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60 lb civil war cannon ball " GREAT STORY "

A

Antique lover

New member
This is what was left of a 60lb cannon ball I had.I was trying to find out what it was worth so I emailed a company some emails and told them what I had.The ball was nearly mint." I DID NOT find it."I knew it was still loaded tho.Well they sent all my info to the SBI. About 4 hrs later, there was The SBI, ATF, and lots of Law in my yard.This was NO joke !!!!! They told me I could keep it, BUT if ANYTHING on my land was to catch on fire, the fire department would NOT come because of it being a live Ball.I could NOT risk have a fire.SOOOOOOOOO ! They took it to a large field and set it off.They did let me keep what was left over.The pictures below are some I took Before and after. I filmed them blowing it up.If you want to see it.Go to www.youtube.com and search for .Bomb Squad blowing up my 60lb civil war cannon ball.Be sure you turn the sound up Loud ! It was so loud it could be heard from nearly 8 miles away.Hope you enjoy it . I was on the front page of the newspaper .Did a Live radio interview ,But the best thing was .The TV news did a great story on it showing it blow up.Thanks and hope all has a GREAT day !
 
Where are the !%$& are you at ??? In One way you lucked out !~ But in another way!! U could have ended -up like the guy in Va. DEAD!
 
HI, The story behind the ball , was that it was on a shipment headed to Fort Sumter SC.It was going to be used a ship called a Revenue cutter.BUT this ball never made it there.Some people think it was probaly stolen from the shipment.The bad thing was that it was in near MINT condition. NO rust . VERY clean.The SBI told me that they had NEVER seen one that had a fireing mechanism like it had.It had 4 charges inside.I never thought about it being so deadly untill I seen it explode ! It left a hole nearly 3 foot deep and about 7 foot wide.My wife ALLWAYS hated it being in the house.The STUPID thing was, that whenever I got it, i rode around with it in my car for 2 days !
 
Well it was worth several hundred, but now it's not really worth to much. It is a shame that somebody say's something about a cannon ball and everybody goes crazy. These things are not just going to explode. There are also several people around that use a remote drill press to disarm shells.
 
Maybe $10-15 worth of frags now. It was upwards of $1,000 prior to the demo squad getting their hands on it.

For what it's worth, artillery rounds do not detonate on their own. They're like ammo and firearms in the home. People say they're afraid of guns, but a firearm will not do a thing sitting there left alone.

I've heard folks passing by from different areas of the country express the utmost fear and loathing for a firearm. But mine have always been on their best manners, never attacked anyone once I turn my back, never have bothered the neighbors.

Same with artillery. It will not misbehave when you turn your back. Riding in the trunk or cab for two days or twenty probably had no more threat than to roll over and crush a pair of golf shoes or your two wood.

Yes, there is a bit of responsibility to be observed. You never mistreat a live explosive artillery round, like tossing it in a fire. It can and will show you its displeasure.

But sitting around on the mantle? Or someone else's mantle after they'd paid you $1,000? Nothing will happen unless you give considerable effort to making something happen.

Been handling shells for more than 30 years.

Richard
 
Good God - that was a heck of a blow!

So, what is the mechanism that detonates something like that? Is it a pressure thing when it hits something at a certain speed - I've always wondered? How did they detonate it?

If by chance it did go off within a house that would have caused some major damage!

Here's the direct link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQtGtRxcD0g]
 
Mid 19th century artillery projectiles were not all of an explosive nature. There are some designed to batter fortifications, disrupt troop movements/advances, etc called solid shot.

However, those that are shells or case shot are detonated by several means, ie. fuses. These are the time fuse, percussion fuse, concussion fuse.

The majority are time fused projectiles, which consists of an elongated threaded brass tube (time fuse adapter) that saw the actual "fuse" (a cylindrical tube of paper-covered burning material. This paper fuse was ignited through the firing of the cannon. While the projectile is in flight, the paper fuse burned down through the brass tube and into the shell's powder chamber, detonating the piece.

Percussion fuses can appear similar to a time fuse except they will have an "anvil" that when the piece impacts, is slammed on top of a percussion cap (much like a toy cap gun principle). That spark from the cap travels into the powder chamber and the shell detonates. Should a percussion-fused shell not strike an object solid enough to smash the anvil the projectile travels on its merry way, never detonating. And it takes a very solid object to set one off.

A concussion-fused shell is to be left alone. The one fuse is the Tice fuse. Concussion is just that -- dropping it, hitting it, jarring it. But those are so rare when compared to the rest. Yes, they exist. But I've never even seen one. And I've seen thousands.

Otherwise, you'll have to toss a shell in a fire for an hour or two, a two pound hammer to the snout of a percussion-fused shell or maybe a cutting torch to a time-fused shell would do it.

Interesting video, btw!

HTH

Richard
 
Would be most interested to know the manner of detonating this ball. Did they fuse the exterior with a cap and C-4? Did the run a cap onto the old fuse openings? How much C-4 did they use to detonate it?

It would appear from the pieces hat the ball detonated from within. Had the determined it to be powder loaded? Did they X-Ray it?

Considering it's size the detonation was actually quite minor. It would say the powder charge had lost it's potency over the years. Seeing it surpised me..
 
Relic Digger,
I have a cannon ball that I found many years ago when I was digging up my flower garden. I left It out in the garden for years then I moved and moved it with me. I have been searching tooth and nail to get someone to verify that it is from the civil war but no one can seem to. All they tell me is that it is awfully heavy for a cannon ball. I put it on a weight scale and the thing weighs 71 lbs. Someone did tell me that weighing that much makes it a 50 pounder cannon ball but I don't know. It looks a lot like the one here. Only mine's got some rust on it from being in the ground. One professor did tell me that if I could find the right buyer I could get up to $800 for t but I have been unsuccessful. I don't know if it's still a live ball or not considering it's been out in the sun in the hottest of summers and hasn't blown. I want to get rid of it because I am again getting ready to move and it is just so heavy to keep moving not to mention now it's just in the way. I was wondering if you or anyone else could give me some information on it by looking at the picture or lead me to someone who would know information so that I may find someone to buy this and take it off my hands. I really don't want to donate it because it's such a rare find and I've been told that by many people including musuems, professors and friends.

Thank you for your time.
 
Here is a chart that might help ID your ball. http://www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm


drgnangel said:
Relic Digger,
I have a cannon ball that I found many years ago when I was digging up my flower garden. I left It out in the garden for years then I moved and moved it with me. I have been searching tooth and nail to get someone to verify that it is from the civil war but no one can seem to. All they tell me is that it is awfully heavy for a cannon ball. I put it on a weight scale and the thing weighs 71 lbs. Someone did tell me that weighing that much makes it a 50 pounder cannon ball but I don't know. It looks a lot like the one here. Only mine's got some rust on it from being in the ground. One professor did tell me that if I could find the right buyer I could get up to $800 for t but I have been unsuccessful. I don't know if it's still a live ball or not considering it's been out in the sun in the hottest of summers and hasn't blown. I want to get rid of it because I am again getting ready to move and it is just so heavy to keep moving not to mention now it's just in the way. I was wondering if you or anyone else could give me some information on it by looking at the picture or lead me to someone who would know information so that I may find someone to buy this and take it off my hands. I really don't want to donate it because it's such a rare find and I've been told that by many people including musuems, professors and friends.

Thank you for your time.
Click to expand...
 
I know this is an old post but I have one similar I think. Could someone tell me if this is a cannon ball? And is it a fuze on it?
 
Need pictures, accurate measurements (dia.) and weight.
 
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