Pillow ticking by the yard

[Squirrel pizza]

Hey RB, thanks for the info about Big Duck. Looked at their site and seems they have just what I'm looking for. Wouldn't have thought of them or Joanne's. You said you liked the 10.10 oz, and the 12 oz they sell seems to have a looser weeve. Others above have posted that they wash the fabric, sometimes twice, and it seems to tighten the weeve. Have you tried that with the 12oz. I'm not a clothes expert but every time I buy new shirts and was them in warm or hot water they shrink. I guess at the price of a yard of material I could experiment, but figured I'd ask.
  Also, I used to have a set of punches for cutting cards for BP rifle cartridges and shotgun waddings etc. I made several out of black iron pipes of different diameters to cut patches for rifles, but they ware out quickly. Who makes tool steel punches for patch cutting? Thanks, Mike 

[rhbrink]

I have used the 12 oz some it is thicker and the weave is not as tight as the Army Duck 10.10 oz. I do wash my patching at least once but I never have really seen any advantage to washing twice? I use the Army 10.10 in most of my rifles and the only thing that gives me a slight edge (a very slight I might add) in accuracy over the Army Duck is Teflon treated patching but your mileage might vary.

Good Luck.

RB

[Don Steele]

That 10.10 oz army duck looks like great patch material.
Anyone ever measured it's thickness..
Thanks

[Hungry Horse]

In my experience most yardage shops, and all the big box stores, don't have a clue what the material they sell is actually comprised of. Pillow ticking in the past had to be tightly woven to keep feathers from escaping, there is absolutely no reason to weave this material this tight anymore, so they don't. I find that high quality linen used in tablecloths, and napkins, are for the most part still woven quite tightly. Also since these products aren't worn as clothing, they don't suffer the wear clothing does, so the thickness stays uniform. Linen does't lose its strength from normal exposure to sunlight like cotton does either.

  Hungry Horse

[Squirrel pizza]

I don't know how cost affective it would be, but there's always Egyptian cotton linen at 300 threads per inch. Sheets, pillow cases, etc. sold at higher end stores like Macys and Belks. I'm not sure of the thickness but I doubt you could find a tighter weave.

[Three balls]

MR. Steele, I have a micrometer on a piece of the 10.10 army duck. Just using the ratchet, on the end of the thimble, I get .023, if I really crank down on it, I get about .016. As RB stated though your results may vary. RB talked me into getting some, I'm very satisfied.

[Don Steele]

Thank you. That's enough information to get some on the way, and give it a try.

[Three balls]

You bet, hope it helped.

[EC121]

With a .530 ball and the 10.1oz. patching I just about  had to climb the ramrod to get it down a .54cal. Getz barrel.  It is tough and thick if that is what you are looking for.  Way more work than I want to do to just shoot some.  May end up trying .520s.

[Dphariss]

Pillow ticking at one time was available by the yard  or maybe half yard as sheets from folks like Ox Yoke.

Now days all I can find in Australia is pre cut pillow ticking patches. I have tried the  local fabric suppliers but I fear all that is available is stock of ever declining quality stock made in Asia.There is no thickness measurement consistency between bolts.
I take it that the availability of only pre cut  patches is just a profit maximization ploy.

I have given up on pillow ticking and now use seeded homespun fabric about .015" thick.
Was the reason for using pillow ticking that the pattern made it easy to cut strips or is there more than that?

Most of the ticking in America now is made in a large Communist country is asia and is so weak its useless. I switched to Linen.

Dan

[Maven]

I buy my patch material, denim, duck (I think), and pillow ticking from Jo-Ann fabrics and have no idea of their origin, although China seems plausible.  However, I've never had a problem of a "blown" or torn patch that could be attributed to shoddy materials (no pun intended).  A sharp land [and cut patches] yes, but that problem has been addressed.

[hanshi]

I get my patching material from Jo-ann's, too, and so far it has been quite good.  After washing it always measures from about .022" to .024" which loads rather easily and keeps the bore clean.