Pillow Ticking

[jdw276]

I am pretty sure this topic has been beat around quite a bit on this forum but here goes.

I use pillow ticking for patchs, Wally World and Joanne Fabrics. Both prewash and after I wash it, it is .022" in thickness and I measure with a lyman micrometer and a digital one I got from work. I find some of the guns I shoot to be very tight in the loading process with patches.

Many of you refer to pillow ticking at .018". Is this after lube? My measurements are prelube and I have not measured after lubing. Is this what it should compress to most likely?

I have found some other material on the clearance racks that measure .018" dry and wonder if it will compress down as well. It doesn't quite have the thread count so its not as dense as pillow ticking. If it doesn't work real well for me I will probably cut it up and use for cleaning patchs.

Still working on getting my wife's flannel nightgown from last winter to cut up and test. You guys gave some good advice a while back on ways to convince her to get rid of it in these forums.

Thoughts?

 

[tg]

Drill cloth or pocket drill is usually about .018 dry I believe, I only measure dry patching.

 

[BrownBear]

You made me curious and I just measured the old batch of blue ticking I got from Wally, plus a new batch I just washed and dried. Both come in at .018 and maybe very slightly over.

While I was at it I measured some old Carharts, both the brown ones and their jeans. Both of those come in at .021. The denim "feels" heavier, though I doubt my beat up old fingers can sense any difference in thickness, but it may point out some kind of difference in "hardness" when comparing denim and ticking.

I'm assuming you've washed the ticking to get rid of the sizing. That sure makes mine softer and it is lots more compressible than when I first bring it home. Might be some difference between line drying and running it through a dryer, but that's blue sky till someone compares it.

 

[Cutfingers]

I, also, use ticking from Wally World and after pre-washing and using Moose Snot it measures in at .020. Might be some inconsistency in the batches sent to the various stores. :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

Hmmmm. It also might have something to do with my miking methods! Been doing it a long time, but that doesn't mean my methods match anyone elses.

I just twist down till it contacts fabric, ten a bit more till it's just firm. A lot of judgement (or lack of it) involved, but I try to get it to the same amount of pressure each time. Don't know how else to do a compressible material.

 

[Stumpkiller]

My old Starrett No. 230 micrometer has a clutch (three clicks and I take a reading). I wonder about these guys who honk down on a miccrometer to "compress" the material. Try the same pressure on empty jaws and you'll get negative readings. What earthly good is that?

I hear my high-school shop teacher laughing somewhere.

 

[jtmattison]

My old Starrett No. 230 micrometer has a clutch (three clicks and I take a reading). I wonder about these guys who honk down on a miccrometer to "compress" the material. Try the same pressure on empty jaws and you'll get negative readings. What earthly good is that?

I hear my high-school shop teacher laughing somewhere.

I use a micrometer with a clutch also. I give it 4-5 clicks.
On Wally World ticking I get a reading of about .020 after it's washed.

HD

 

[bwhoffman]

I use a calibrated mic with clutch.
My experience with wally world blue ticking is .018 off the bolt and .020 after washing.
I also picked up some #40 drill at joannes and it is .016. just a tad too tight for my gun. But all guns and RB combos will have different fits in different guns!

That aside, a mic or a set of calipers needs to be zero'd, calibrated against a known standard ect, so we can all talk apples to apples!

 

[jtmattison]

That aside, a mic or a set of calipers needs to be zero'd, calibrated against a known standard ect, so we can all talk apples to apples!

If you close the jaws and it reads zero doesn't that mean it's calibrated?
Or would you recommend checking it to a set of feeler gauges?

HD

 

[Old40Rod]

Try folding a section so your are measuring a couple of thicknesses... then divide. This might give you a bit more realistic feeling for "compression". You also won't be working so close to the zero mark. My mic isn't accurate enough to make it worth while trying. I would be interested to see how those results match your single thickness measurements.

BTW, JDW, your boss says he wants you to bring that mic back to work :rotf:

 

[Zonie]

The best anyone can do with a micrometer or dial calipers is to get close to a reading when measuring thick cloth.
Any discussion about differences of only .002 is good for discussing but no real positive answer will ever be found.

We ran into the same problem in the jet engine company I worked for.
Those engines use a number of fiberglass reinforced silicone rubber ducts to handle the low pressure hot air that is used for air bleed and pressure controls.
Of course we had to have drawings of the parts and these drawings in turn had to define the allowable tolerances for the ducts.

Our Quality Assurance people were used to working in tenths of thousandths of an inch tolerances but when they applied their measuring equipment they found that merely touching the part could deflect it out of tolerance.
We ended up resolving the problem by redefining the parts with "functional fit" and maximum envelope tolerances along with functional air flow requirements.

The moral of the story is go ahead and use your micrometers and calipers to get a rough idea of what your working with but in the end testing the patches in your guns will give the best answer to the question of, "Is this material the right thickness for my patches?"

 

[bingo1952]

If it's a 0-1 micrometer or a 0-whatever caliper with the anvil faces clean and closed if they are reading 0 they are calbrated whether digital or analog. Dirty faces will give false readings. For larger micrometers you have to use gage blocks to calibrate with.

 

[BrownBear]

The moral of the story is go ahead and use your micrometers and calipers to get a rough idea of what your working with but in the end testing the patches in your guns will give the best answer to the question of, "Is this material the right thickness for my patches?"

Yup. The one I used is a cheapie that lays around on my bench. No clutch but plenty good for this kind of job. My habit with it is to "refresh" my memory measuring something of a known thickness, then apply that same amount of tension to measuring the fabric. Call it Clutchy Fingers.

It's measuring relative thickness of a couple of different compressible fabrics, not a precision part for an artificial heart pump. I never figured it was worth digging out the good one for fabric patch. I sincerely doubt +/- .001 makes that big of a difference.

 

[Many Klatch]

I usually just crank the micrometer down to the point where the fabric will still slide between the jaws if tugged but just barely, then I read the measurement. I figure that keeps me from compressing the fabric too much and getting a false reading.

Many Klatch

 

[Frank/Pa]

I usually just crank the micrometer down to the point where the fabric will still slide between the jaws if tugged but just barely, then I read the measurement. I figure that keeps me from compressing the fabric too much and getting a false reading.

Many Klatch

Ditto.

 

[MSW]

I usually just crank the micrometer down to the point where the fabric will still slide between the jaws if tugged but just barely, then I read the measurement. I figure that keeps me from compressing the fabric too much and getting a false reading.



that works for me. after all, what really counts is a repeatable strike of the round at a given distance. i've seen minor variations in cloth thickness, but it hasn't had (as near as i can tell) a substantial impact on the impact.

 

[Old40Rod]

Our Quality Assurance people were used to working in tenths of thousandths of an inch tolerances but when they applied their measuring equipment they found that merely touching the part could deflect it out of tolerance.

LOL, my favorite bumper sticker is "Heisenberg may have slept here."

 

[mckutzy]

when i used to grind turbines for turbos, heat was a big factor in part size, or lack of. the cnc machines had to have dry cycle to keep the temp at a constant relative temp for the day