cloth buying patching strips from a dealer is a little more expensive but I find it easier to get consistent thickness

Your last paragraph is a hoot!When I taught in the Canadian army, we told recruits to go to the QM stores and get 50 feet of shore line or a box of grid squares or Laser dots, maybe grease the track pads on the M113 APCs lol..... that list goes on.....

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Good tickins good n thick. Little light penetration.

 

[mooman76]

Your last paragraph is a hoot!When I taught in the Canadian army, we told recruits to go to the QM stores and get 50 feet of shore line or a box of grid squares or Laser dots, maybe grease the track pads on the M113 APCs lol..... that list goes on.....

We sent them for Flight line ot to the Cop shack for K9P lubricant. If they were really naive, we could get them running around with a plastic bag getting air samples.

 

[J. Paul]

Just take a set of calipers with you when you go. I was at Joanne's several years ago and clerk paused along side to watch. When I noticed her, she raised one eyebrow then remarked "Muzzleloading". I bought 5 or 6 yards of ticking that after washing was .016.
I also bought some heavy flannel for cleaning patches

 

[hanshi]

I have plenty of pillow ticking and have used a lot of it in the past. Then I tried mattress ticking. Mattress ticking is heavier and thicker than pillow ticking, at least it has been where I got my last batch. Stripes are either blue or brown and it measures in the neighborhood of around .019". The pillow ticking I've been able to find was around .015". Cotton canvas duck was the next step up in patching and it worked very well. Then years ago I tried denim and heavy canvas, both ran about .024" and found the canvas seated more easily than either the denim or the (thinner) canvas duck. For years now I've relied on the heavy, unbleached canvas for every gun with the exception of a smoothbore and a .54 rifle; they do better with thinner patches.

 

[Trooper]

I have plenty of pillow ticking and have used a lot of it in the past. Then I tried mattress ticking. Mattress ticking is heavier and thicker than pillow ticking, at least it has been where I got my last batch. Stripes are either blue or brown and it measures in the neighborhood of around .019". The pillow ticking I've been able to find was around .015". Cotton canvas duck was the next step up in patching and it worked very well. Then years ago I tried denim and heavy canvas, both ran about .024" and found the canvas seated more easily than either the denim or the (thinner) canvas duck. For years now I've relied on the heavy, unbleached canvas for every gun with the exception of a smoothbore and a .54 rifle; they do better with thinner patches.

I have used an old denim shirt that supplied patch material many years ago .My wife and I were out Saturday blasting away with our .50s. We were loading .495 RBs with commercial patches bought from Cabelas. (The thin yellow lubed ones).Even those weren’t easy to load. We have a .490 RB mold on order from Hillfolk in Saskatchewan that should make it easier for us to load RBs with heavier patch material. I have used a heavy white denim from a taekwondo suit that worked superbly. We’re just waiting for that mold....

 

[toot]

seams that all WALLY WORLDS have it. mine has the blue at 15 thousands in thickness, and red at 20 thousandths!