Cross Patching

When I shoot my conicals produced from round balls or ready made conicals, I use cross patches. I have tried using a single patch, but they bunch up in a non-repeatable manner, which causes poor groups. I don’t want to buy sabots because of the cost and the plastic fouling they create.

I use two different types of crosspatches made from 100% linen. One type is a single piece, the other uses two individual strips.

One-Piece Cross Patches

A load I’m working on for my 54 Cal consists of a .535″ round ball swaged through a 1/2″ diameter hole.

I made a template from a 32 oz yogurt lid.

The crosspatches are harder to make than the strips and waste more linen, but they are easier to use when loading. The ones shown above are 1 1/2″ wide with 1/2″ wide legs. They are for the 54 Cal. The ones for the 50 Cal are the same width, but the legs are 3/8″ wide. The Scotch Titanium scissors shown above and the surgical scissors shown below are the only pair in my house that make a decent cut in linen.

I use a pair of surgical type scissors to finish the crosses.

Two-Piece Patches

For the 54 Cal, I cut two strips 1 1/2″ long and 1/2″ wide from .015″ thick linen. Making a cross from the strips, I place the conical at the center and then load. The 50 Cal strips are 1 1/2″ long and 3/8″ wide.

I made two templates from a double layer of cardboard I glued together; one is 1/2″ wide for the 54 Cal, and the other is 3/8″ wide for the 50 Cal.

Making the 54 Cal linen strips for crosspatching.

Patches & Buffers for Round Balls

All my patches are 100% linen, .015″ thick except for the 32 Cal, which is .010″ thick. Sometimes I use either for the 45 Cal. I like to cut patches in consistent squares depending on the bore size:

• 32 Cal: Patch 1″ Sq.; Buffer 1″ Sq.
• 45 Cal: Patch 1″ Sq.; Buffer 1 1/2″ Sq.
• 50 Cal: Patch 1 1/2″ Sq.; Buffer 2″ Sq.
• 54 Cal: Patch 1 1/2″ Sq.; Buffer 2 1/2″ Sq.

Cleaning Patches

For cleaning bores, I use 100% cotton, mostly from t-shirts. I like to cut consistent cleaning patches base on bore size:

• 32 Cal: Swab 1″ Sq.
• 45 Cal: Swab 2″ Sq.
• 50 Cal: Swab 3 1/2″ Sq.
• 54 Cal: Swab 4″ Sq.

Linen by the Yard

Fabric thickness is not given on most fabric websites and fabric weight, defined by grams per square meter, ounces by linear yard, or ounces per square yard is not necessarily an indication of thickness. This is confusing, as there are two weights related to yards. One is defined by linear yard per roll size, which is generally 58-60″, the other by square yards. One fabric I checked is listed as 10 oz. per linear yard, the roll being 58″ wide. But it also has another specification of 6.7 oz. in parenthesis. This is probably a square yard related measurement, but it is not made clear. Of course, grams per square meter (GSM) is unmistakable.

The conversion from grams per square meter to ounces per square yard is to multiply the GSM by .0295. Converting from oz/sq yd. to GSM, multiply oz/sq. yd. by 33.9.

I can use my calipers in the store to determine thickness and how much it compresses. Ordering online can be tricky, as the thickness of the fabric is sometimes not noted. Generally, thickness varies with the thickness of the threads used and weight depends on threads per inch and the thickness of the threads. But the weight given in ounces per square yard (oz/sq. yd.) and grams per square meter (GSM) is not necessarily an indication of thickness.

As an example, Fabric Wholesale Direct (FWD) lists two 100% linen fabrics that illustrate this point. The first is a medium weight 100% linen fabric that is 6.7oz/sq. yd. (225 GSM) that is .015″ thick. The second is a lightweight 100% linen, 4.1 oz./sq. yd. (140 GSM) that is .014″ thick. So, one fabric is 61% of the weight of the other but only .001″ thinner. Of course, a lighter weight fabric might be more squeezable than a medium weight fabric, more so than its thickness implies. But all things considered, the heavier fabric probably resists blowout better than the other.