Twelve Pound Cannonball

[relichound]

This is a CS cannonball for a smoothbore 12 Lb. cannon. It was found by an early Civil War
relic hunter in Virginia many years ago. Water has been forced down the brass fuse holder
many years ago, but it probably still needs to be drilled to be 100% safe. I have another
one, that I got at an auction years ago that also needs to be drilled. It has the side loader
on the side of the cannonball which this one does not have.

 

[redbob]

Very nice, flushing will usually loosen/remove the powder; especially if it has been soaked for a while. See if you can shine a light inside of it and see what you can see or put a wooden rod or stick down the fuse hole, scratch around and see what comes out.

 

[mikekj]

What more would drilling a small hole do than the big hole that's already in it?

 

[relichound]

It's a very small hole. The man that found it managed to get water into it, and even some
water mixed with black powder back out of it. But this was many years ago. Does it
still need to be disarmed or is this sufficient? I appreciate the advice!
The other one...I don't think has been penetrated by water and I was advised by
a dealer to have it disarmed by having a hole drilled in the bottom.

I bought this one when I was a kid for $5.oo and no mention was made of it
being a Confederate, but there were few reference book on artillery projectiles then.

 

[redbob]

Short of doing something foolish like putting a match or flame down the hole, it is probably just as safe now as drilling another hole in it would make it. You can soak it some more if it will make you feel better and if the other one is a shell and doesn't already have a hole (fuse or drilled) in it then it needs to be drilled. Sideloaders were Confederate as were the ones with this type of fuse holder. Also, a shell will hold much more powder than a case shot. The case shots had thinner walls along with the case shot and matrix so less explosive force was needed to rupture it. Drilling also needs to be left to someone with the proper knowledge and equipment-no shell is worth a life.

 

[Frederick14Va]

The visible hole is where the paper fuse is inserted.. at the bottom of the copper fuse holder is a much smaller hole that continues down into the powder chamber... The hole you see isn't the same size all the way down... Moisture will generally seep into the shell in the ground over time, but isn't always the case. Dried out powder may still be volatile. Attempting to make inert only by soaking the powder generally doesn't always work well... the large powder grain size used doesn't all come back out of the small hole too readily and easily clogs it... will need to be drilled out...

We have used a large bore hypodermic needle to force water down into the powder chamber till appears full and let it soak... about 1/2 inch drill bit down into the center of the fuse holder using a hand brace drill... not an electric high rpm drill that could develop friction heat... The fuse holder is copper for a reason... which is non-sparking... Many even submerge the shell braced in a container of water as well... can slowly by hand drill down through the bottom of the fuse holder which is normally about 1/2-3/4 inch till it go's through into the powder chamber... Then can better flush out and empty the remaining powder. Shell or Case Shot, done the same way... Have done lots of these over the decades... this type are the easy ones...

Bormann and percussion fuses are an entirely different animal.. and should not be toyed with unless you have experience handling these.. these tend to still be rather well sealed up and water resistant.. hence a bit more dangerous to handle. Dampening/soaking the powder is typically only a temporary fix measure, it can eventually dry out again and you may be back to square one again. Should be completely removed if possible.

 

[relichound]

Thanks to all! Good advice. I would not dream of drilling any hole in an explosive projectile, and
I never have. They used to tell us that the Schenkle shells were among the most dangerous.
I specialized in artillery projectiles when I was like 17 to 25, but then moved on to other things,
and only have a handful of them now. Frederick14Va says I can force some more water down
the hole and I think I can do that. The other one I still have that I mentioned has a nice similar
copper fuse holder, and is a side loader. It was excavated, but was painted black with anti-rust black paint
long ago and I want to get the powder out so I can remove the paint completely. Again, thanks to all.