Ready-made patches for sale?

[user 48702]

Wars have been started over less!

No patches used, but does anyone remember the Beverly Hillbillies episode where they were shooting a movie about the "Great War of NA" and Granny thought the Union was attacking the Confederates at Culpepper Plantation? Earlier, Ellie Mae had made some butterfingers that were so hard you couldn't crack them with a hammer. In the end, the Clampets ran out of ammo and Granny loaded her muzzle loading shotgun with the Ellie Mae's rock hard butterfingers and shot General Grant in the backside. Never saw anyone use patches. Run the video forward to about the 15:00 mark and you can see the butterfingers loaded in a leather cartridge belt, draped bandoleer style across Granny's shoulder.
The Beverly Hillbillies, “The South Rises Again"

 

[J. Paul]

I don't own a good enough micrometer to measure the thickness of cloth. Is there a place that sells patches made for loading balls? I'm not talking about patches for cleaning, I use everything from terry cloth to old t-shirts for that. A good-enough micrometer costs $350, which I can't afford.

I used a $30 ( now) good enough for 30 years, it is to compare with, not to use for fine machine work

 

[toadboy65]

I'm thinking I need accuracy of plus minus .0001. I wouldn't have any confidence with plus or minus .001. that's why I'm hung up on the $350 micrometer. Maybe my local machinist will do me another favor and measure a few patches for me that I find on my own in the local fabric stores. The last time I asked him, I had the bore plug that I made and asked him to just take one minute off to measure it, and he
grudgingly charged me $15 instead of his hardcore policy of a minimum charge of $125.

That is why I offered to do the same for the cost of a stamp.

 

[Gooddaytoya!]

That is why I offered to do the same for the cost of a stamp.

I do appreciate the offer, my brother in arms.

 

[TheBoat]

Take 2 pieces of metal of the same thickness and squeeze the cloth between them. Measure the thickness with Micrometer or
Vernarial Calipers. then measure the thickness of the two metal plates without the cloth. that will give you the Sum of the Num without being dumb.

The following are the categorizations we give fabrics of each thickness measurement:
Very Lightweight: 0.006″-0.007″
Lightweight: 0.008″
Medium Weight: 0.009″
Medium Heavyweight: 0.010″-0.011″
Heavyweight: 0.012″-0.014″
Very Heavyweight: 0.015″

Here are some recommended fabrics for Shooting. Ah! I see my Reaction Score to be a Number 38. One must only assume that the lower the number the better. Just like in Bowling or Golf. This is kind of Cool. If I knew a Machinest and someone that had some powder and Balls to shoot it. I would watch from a safe distance. Im sure it would be popular at the Driving Range!

 

[Doc]

Gooddaytoyal, You can purchase yardage at Walmart etc. and you’ll usually get between.015 and.020. Another way is to purchase ready made from Ox yoke or Bridgers Best. Of the two Bridgers Best has a tighter weave (threads per inch) and is the one I use. It comes from .005 to .020 thickness In different sizes to accommodate .32 to .75caliber. I have measured them and they are +or- .001. For about $4 a hundred at “The Gun Works“ in Springfield Or. I find this an easy way to satisfy my various guns and calibers. Hope you find this informative.
Doc,

 

[Griz44Mag]

No patches used, but does anyone remember the Beverly Hillbillies episode where they were shooting a movie about the "Great War of NA" and Granny thought the Union was attacking the Confederates at Culpepper Plantation? Earlier, Ellie Mae had made some butterfingers that were so hard you couldn't crack them with a hammer. In the end, the Clampets ran out of ammo and Granny loaded her muzzle loading shotgun with the Ellie Mae's rock hard butterfingers and shot General Grant in the backside. Never saw anyone use patches. Run the video forward to about the 15:00 mark and you can see the butterfingers loaded in a leather cartridge belt, draped bandoleer style across Granny's shoulder.
The Beverly Hillbillies, “The South Rises Again"

Beverly Hillbilles - just as real and authentic as the later years of "reality" TV shows. my favorite - Granny's cure for the common cold episode... Gotta love 'em!
Only us "old farts" still smile when we think of them.

 

[Gooddaytoya!]

.0001"?????????? None of the stuff related to ML shooting is built to within a .001", so why do you think you need to measure .0001"????? Get a $30 pair of calipers, not a micrometer, & you can measure anything related to our hobby with more than adequate accuracy.

In post number 27 I conceited your points. You guys have made me realize that there's little difference between a .015, .014, or .016 patch. That's a difference of . 001, which I now realize is inconsequential to me or that is, us in general, in this sport. So now I really can afford a caliper that's useful to me in my muzzle loading endeavors. Thank you guys.

 

[tenngun]

No, @FishDFly, Dutch Schoultz has been advocating the need to use a micrometer to measure the thickness of shooting patches well before this forum and many others were started.

I recall Falada recommending it in the seventies. I think Norte did also about the same time

 

[tenngun]

Wars have been started over less!

Audubon records Boone using 200 count irish linen

 

[user 48702]

Beverly Hillbilles - just as real and authentic as the later years of "reality" TV shows. my favorite - Granny's cure for the common cold episode... Gotta love 'em!
Only us "old farts" still smile when we think of them.

Sad thing is, back in the early 1960s, I knew of some folks that weren't far off the mark. I grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians here in Alabama, I was crawling all over the hills running around the woods at age 9 with a .22, so I was always cautioned to stay away from certain hollows and hills because certain folk were running shine. They would feed the used mash to their hogs and every once in a while a drunk hog would stray into our pasture.

 

[Paul Nelson]

I don't own a good enough micrometer to measure the thickness of cloth. Is there a place that sells patches made for loading balls? I'm not talking about patches for cleaning, I use everything from terry cloth to old t-shirts for that. A good-enough micrometer costs $350, which I can't afford.

October Country has pushing up daisy patches that worked well for me, they come dry or lubed.

 

[swoter]

I just buy pillow ticking or pillow ticking patches. Never have measured any. If I can keep a 6 or 8 inch group offhand at 50 yards, I’m having a great day. What I’m trying to say is, my shooting ability makes far more difference in my group sizes than does patch thickness.

 

[Bad Karma]

Audubon records Boone using 200 count irish linen

Don’t go cutting up my ladies bed clothes…

 

[Professor flintlock]

Gooddaytoyal, You can purchase yardage at Walmart etc. and you’ll usually get between.015 and.020. Another way is to purchase ready made from Ox yoke or Bridgers Best. Of the two Bridgers Best has a tighter weave (threads per inch) and is the one I use. It comes from .005 to .020 thickness In different sizes to accommodate .32 to .75caliber. I have measured them and they are +or- .001. For about $4 a hundred at “The Gun Works“ in Springfield Or. I find this an easy way to satisfy my various guns and calibers. Hope you find this informative.
Doc,

Gooddaytoyal, You can purchase yardage at Walmart etc. and you’ll usually get between.015 and.020. Another way is to purchase ready made from Ox yoke or Bridgers Best. Of the two Bridgers Best has a tighter weave (threads per inch) and is the one I use. It comes from .005 to .020 thickness In different sizes to accommodate .32 to .75caliber. I have measured them and they are +or- .001. For about $4 a hundred at “The Gun Works“ in Springfield Or. I find this an easy way to satisfy my various guns and calibers. Hope you find this informative.
Doc,

Joann Fabrics sells a#40 drill cloth. Tallow or liquid lube works. Wash it twice and shrink in a dryer on high. .360 ball that patch and tallow lube shoots great in a Rice barrel. They have some pillow ticking China junk India better Thompson mills in New Jersey better. Shoot Teflon .015 in my .32 GM barrel got close to 15k. Rounds through it. Still a tack driver. No wear showing.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Don’t go cutting up my ladies bed clothes…

I don't worry bout that - my old lady don't wear any....

 

[smoothshooter]

I don't own a good enough micrometer to measure the thickness of cloth. Is there a place that sells patches made for loading balls? I'm not talking about patches for cleaning, I use everything from terry cloth to old t-shirts for that. A good-enough micrometer costs $350, which I can't afford.

You don’t even need a micrometer.
A decent-enough set of dial calipers can be had for under $100, new. Ebay is your friend on new or used.
You just have to decide if you want digital or face dial (?) type.

 

[Griz44Mag]

You don’t even need a micrometer.
A decent-enough set of dial calipers can be had for under $100, new. Ebay is your friend on new or used.
You just have to decide if you want digital or face dial (?) type.

I much prefer the old fashioned dial instead of the digital. The dang things always go dead when you need them the most.
And the batteries for them are not always easy to find.

 

[fishmusic]

I'm thinking I need accuracy of plus minus .0001. I wouldn't have any confidence with plus or minus .001. that's why I'm hung up on the $350 micrometer. Maybe my local machinist will do me another favor and measure a few patches for me that I find on my own in the local fabric stores. The last time I asked him, I had the bore plug that I made and asked him to just take one minute off to measure it, and he
grudgingly charged me $15 instead of his hardcore policy of a minimum charge of $125.

This is patch material. No need for extreme accuracy. Go to Northern Tool with .001" increments. https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&ipp=48&Ntt=micrometer

 

[toadboy65]

Well, I just have to ask what sort of shooting we are talking about that requires this precision. What sort of rifles, at what ranges, and what other specialized equipment is used?
When I shoot BP, I shoot old-timey guns in an old-timey way. I am a pretty decent machinist, and try to make my BP guns with the same level of precision that I use on long-range cartridge rifles. My limiting factor is visual. I don't have optics on any of my BP guns, but they shoot within my ability to aim them at distant targets.
I was working this week on a long-range sight for a long rifle I made about 20 years ago. It is a .36 cal rifle using round balls. I put a lot of work into building as much accuracy as I could into it. When I went out to the range to make final adjustments and sighting in, I was getting decent groups of three inches or so at 100 yards. At 200 yards, the rifle is likely capable of very tight groups, but my eyes are the limiting factor. I can put holes in the paper at 200 yards, and probably farther than that. But I stopped at 200, because it seemed pointless. And I don't want to put a modern scope on a full stock percussion rifle. I have a vault full of slightly more modern rifles for that kind of shooting.
This is turning a bit long winded, but I can at least see the challenge of it. It would be interesting to see how much consistent accuracy I can get out of such a rifle, and working on slowly eliminating the factors that lead to inaccuracy, until it is as perfect as it can be made. If that is what you are doing.