Pillow ticking

[Ed Pilkington]

Guys, I drilled and converted a rifled percussion .50 caliber to a 20 gauge flintlock smoothbore. Any advise please on patch/no patch, tow or hornets nest. I’m ready to shoot the completed project.

 

[Professor flintlock]

“Yep”…i’m still on the floor laughing from Crockford’s comment!

If you have a Joann Fabrics their #40 drill cloth is superior to pillow ticking. Alot of the ticking won't hold together without a grease lube. American made (Thompson Millers) seams to be the better,but think they have discontinued it.The India woven seems far superior to the Chinese. You can look at the end of the bolt to see who made it. I have a .32 GM barrel that shoots like a house afire with it and a .319 ball. Like to shoot the old Hoppes bore and patch lubricant. They changed their formula recently cleans OK the jury is still out for patch lubricant. Anybody have any of the Hoppes 9+ I'd be happy to purchase it. Passing of another good product.

 

[Cruzatte]

how about using old t-shirt or underwear?

Too thin, and stretchy.

 

[MrMackc]

T-shirts are not necessarily 100% cotton. The material is too thin to be used to patch a lead round ball. Okay for cleaning and you may need two thicknesses of t-shirt material.

Besides a tee shirt or drawers makes a sad shaped pillow, just order a couple of "My Pillows". I prefer to make pillows outta old bib overalls, they have a pocket to keep your TV, or AC remote.

 

[Doc]

Pillow ticking verse pre-cut Bridgers Best. If you have tried different thicknesses and found .018 or .020 to shoot the best in your gun(s) then pillow ticking may be the best for you. Personally I have found I need other thickness also. My wife’s .45 has a tight bore so she uses a .440 and a .010 patch. Our .45 pistols use a .015. My .36 and .50 need a .015. And my tradegun uses a .005. Yes I keep different containers for different sizes and they are labeled. And truthfully for $4 a hundred of pre-cut patches from BB I’m a happy camper. Another item I could bring up, BB has a much tighter weave than pillow ticking or Ox Yoke. Therefore far less chance of surreding or burning.
Doc,

 

[MSW]

try pocket drill - and if they give you a funny look, just tell them that you need the stuff that won't shred under "three eff" ... everyone knows that

 

[Loyalist Dave]

how about using old t-shirt or underwear?

usually too thin for patching material, but great for making char for flint & steel

LD

 

[Loyalist Dave]

There's a difference between pillow and mattress ticking with the mattress being a bit heavier & thicker. I have a good supply of both although I have limited use for the thinner pillow ticking.

OH FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

Gee it looked like pillow ticking but it was too thick at the range the other day...
MATTRESS ticking...D'oh!

LD

 

[Zapadach]

Ran into Hobby Lobby last night with my wife. I ventured back to the fabric area and asked if they had any pillow ticking. Neither lady knew what I was asking for. I searched around and found three different "bolts" I guess it is called that, in the very back. I didn't have anything to measure thickness, so went with the red. Measured at home and it appears .017 . I felt the price was pretty reasonable at $7.00 for a yard. If anyone is looking for some bulk ticking just a heads up.

I ran into a "MICHAEL'S" with my wife sometime ago and asked the lady at the fabric counter where the the pillow ticking was and she was happy to show me. When I brought the bolt of the blue ticking to the cutting board she asked what was I going to use it for. I told her it was for a muzzleloading rifle, she said oh yes of course! Thus the difference between Los Angeles and the Mojave desert of Southern California.

 

[toot]

if you use mattress pillow ticking and it is used, make sure to cut around the bodily fluid stains. also for you guys that will not use a spit patch.

 

[Mark Herman]

Once upon a time many moons ago I ran out of patches at a shooting match. I proceeded to pull my tee shirt over the muzzle and cut patches from it. It was difficult to explain the two rows of neatly cut holes in my tee shirt to my wife because she was laughing so hard.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

The two ladies that worked the fabric department seemed very surprised, they asked me what it was for and I told them to shoot my old Muzzleloader. Told them it was used to wrap the balls before you pushed them down the barrel. One of the ladies said her husband was having a hard time finding ammo for his hunting rifles..... But she said she had no Idea that people where having to resort to old Muzzleloaders to hunt now due to the ammo shortage. I just said yep.. it is getting pretty bad!

Just shows you how far removed the general populace is from technology that was state of the art 200 years ago.

 

[CapPopper]

Once upon a time many moons ago I ran out of patches at a shooting match. I proceeded to pull my tee shirt over the muzzle and cut patches from it. It was difficult to explain the two rows of neatly cut holes in my tee shirt to my wife because she was laughing so hard.

Not just her laughing now.....

Whoo I needed that *wipes tear from eye*

 

[hanshi]

OH FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

View attachment 105917

Gee it looked like pillow ticking but it was too thick at the range the other day...
MATTRESS ticking...D'oh!

LD

SO! Or is it "sew"?

 

[Buckskinquin]

The two ladies that worked the fabric department seemed very surprised, they asked me what it was for and I told them to shoot my old Muzzleloader. Told them it was used to wrap the balls before you pushed them down the barrel. One of the ladies said her husband was having a hard time finding ammo for his hunting rifles..... But she said she had no Idea that people where having to resort to old Muzzleloaders to hunt now due to the ammo shortage. I just said yep.. it is getting pretty bad!

When at Walmart, I always stop at the fabric table to look thru the odd lots. Flannel good for cleaning patches and ticking and duck fabric for ball patch at reduced prices.

 

[DuncNZ]

The worst thing about using any old clothing for patches is the cloth will be inconsistent and vary in thickness depending on the wear it has had .

 

[golden sky]

how about goat skin for patches?

 

[Crockford]

Depends on if it is an Old Goat or a new one! You will need to wash first and Iron the wrinkles out of the Old Goat.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Crockford, your comment about the two old ladies in the fabric shop brought back a memory to this child. T'isn't strictly about patching material so if this is the wrong thread I do apologize.
Our camp ran out of grub and beverages at a local rendezvous once and two of us taken the sitch-iation in hand and went to town. As I recollect it was about dark-thirty. We didn't bother changing to our town clothes. and as we were checking out with our purchases I was in one line and ol' Two Bears was in another. He wore his hair long and his beard shaggy then, had a earring in his one ear, and was dressed in a ragged shirt of thin cotton ticking, a breechclout and stained buckskin leggin's and moccasins. I disremember whether Bears was wearing his battered old trappers hat or if it was out for another oil change at the time. I on the other hand was dapper in a red calico shirt, fringed brain-tan buckskin britches, plains moccasins, and my equally battered old 10X beaver Bridger hat with the quilled band. All of us smelled of woodsmoke, o'course, and perhaps a touch of adult beverages recently drank, and we all had butcher knives at out belts in tacked scabbards. In front of me in my line were two old ladies, whispering loudly about how scandalized they were by the young man in the next row because "He doesn't have any pants on!" I leaned over and said (as I recall) "It's all right ladies. That's a breechcloth and leggins he's wearing and he's decently covered. Of course, it doesn't take much in his case." They both gasped and round-eyed me, then hustled over to another checkout stand. Some folks just got NO tolerance at all ..... !

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Joanns has muslin that is 100% cotton, .018 thick and works great.