pillow ticking question

[Don Steele]

No, I totally disagree about tearing patch strips. Take a piece of what ever material you want to use and check the weave tightness under a bright light.
Now tear the cloth and check it again as opposed to cutting it. I think you'll note a partial weave separation as the cloth stretches before yielding to the tear. This both opens the weave pores and weakens the fiber strength.

I don't tear my cloth either. Best Christmas present I've received in recent years is a pair of LEFT-HAND scissors. :bow: They get a lot of use in my patch-prep process. :thumbsup:
To the next point that M.D. alluded to: material thickness is almost meaningless if the weave isn't TIGHT. A lot of us here follow our friend Dutch's admonition to carry a measuring tool along when we go out to purchase material to check thickness both compressed and non-compressed. It's also important to make sure the material you're considering is tightly woven. It's possible to find some that has the thickness...but is weak, that is to say.. not as tight as others. It's been my observation that "tightness" tends to vary in direct proportion to price.
If you're loading a comparatively "loose" combination and shooting offhand at relatively large targets none of this matters too much.
On the other hand, if your patch/ball combination is tight and you need to put 10 balls in a hole from 60 yds that can be covered with a quarter from a "Chunk", then these minor details start to matter.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What Necchi and SDSmlf said: tear, don't cut.

Also note that what most of us use is mattress tick (0.015" and thicker). Pillow tick is thinner.

I make mine about 1-3/8" wide for my .54.

Just make sure to set them at the muzzle with the pattern aligned vertically. :haha:

Unreal. (we need a head ban similie ) A debate on cutting or tearing ticking and how the stripe colors need to be oriented. :surrender:

Edit: this is a good place to stop and go to church. :grin:

 

[brubincam]

which side of the pillow ticking goes against the ball? ""JUST NOSSEY"" HE HE HE

 

[Rifleman1776]

which side of the pillow ticking goes against the ball? ""JUST NOSSEY"" HE HE HE

Always the non-striped side. Do it wrong and the ball will shoot backwards. :shocked2: :rotf:

 

[coloradoclyde]

All this nonsense can be avoided if you pre-cut round patches..... :haha:

 

[longcruise]

I was at Hobby Lobby recently and found ticking made in the USA atriot: I would expect it to be more consistent than the chinese stuff. I have measured considerable difference from bolt to bolt of the chinese wally ticking. But if it's the right fit it seems to work just fine.

A fellow that I occasionally see at shoots cuts his with one of those wheel things. He shoots good scores, but he shot good scores before he got the wheel too!

 

[coloradoclyde]

A fellow that I occasionally see at shoots cuts his with one of those wheel things.

A rotary fabric cutter....

 

[longcruise]

Yeah, that's it. He makes nice clean strips. Too much regamarole for me but he finds it to be very satisfactory.

 

[M. De Land]

Actually what was meant to be funny has some merit to it. Most fabric will demonstrate one side to be more course than the other which makes a difference as the fouling builds. I like cotton shirt felt for patching and it definitely has two different side textures but is very strong and tight weaved.
A patch, to do it's best work, needs to be consistent shot to shot which is why we wet patch or in my case dry brush between shots. The reason is to maintain a more consistent fouling build up.
The more fouling present the more the patch is stretched and sometimes torn in the ball seat which does directly effect accuracy.
I always try to seat the ball in the patch rough side out against the bore. It is less likely to land cut or tear from a partially fouled bore,in my opinion.

 

[necchi]

Geezuz,, really?
The guy just asked how wide,,?

 

[M. De Land]

So what's it to you? He may want to gain some tips that can help him shoot better! :wink:

 

[Skychief]

Marmotslayer, thanks for mentioning Hobby Lobby and USA-made ticking.

 

[M. De Land]

I use precut round patches and they still need to be side orientated for best results from what I can detect, with the patch material I favor.
Having opined on the above I should do an in depth test with patch side orientation and not to prove/disprove what I think I'm seeing occur.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I agree with you....If the material has a detectable side difference I always load the same side up.

Some ticking is very noticeable.....Drill not so much. Moreover I agree with the point you made about not stressing the fabric. I have noticed one can easily stretch the weave if they are not careful....I particularly notice this if one makes precut squares on a strip and leaves them attached to be individually torn at the muzzle after you start a ball.

My drill press cutter will stress the fabric too if it becomes dull.

 

[M. De Land]

I use a cutting die for the same reason as it does not stretch the weave but cuts straight ahead.
A good friend sets down in front of the TV and cuts strips with scissors, then squares and then cuts the corners off the squares. They are every bit as accurate as my die cut patches but look ragged as can be.


This is how the strip is set up to die punch the patches.

As you can see by the shape of the die it compresses the cloth together as it shears through thus not separating the weave or stretching the fibers. The patches come out of the die in a stack compressed together and have to be separated from compression. I just dump them into a plastic pill bottle, pour in some windshield wash and let them decompress on their own.
Easy to build, fast and accurate to use.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Is that one of Ohio Ramrods dies?.... :thumbsup:

 

[M. De Land]

No, made from scrap steel in my shop. Not even hardened. Makes it easy to sharpen in a lathe, drill press or large hand drill.

 

[Rifleman1776]

one can easily stretch the weave if they are not careful

Agree. And, I am sure that is a big reason why ticking, either pillow or mattress, is so popular. It is a very strong material. There are others also and some undesirably weak. In my early days with the ml crazieness, my TC 'hawken' had very shallow rifling and required a thin patch. I used airplane cloth since it was remarkably strong for such a thin material and was pure cotton. (I don't believe it is still available these days)

 

[coloradoclyde]

I used airplane cloth since it was remarkably strong for such a thin material and was pure cotton. (I don't believe it is still available these days)

It was called grade A cotton, and is no longer available. In the U.S. airplanes are covered with polyester (Ceconite) or Dacron fabric.

Grade A linen was also used in the early days and the wright brothers used "pride of the west" muslin as their first wing covering fabric. It was usually used for women's undergarments.

 

[Grumpa]

which side of the pillow ticking goes against the ball? ""JUST NOSSEY"" HE HE HE

Always the non-striped side. Do it wrong and the ball will shoot backwards. :shocked2: :rotf:

I don't know, but if I remember right, Paul Vallandigham recommended keeping the bold colored side of the ticking against the ball. I have it in my notes somewhere, but I'm too tired to look right now.

"If I remember right" is a point of continuous debate between me and the Wife. :haha: :haha:

Richard/Grumpa