cannon balls

[toot]

I see them from time to time far and few in between at antique shoppes. they seem to want a lot of shekels for them. are really worth all that? don't see them come up for sale on any sites that i am on.

[waksupi]

Dixie Gun Works used to sell them.

[toot]

years ago they used to sell a lot of really good stuff, back when TURNER was at the reigns.

[Tatume]

Be careful with cannonballs from antique shops. Some are still filled with black powder. My grandmother used to use them for door stops in the farmhouse. When I grew old enough to know about such things, I checked them. They were all loaded. Had one been placed upon one of the several wood-burning stoves or in one of the four fireplaces in the house, it would have not been good.

[toot]

Tatume, wow!! that is share scary! glad you are still with us.how would one go about checking them? this is relay a very dangerous unknown subject you have brought up. thanks.

[Hanshi]

Be careful with cannonballs from antique shops. Some are still filled with black powder. My grandmother used to use them for door stops in the farmhouse. When I grew old enough to know about such things, I checked them. They were all loaded. Had one been placed upon one of the several wood-burning stoves or in one of the four fireplaces in the house, it would have not been good.



Timely warning. I still hear (very occasionally) of collectors being injured or killed by live CW shells. In, IIRC, the past two or three years a man here in Va was killed by a 150 year old shell exploding. I even recall, as a kid, two children were killed while playing with a live cannonball they'd found.

[Tatume]

Hi Folks,

It wouldn't be smart of me to advise anyone on how to disarm explosive munitions, nor would it be very bright to take such advice from me (an unknown source). If you think any explosive device is potentially armed, consult the authorities and let them handle it. In today's political climate, I wouldn't take it to them either. Talk to them, and let them come to you.

Take care, Tom

[missionary5155]

Greetings
If the Ball is solid, no holes with a wood plug, then there is no powder in it. It is "solid shot".
If there is a wood plug still in it assume it is loaded and call local authorities. If there is no wood plug but a hole I would fill it with water, leave it hole up and call authorities.
Mike in Peru

[toot]

missionary5155, great advice. thanks for the input! it is hard to fathom that after 152 or so years that the cannon ball is still able to do it's original intended purpose---to kill people??? an amazing testimony to the ordinance of old!!!

[aspangler]

If it is round it is a "shot". If oblong with a piece of lead around one end it is a "shell". Shells are DANGEROUS! If it is intact it is more than likely "HOT". If it is round without the plug it is safe. With plug or unplugged hole it is "HOT". If in doubt, call the authorities.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

If a shell has been rusting or among other rusting objects, the plug may be easy to miss. The usual method of timing the explosion was to drill into the fuse plug with a gimlet, the different times being marked on it. It wasn't all that precise. Sometimes a man got to try for medals or disintegration by heaving a newly arrived shell over the parapet, and when they talked about "the bombs bursting in air" they weren't kidding. Very large ones, twelve or thirteen inch, are nearly sure to be shells if they are on land.

A shell which has missed fire would probably admit water, although if it was in a suitable location it might dry out again. The powder wouldn't then be good for firearms propellant, but it could be good enough for an accident only a little less than the nineteenth century enemy was meant to have. A shell in transit probably had a solid plug, which could have been heavily waxed or varnished, and I think that is the really dangerous kind.

[bedbugbilly]

I owned a number of cannon balls and other projectiles at one time - mostly Civil War. One thing that a person needs to be careful withe is someone trying to pass off a "cannon ball" that is not really a cannon ball. I'm talking a "solid shot". If you are considering purchasing one that you've run across, check the diameter of it and do your research in regards to what it is supposed to be for. I have seen many "supposedly cannon balls" for sale that were nothing but "grinding balls" as was typically used in the production of cement and other products. I once had a fellow stop in to the shop who tried to sell me a dozen small "Rev War small cannon balls" that were small - around 3" or so in diameter. I threw him out and told him never to come back. I could have picked up several hundred of the same as he had ups at the old cement plant that had been out of business for years.

[noonanda]

Gentlemen, having found a Live Civil war 12 Lb Case shot Artillery round, most of what has been said is true. But unless you want it destroyed, do not call the police. If it is a round shell or Case shot round with a fuze, unless you expose said ball to heat and flame it will not spontaneously detonate. Shells (which are bullet shaped are different as they were sometimes percussion fuzed. If you find something like this there are numerous resources out there to Identify a "projectile', and depending on the location to get it disarmed. I recommend this site http://bulletandshell.com/forum/index.php

[Outpost75]

My friend in Italy plows his fields regularly for UXO, here is his bomb plowing Fiat tractor.

200410

[17nut]

Jeff Tanner in UK will cut you a mould after your measurements:

http://www.jt-bullet-moulds.co.uk/moulds.html

[KCSO]

Well stop check balls are also sold as Cannon balls. For shooting we have been using cast CEMENT balls. They hold up well to q 1/2 mile or so and are cheap when cast in a downrigger mould. They don't get passed off as Civil War surplus either.

[Sasquatch-1]

Check out Aquachigger on youtube. He searches the rivers and creeks in the W. Va., Va. and Md. areas for Civil War relics. He has a large collection of cannon shot and shells he has found in the local area. He also has a video he did about preserving the shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaZe0ubCdY0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yn4cHX8J0s