Small cannon ball?? ID PLEASE!

[olekyground]

Hey all.

Found this today while detecting. dug it at about 5 inches. Is is probably a hair smaller then a ping pong ball. Weights maybe a pound. I figured it may be a small cannon ball? Im not sure. I think it also could be a bearing maybe....

 

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[duggap]

It would not be a cannon ball but it could be from a cannister shot. It looks about the right size.

 

[CSA2K]

duggap's right.. its an iron canister shot. Nice recovery!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Olekyground wrote:
> Found this today while detecting.
> I figured it may be a small cannon ball? Im not sure.
> I think it also could be a bearing maybe.

You're right, it could be an artillery relic, or it could be one of the millions of ball-bearings and other NON-ARTILLERY iron balls used for Industrial purposes.

If you want to know for CERTAIN whether your iron ball is an artillery ball, you'll need to claen the rust-crust off, and measure its diameter extra-precisely with digital calipers. Fortunately for us cannonball collectors, we have access to a Historical document which tells the precise diameter (and weight) of the cannon balls, grapeshot-balls, and canister-balls used in America from the Colonial era through the Civil War era. You can view that Historical artillery ball size-data online, for free, at www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

After you remove the rust-crust from the iron ball you found, if its exactly-measured diameter does not match up PRECISELY with any of the artillery ball diameters listed in the Historical Artillery Ammunition document, your ball is not an artillery ball.

More info for you:
As Duggap mentioned, your iron ball is too small to be a cannonball or a grapeshot-ball. The only artillery balls which were about the size of your ball are Canister-balls. As you see in CSA2K's photo, Canister was like "shotgun" ammo for cannons.

Another factor to consider: Is there any record of Military cannon usage in the area where you found the ball? If not, the ball is highly unlikely to be an artillery ball. Good luck to you. I hope for your sake it is indeed an artillery ball.

 

[CSA2K]

I think the pic I posted is a bad repro but it shows the general idea. CBG is right.. for a +ID it needs to be cleaned weighed and measured. If you're that interested you can send it to me and I'd be happy to do it. Here are a few of mine after cleaning..

 

[TerryC]

Also called "grape" shot. Anti-personnel. TTC

 

[Sammyt97]

How would you clean it?

How would you clean the crud off of it? I found one also and it's in need of cleaning. Thanks.

Olekyground wrote:
> Found this today while detecting.
> I figured it may be a small cannon ball? Im not sure.
> I think it also could be a bearing maybe.

You're right, it could be an artillery relic, or it could be one of the millions of ball-bearings and other NON-ARTILLERY iron balls used for Industrial purposes.

If you want to know for CERTAIN whether your iron ball is an artillery ball, you'll need to claen the rust-crust off, and measure its diameter extra-precisely with digital calipers. Fortunately for us cannonball collectors, we have access to a Historical document which tells the precise diameter (and weight) of the cannon balls, grapeshot-balls, and canister-balls used in America from the Colonial era through the Civil War era. You can view that Historical artillery ball size-data online, for free, at www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

After you remove the rust-crust from the iron ball you found, if its exactly-measured diameter does not match up PRECISELY with any of the artillery ball diameters listed in the Historical Artillery Ammunition document, your ball is not an artillery ball.

More info for you:
As Duggap mentioned, your iron ball is too small to be a cannonball or a grapeshot-ball. The only artillery balls which were about the size of your ball are Canister-balls. As you see in CSA2K's photo, Canister was like "shotgun" ammo for cannons.

Another factor to consider: Is there any record of Military cannon usage in the area where you found the ball? If not, the ball is highly unlikely to be an artillery ball. Good luck to you. I hope for your sake it is indeed an artillery ball.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

We collectors of cannonballs generally recommend that excavated iron relics be given Electrolysis cleaning in order to not just clean but "electrochemically preserve" the rusted iron from additional deterioration now that it's exposed to lots of oxygen. But in the case of a small (2 inches or less) iron ball, simply take a hammer and sit the ball on a concrete driveway and bash every tiny bit of the rust-encrustation off of it. Then you can use a digital caliper to very precisely measure the ball's rust-free diameter, and then check to see if there's a match-up for its diameter AND weight in the civil war Ordnance Manual's artillery ball (cannon ball, grapeshot ball, and canister-ammo ball) size-&-weight charts.
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

If your iron ball turns out to be an artilley ball, preserve it by applying three coats of clear Polyurethane sealant, such as MinWax Fast-drying Polyurethane (Satin Finish, not Glossy), available at WalMart for about $7.50 a spraycan.

 

[lockster99]

....OMG....I never thought I would hear TheCannonballGuy say to beat the crap out of it with a hammer! While I agree, just expected to hear a much more technical approach. I almost spit coffee on my monitor.

Holy crud that was funny.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Lockster99, your reply gave me the late-night chuckle I needed to end my day.

As I hope my post indicated clearly enough, I was only talking about bashing iron balls which are 2 inches in diameter or less. Ones which are that small are always solid... not hollow explosive.

Sometimes, that less technical method of rust encrustation removal is acceptable. "Crude, but effective." Also, fast and cheap. I use it on civil war artillery shell fragments, which due to their plentifulness in Virginia sell for only a couple of bucks, and thus aren't worth the lengthy time and effort of cleaning each one by Electrolysis. But of course, as a dedicated relic-digger I'll say it IS worth the time and effort if you dug a civil war shell fragment yourself.

 

[fyrffytr1]

What is the best electrolysis unit to use? I have some shell fragments found in Maryland that are rusty and I would like to clean them up.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Fyrffytr1, because you asked... I use a car battery charger I bought back in the 1990s... but I think you'll have to hunt for one like it on Ebay nowadays. It has a needle-meter, which is very important for adjusting the amount of amperage electrical current flow to the relic. I get the best result by using only 1 amp, because although it requires a longer time it does a "gentler" cleaning than higher amperages. Some relics are so "weakened" by corrosion that a harsher cleaning removes what could be saved by a "gentler" power-level. Do you want to save the date-marking on your rifle lockplate, or not? Here is a sample of the result of my old charger and 1-amp Electrolysis, which I did for our fellow TreasureNet relic-ID-helper Breezie:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/r...are-sambo-cap-gun-1897-before-after-pics.html

Also very importantly, my old 1990s charger lacks most of the frustrating "safety features" which are mandated on 21st-Century car battery chargers. That's important because those "safety features" can make a charger unusable for Electrolysis.