Finally preserved my Confederate 12 pounder

[BladeRunner2019]

Hi all.


It's been a while since I dug this, but I'm finally finished preserving it. Overall, I think it turned out really well. I was expecting it to be pitted, but it's not bad at all. I'm happy with how it looks.

You can definitely make out the mold seam around the center.

 

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[Carolina Tom]

That’s really nice. Job well done.

Good luck brother.

 

[BladeRunner2019]

That’s really nice. Job well done.

Good luck brother.

Thanks Buddy. Maybe one of these days we can get back together for a group hunt. It's never boring when you're around.

 

[cmthunder]

Turned out excellant

 

[Kray Gelder]

Beautiful! Terrific condition. Congrats.

 

[anchoredinchrist]

Looks great! How did you do it? What was your process?

 

[ArfieBoy]

Super nice job! It turned out a lot better than I would have thought from the find pictures! Great!

 

[BladeRunner2019]

Looks great! How did you do it? What was your process?

Thank you! There are much more qualified people to give advice on this subject, but I can tell you what I did. Once it was flushed of black powder, I lightly tapped around it with a small hammer to remove the heavy rust. I initially tried a vinegar bath to remove the rust, but it didn't do much at all. I was able to borrow a manual battery charger and set up an electrolysis tank. I let it "cook" for about 10 to 12 hours total in the electrolysis. When I took it out, I thought it hadn't worked, but I hit it with a toothbrush to test it and the rust pretty much fell off. There were a few spots I had to hit with a green scotch bright pad or some sand paper to get the last bit of rust off. After that, I did the hot wax treatment to seal and preserve.

This was my first time doing something like this and it was a learning process. Lot's of good information on YouTube regarding electrolysis and a few showing the wax treatment. Instead of the wax you can use a rust converter to seal it such as Gemplers. I've heard it's really good and is much easier to apply than doing the hot wax bath. It's just a personal preference on which way to seal it.

Super nice job! It turned out a lot better than I would have thought from the find pictures! Great!

Agreed! I thought it was going to be really pitted. There are a few heavy spots up near the fuse adapter, but overall I was very pleased how it came out.

 

[Tnmountains]

Thank you! There are much more qualified people to give advice on this subject, but I can tell you what I did. Once it was flushed of black powder, I lightly tapped around it with a small hammer to remove the heavy rust. I initially tried a vinegar bath to remove the rust, but it didn't do much at all. I was able to borrow a manual battery charger and set up an electrolysis tank. I let it "cook" for about 10 to 12 hours total in the electrolysis. When I took it out, I thought it hadn't worked, but I hit it with a toothbrush to test it and the rust pretty much fell off. There were a few spots I had to hit with a green scotch bright pad or some sand paper to get the last bit of rust off. After that, I did the hot wax treatment to seal and preserve.

This was my first time doing something like this and it was a learning process. Lot's of good information on YouTube regarding electrolysis and a few showing the wax treatment. Instead of the wax you can use a rust converter to seal it such as Gemplers. I've heard it's really good and is much easier to apply than doing the hot wax bath. It's just a personal preference on which way to seal it.
.


Agreed! I thought it was going to be really pitted. There are a few heavy spots up near the fuse adapter, but overall I was very pleased how it came out.

It turned out really well you did a great job. We have a preservation section here with good advice if you ever want to look at it. Yours would be a good one to show there for others who want to learn. Looks great! The powder scares me did you try to ignite any of it after it was out? Some will still flash and more

 

[BladeRunner2019]

It turned out really well you did a great job. We have a preservation section here with good advice if you ever want to look at it. Yours would be a good one to show there for others who want to learn. Looks great! The powder scares me did you try to ignite any of it after it was out? Some will still flash and more

Thank you sir!

My plan was to try to recover as much of the black powder as I could, but it just didn't work out. I don't think I have enough to even try to ignite. I don't want to get into too many details because I was chastised on another forum for disarming it myself. I realize there is some danger involved when dealing with a live shell, but with precautions, I felt safe doing it.

I'll check out the preservation section.

Thanks again!

 

[Davers]

It turned out super nice ...great job.

 

[Mudflap]

Very nice job. Looks good!

 

[Ben Smith]

Sweet Cannon ball! Wish I had the stack my Aunt had in her basement years ago!
great Job!
Ben Smith

 

[alabama11]

Nice job. Is that the mountain howitzer shell. If it is General Forrest would be proud as it was his favorite gun.

 

[birdman]

Love it!!