Rb patch material

[mooman76]

Old cotton dress shirts work well. I also have some of the older BDU material that was 100% cotton. It's really tough kind of like denim.

[triggerhappy243]

all those go to shop rags.

[RBak]

Here's another source of fabrics suitable for patching (It's also reputed to have thicker pillow ticking): https://www.onlinefabricstore.net

Maven, got any thoughts on a tight weave linen that compresses less than .010?
.006 / .008 I am thinking might do the trick but I haven't been able to locate anything locally with a high thread count.

Russ...

[OverMax]

If you have a Home Reloaders Caliper? Measuring with such tool eliminates the oops question. That's how I measure mine.

[Rattus58]

I have some blue striped pillow ticking. And it seems a bit thick for my 50. But ok for my 54. What should i look for at the fabric store for slightly thinner material?

What are your ball sizes and are barrels similar?

A .495 ball will fit tighter than .490, and .535 will be tighter than .530.

So, if your one ball has clearence for your patch in one bore, you might look for that in your other.

That being said, a micrometer is always handy as to what's going on

[KCSO]

I have used Irish linen with good results too. I carry a mic and measure from lot to lot and try for 15-17 thou and then a ball to fit. Depends on the bore of the gun I have some old Numerich barrels marked 44 and they work best with a 425-7 ball. A 44 barrel from Green Mountain works best with a 440 and I have Spanish barrels that go 445. The old way to judge is to take a good swatch of cloth and short start a ball into the bore and pull it out. If you have land marks impressed into the ball you are clost to right, but I like mine just a little loose so I can thumb them in with a greased patch.

[kens]

Maven, got any thoughts on a tight weave linen that compresses less than .010?
.006 / .008 I am thinking might do the trick but I haven't been able to locate anything locally with a high thread count.

Russ...

I went to the biggest fabric store in town, and talked to the knowledgeable lady there. She showed me what is called 'Premium Muslin'. After washing, it read .006" on my calipers.
When she pointed me to the store section of 'muslin', I sorted thru numerous different muslins. I noticed thicker, thinner, tighter weave, regular weave. All sorts, you just pick out the one you want.

[quail4jake]

Back in the day...good ol' T/C made everything cookbook and you just bought their patching, ball mold and bore butter to use in their Hawken rifles. It worked well and was good enough for us farmers who didn't have time to fool around. Now it seems they've gone off into 21st century stuff. I'd listen to these NMLRA fellas, they pass on knowledge that goes back hundreds of years and really works!

[Maven]

A late reply, but Jo Ann Fabric sells (or used to sell) a thin, 100% cotton twill made by Sew Classics. Mine mic's .010", which I use with a T/C .56cal. (.550" RB): Never had one burn through either even with 90gr. FFg.

[triggerhappy243]

What are your ball sizes and are barrels similar?

A .495 ball will fit tighter than .490, and .535 will be tighter than .530.

So, if your one ball has clearence for your patch in one bore, you might look for that in your other.

That being said, a micrometer is always handy as to what's going on

well, i finally got around to measuring the speer rb that i have. these are not perfectly round. they run .488-.490 so now i will take a sample of what patch material i have, down to the fabric store and compare to what they have.............. see what happens.

[True.grit]

I use old cotton t shirts . I have checked for thickness and they are around 15 thousands. Close enough for my shooting.

[Tom W.]

I like the pocket material from blue jeans. When I was younger and the boys lived at home I had a good supply. Those front pockets were cut out before the pants got thrown.....

[mooman76]

I like the pocket material from blue jeans. When I was younger and the boys lived at home I had a good supply. Those front pockets were cut out before the pants got thrown.....

You can get that at a good store that sells cloth. Sometimes hard to find or for them to know what you are talking about but it's called drill cloth or pocket drill. It's made strong and tight weave so the pockets last.