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Thinner Pillow Ticking?

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Pete Gaimari

69 Cal.
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A .015 patch is about as large as I can get down my barrel. All the pillow ticking seems to be .018. Anybody sell .015 ticking?
 
Ticking is typically thicker and has a relatively high thread count per inch than a lot of patch materials because it was intended to be used to form a container for feathers in a pillow. The feathers used for pillows (not the "down" from the birds) have sharp points where they are cut and chopped so need to be covered by fairly thick, tight material - so ya "don't poke yer eye out" or any other part of yer head. I have only one or two MLs I can use pillow ticking with without needing a hammer. The thinnest ticking I have found is in the .018" range also. Others have used the pockets from jeans or twill pants (Dockers) because they are a bit thinner than ticking but have about the same weave pattern. Thinner ticking may be out there but I have not found it.

I generally use .014-.015", 300 or 400 TPI cotton from old bedsheets in my MLs. I've been cutting patches from one king size bottom sheet for several years and have a bunch left - do you know how many patches can be cut from one of those? A whole bunch.
 
joannes fabric store sells the red-white pillow tick which is about .015" and then they also have the green- white which i think is .016" thick.
 
Capper said:
A .015 patch is about as large as I can get down my barrel. All the pillow ticking seems to be .018. Anybody sell .015 ticking?

What size ball do you use? One method is a smaller ball, or you could take a pair of mic's to Jo Anne's or some other fabric shop and find some all cotton/tight weave fabric. It seems to me that I tested some red pillow ticking and it came in around .015. That could be my old mind playing tricks on me too.
 
Try a Fabric store such as JoAnns. Also be sure to bring calipers with you if you have them.
 
I use .575 balls in my GM .58 barrel, and the blue and white pillow ticking is just too tight. I found some white cotton that measures about .015 from walmart. I think it is called cotton muslin. I tried some cotton muslin that measures around .010, but it just won't hold up without a felt wad under the ball. Someone here reported on some stuff sold at walmart called super muslin, about .010 thick that held up fine. Bill
 
Use the links on this site to visit suppliers' catalogues. Track, Dixie GWs, October Country, and many more suppliers carry patch material in every imaginable thickness- both as strips, and pre-cuts, and with and with out lube.

Look for Mattress ticking, too, or denim, or pocket drill, or linen, or canvas at the fabric stores. Take the micrometer or calipers with you.

You want material that has a high thread count per inch(tpi), and a tight "Weave". The women can help you differentiate these things in the fabrics. Cotton flannel, for instance, is an example of a material with a LOW tpi, and a Loose weave. ( That's what makes it "fuzzy"!)

Go to a MLing rifle club in your area, and ask someone to let you Load their gun, so YOU know what a tight fit is, and isn't. Sharp edges on the front of the lands in new guns convinces lots of new shooters that they have a "tight fit", when they don't. Instead, what they are feeling is those sharp edges cutting part way, or all the way through their patch material, leaving a nice hole for gases to blow through. :shocked2: This is why we nag folks to pick up and EXAMINE every patch they fire, and save it to study with someone who has more experience than you do. You don't know what is good or bad, and usually have no idea what you are seeing, or its significance.

Its not a flaw in your character. Its just part of the learning curve you have to climb to do well with this sport. We all have climbed that same curve. The fact that you have come this far indicates you have what it takes to make it. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:
 
Wal-Mart ticking is usually thinner than most. have found it .011, .013, .015, .016, /017. Need to take a mic & measure it, measure from the middle on the cut off part, not on the edges as it is sometimes a tad thicker on the edges. If ya find one ya like, buy the whole bolt as when ya go back, even SKU numbered bolts will vary all over the place.

Keith Lisle
 
"Look for Mattress ticking, too, or denim, or pocket drill, or linen, or canvas at the fabric stores. Take the micrometer or calipers with you."

There ya go Capper, don't get stuck like the masses and think the pillow ticking is the end of all for patch.
I've been using Denim for years, and like mine in the .020-.021 range,and that's with a 535 ball in a GM 54.
When checking ANY fabric, look for polyester "guide" fibers along the cut edge. Even if the bolt say's 100% cotton,(Algonon) many will have a guide fiber every 1-2"s or so. I use my lighter. Cotton burns, Poly melts.
 
I do check my patches Paul. They look perfect with the .015 patches i'm using now. If the fit was any tighter, i'd have to pound them down. I also don't judge a patch by how it starts, but how it goes down the barrel with the ramrod. My gun isn't new.

I need to ask you favor when you give me answers. Try to answer my question without assuming I'm doing something wrong. It's a pattern you've started with me. I appreciate your help, but I don't like being spanked everytime I ask a question.

I like the idea of using pillow ticking. Maybe I like the way they look. I don't know. The patches i'm using are fine.
I live in a small town surrounded by small towns. Most all my buying is online. I was hoping I could find some thinner PT online. Maybe not.

It didn't hurt to ask. :idunno:
 
Birddog6 said:
Wal-Mart ticking is usually thinner than most. have found it .011, .013, .015, .016, /017. Need to take a mic & measure it, measure from the middle on the cut off part, not on the edges as it is sometimes a tad thicker on the edges. If ya find one ya like, buy the whole bolt as when ya go back, even SKU numbered bolts will vary all over the place.

Keith Lisle

There is a Wally in the next town. I'll go see what they have.
 
My red pillow ticking I got from wal mart miced out at .013. This is what I use in my TC Renegade .50 which has what I would call a "tight" bore since it is too small to even shoot a conical.
 
Looks like Wally is on my list to check. .013 would be perfect. The .015 can be tough to get down sometimes.
 
When our local wall mart stopped carrying fabrics I bought out the last of their ticking, the red I got miced out at .013 after washing, the blue .016. I have found the color doesn't relate to the thickness. One roll to another of the same color will vary. The actual thickness has to do with how the loom was set that day! :hmm:
 
found a .010 blue pillow ticking look, 100% cotton at joAnn's. Now it looks like pillow ticking on one side as it is printed on one side and barely shows through the other side. It stated on the roll that it was 100% cotton and was pretty much next to the other thicker pillow ticking. have only washed it yet and not been shot. just washed and cut into 3 blue lines wide strips for cutting at the barrel.
 
Some Wal-Marts have it green striped & some with no stripes at all, so mic it all & get what fits your need.

Keith Lisle
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pete: If you need to shop on-line, then use the links section here to find the suppliers' websites, and their on-line catalogs. I bought .005", .010", .015", and .020" thick patching from DGWs at their both at Friendship when I got my first rifle. So, I know you can buy Smaller or Thinner patches and fabric strips from the suppliers. Since I bought those, I find there are patching fabrics that have "in-between" measurements to buy. I bought some .017", and .018" strips from DGWs the last time I was at Friendship.

I always recommend that you call the companies directly on their 800 numbers, to be sure that the items you are wanting are in stock, before placing an order and giving them your credit card information. You do what you think is best for you, however. :surrender:

What you consider "hard" driving, others may not. You do what is most comfortable for you. I recommend that you spend time with other shooters so you know what they mean by these descriptive terms. It helps in the communication department big time. :thumbsup:
 
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