Synthetic patching? Why not?

[hanshi]

I think I can speak for the majority when I say that most guys much prefer powder-blue tutus. :grin:

All seriousness aside, I'm not sure if I've ever used a synthetic patch. I always had lots of torn cotton t-shirts and scraps around. It's interesting how a basic belief must not be true. I wonder if these folks ever tried it or just came up with this wisdom by "supposing".

 

[ohio ramrod]

Your mention of "old Tshirts" reminds me of a time about twenty years back at a local rendezvous a new to black powder guy came and shot using old t shirts for patching with a stock T.C. The old time experts told him they would not work since they were knit instead of woven and obviously had some synthetic mixed in as they were very "stretchy". And the T.C. shallow groved 1/48 twist would not work well with prb.He took first place! :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Bill Hall]

Yep, the poly patch. Back in the 70's there were claims that they left a melted plastic residue in the barrel. But it turned out that this claim was more than likely invented by the biased purists, who just didn't think anyone should be using them. There could have been evidence of abraded plastic residue in the barrel, kinda like leading up a barrel, but no actual instance of melting has ever been witnessed. Like I said before, I can't see anything melting and then sticking inside your barrel during the micro second it takes to go boom. Shredding, blowing apart, getting destroyed, yes, but melting, I don't know.....

Poly patches didn't work worth a damn by the way, just more of the same "junk" that retailers claim you can't live without. Remember the nipple charger and the foaming barrel cleanser? :rotf: But hey, if you want to use them, more power to you, this is America. Bill

 

[necchi]

This test was prompted by a question asked some time back when the poster was concerned that the pillow ticking he considered buying showed 2% poly 98%

I remember that thread and commented to it as I had just recently run across some denim that was a 98/2% mix.
My concern with the stuff was that it stretched more one way than the other and I wondered if when the ball/patch was squeezed into the muzzle,, would this fabric actually stay in an even thickness all the way around the ball??
Another issue to think about might be how it reacts with or what shelf life would be with the various lubes.??

I opted to let the stuff be and continued to search the same rack at the same fabric store and found what I needed rated at 100% cotton.

Now even 100% cotton has poly guide fibers in it. They use the stronger poly too string the machines and keep the cotton threads running true. They're actually easy enough to see if you unravel a few threads from the cut edge, and hold a lighter too'm.
The poly will melt with the open flame :idunno:

Not all fabric is created equal, At work we laminate a poly fabric to plastic as a medical componant, some customers request a cheaper grade poly fabric because it breaks down faster. Some of these 3rd world county's are trying to "launder" surgical items for re-use, the cheap stuff won't hold up.
(I'd explain further but it's prioritzed and a long story)

If folks wanna shoot with poly fabric go right ahead, have fun. I'll stick with cotton just because it's still available in a wide range of fabric choices in different weaves and thickness, it's affordable and it's worked well for more than a century. :wink:

When the appocolypse comes, and all the muzzle loaders run to the fabric shops and buy or steal all the cotton fabric, I guess I'll try some of the poly stuff. :haha:

 

[leslie]

Would the ability to absorb the patch lube have anything to do with it?Synthetic fabrics don't absorb liquids like cotton does.I suspect a blend wouldn't make much difference, 100% synthetic I dunno.I know when I lived in a hot climate synthetic cloth shirts were the last thing you wanted to wear.On a lighter note synthetics are mostly petroleum based and you all know about that and black powder. :surrender: :surrender:

 

[hanshi]

It's only been in the last 6 or 8 years that I've been buying ticking to use for patching. That means I patched with what scraps I could find for going on 40 years. If the patch tore or burned I simply used another patch as an op wad. Things use to be simpler.

When you grow up really po(Southern for poor), you scrounge and make do. :thumbsup: And "by George", as you posted, yes it does work! When I was young it was unthinkable to waste money (when you had it) buying real cloth just to cut up and shoot. Maybe we all new something all along. :v

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Yep, I have never seen ANYTHING melt that came out of a muzzleloader barrel, and I wonder if it's even possible.

While not directly germane to the melted-patch discussion, I've personally seen melting on plastic shotcups when used without adequate O/P wadding. In a related realm not normally permitted in these fora, I've seen references to & pictures of burned/melted-through plastic shotshells that had been only once, or at most twice, with B.P.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Bill Hall]

Yep, I have never seen ANYTHING melt that came out of a muzzleloader barrel, and I wonder if it's even possible.

While not directly germane to the melted-patch discussion, I've personally seen melting on plastic shotcups when used without adequate O/P wadding. In a related realm not normally permitted in these fora, I've seen references to & pictures of burned/melted-through plastic shotshells that had been only once, or at most twice, with B.P.

Regards,
Joel

Well there goes that theory. :surrender: :rotf: I assume these are the same shot cups used for reloading modern shells, i.e. RP12's. I wonder why they don't melt with smokeless powder. They just sit right over the charge. But I seldom retrieved any to see how they held up, mostly just assumed they did ok, so maybe they do melt at times.

Still, I can't see anything melting (like patching) and sticking to the inside of the barrel. But then again, I've been wrong before, so... :idunno: Bill

 

[nkbj]

Had to go read up.
http://eprints.hec.gov.pk/1589/1/1468.HTM

I live with a quilter so we don't do poly's. But the info seems to indicate that strength and wear resistance was the idea to start with.
Would barrel wear matter?

 

[ohio ramrod]

Barrels will wear what ever you dress them in! :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Ken Cormier]

At the range club I shoot at there is on average 20 shooters if not to hot lol Half the big time match guys use teflon and alw2ays turn in targets with 10x's .

 

[nkbj]

Barrels will wear what ever you dress them in! :rotf: :rotf:

Yeah, you're right.
You know, back in the late seventies there was a rifle builder that told us the sizing in cloth would wear out a barrel. If that's not an important factor, the sizing might (big time maybe) make a thinner patch more gas and burn resistant if it was not washed out.