Preparing Bulk Patching

[grant]

Ok I admit it, I'm new muzzle loading so I've got a few things to learn. So here goes. I've got a 1 yard square piece of pillow ticking to cut patches at the muzzle with, what should I do with it to make it more practical to use? Cut it into strips? Cut it into smaller squares? What do you guys do? I've only used precut patches before.

 

[jtmattison]

Welcome to the forum?
many shooters on here make their own patches.
Some pre-cut, some cut at the muzzle.
Here's how I do it:
I use a rotary fabric cutter to cut my ticking into 1 1/4 inch squares. You can shoot square patches, they work just as good as round patches.
Sometimes I'm bored and have nothing to do so I cut patches round. I sandwich 6-8 square patches between two 1 1/4 inch steel washers and trim off the corners with scissors.
You can then pre-lube patches with your choice of lube or spit lube them as you shoot.

Good luck and good shooting!

HD

 

[Zonie]

OK Huntin Dawg. Ye got my curiousity up. How do you sandwich the material between two 1 1/4 steel washers without boreing a hole thru the center of the patches for a bolt?
Do you leave the patches unpierced and just clamp up the whole thing with some Vise Grips?

I bought a "Hole Saw" at a home improvement store and ground the teeth off of it leaving a nice razor sharp edge. I then fold the material so there are 4 layers and lay it on a wooden board.
With the hole saw in a hand drill or my drill press in almost no time I can have 500 patches made.

 

I'll bet he drills a hole, and tightens a nut and bolt to trim em. C-clamp Zonie, C-clamp. Boy yas retires, and fergets all the technical engineering stuff. Just remember--if it's sposed to move, and it don't--WD-40, and if it moves and it ain't sposed to--Duct Tape. :blah: Bill

 

[MikeFromON]

I've been using some fairly thick twill that I cut into strips about 1.125" wide for my .54 cal rifle. I rub the strips with a concoction I made from lanolin, beeswax, and safflower oil then roll them up and put them in a little plastic film canister I keep in my possibles bag. I put one end of the strip over the muzzle, start the ball, trim the patch material as close as I can to the bore then ram the ball down. So far my accuracy is still pretty bad but that is more because of my shooting technique than anything else. I have fired a gun exactly 8 times so far in my life, so I am still getting the basics down.

 

[MikeFromON]

I used a strip of artist's canvas today with no lube and it seemed to shoot alright. I had some old Levis cut up and lubed but I couldn't even get the ball started (.530 in a .54 cal).

 

[jtmattison]

OK Huntin Dawg. Ye got my curiousity up. How do you sandwich the material between two 1 1/4 steel washers without boreing a hole thru the center of the patches for a bolt?
Do you leave the patches unpierced and just clamp up the whole thing with some Vise Grips?

I bought a "Hole Saw" at a home improvement store and ground the teeth off of it leaving a nice razor sharp edge. I then fold the material so there are 4 layers and lay it on a wooden board.
With the hole saw in a hand drill or my drill press in almost no time I can have 500 patches made.

I only put a few patches between the washers. I hold the "sandwich" with my non-scissor hand and cut around the edge of the washers.
It's very tedious but I can cut 1,000 patches or so in an evening of watching TV.

It only takes me about 1/2 hour to cut 1,000 square patches with my rotary cutter.

Since finding square patches shoot as good or better I haven't made any round patches in a while.

HD

 

[musketman]

Ok I admit it, I'm new muzzle loading so I've got a few things to learn. So here goes. I've got a 1 yard square piece of pillow ticking to cut patches at the muzzle with, what should I do with it to make it more practical to use? Cut it into strips? Cut it into smaller squares? What do you guys do? I've only used precut patches before.

You will get more patches per yard if you pre-cut them into squares, round patches will still have that little bit of waste material between circles...

If you cut at the muzzle, strips is the way to go, tie a strip onto your hunting bag's strap or pin them to your coat or whatever, once you pour the charge down the barrel, lay the lubed strip over the bore and start your roundball, then lift upwards on the material and cut the patch free from the rest of the strip even with the muzzle and then ram the ball down as normal...

One thing about strip patching, they pick up dirt and fodder easier than pre-cut patches, mostly because they are exposed to the elements more instead of in a container...

 

[Landngroove]

I cut my own patches from red striped, Wal-Mart Pillow Ticking Material. What I do is use a precut factory patch, lay it on the striped pillow ticking, and using the stripes as a guide, for the width, cut it in strips. Then laying the strips on the table, again using the precut factory patch, as a width guide, cut the individual square patches, with a sharp pair of scissors. This really doesn't take all that long, and I can fill a plastic sandwich bag with patches in 1/2 hour.

 

[J.D.]

However you decide to cut patches, wash that fabric at least once, to remove any sizing, before you cut any patches.

 

[jtmattison]

However you decide to cut patches, wash that fabric at least once, to remove any sizing, before you cut any patches.

Good point.
I wash mine twice in hot water and dry on high heat.
I think it shrinks and tightens the weave a bit.

HD

 

[grant]

I bought this ticking from Dixie, and I was wondering whether I should wash it first. Should I throw it in the laundry with the rest of the dirty socks or wash it by hand?

 

[jtmattison]

I bought this ticking from Dixie, and I was wondering whether I should wash it first. Should I throw it in the laundry with the rest of the dirty socks or wash it by hand?

Is it stiff with fabric sizing? If so, I would wash it.
I wash mine alone because the ends fray and I don't want my socks all tangled up in it.
I like to machine wash hot and dry on high heat.

HD

 

[musketman]

I like to machine wash hot and dry on high heat.

HD

Do you recommend using a dryer sheet to control the static cling? :hmm: :grin:

I choose to line dry my bulk ticking, if no clothes line is available, I simply drape it over the shower curtain rod and let it drip dry...

 

[Landngroove]

However you decide to cut patches, wash that fabric at least once, to remove any sizing, before you cut any patches.

You are right. I forgot to mention washing. I always wash my pillow ticking material before cutting patches.

 

[jtmattison]

I like to machine wash hot and dry on high heat.

HD

Do you recommend using a dryer sheet to control the static cling? :hmm: :grin:

I choose to line dry my bulk ticking, if no clothes line is available, I simply drape it over the shower curtain rod and let it drip dry...

I use very little soap, wash twice and dry on high heat. No fabric softener. I don't want extra junk in the material. It comes out wrinkled but I iron it.

HD

 

[Deadeye]

I haven't found it necessary to wash the ticking I get from Walmart. It's soft, doesn't taste bad and is shoots accurately. I used to buy from Ox-Yoke and they said DON'T WASH IT but it tasted so bad I had to wash it and iron it ,shot well then but was too much trouble. Course, taste is only a problem if you spit patch.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

I've got some of the Ox-Yoke pillow ticking patch material. It IS stiff but the packaging says not to wash if using a liquid type lube. Whatever makes it stiff is supposed to have lubricating qualities. I'll try it both ways and see if there is any difference between washed and as-is.