can anyone help me with this, i found this cannonball two weeks ago, been in contact with three muesems, they want me to turn it in to the police and have it destroyed. i dont know anything about them, but have been told its pre civil war and it could blow up. i live in a small town and i dont know any experts to disarm it. i live in illinois and no one knows how it got here. please help me out i dont want to destroy it thanks bryan
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need advice
- Thread starter bswift35
- Start date
GRAY GHOST
New member
n/t
Here's a link to Relicman from Winchester, VA. He's been de-activating shells for years and has a vast knowledge of ordnance.
http://www.relicman.com/
Under the Ordnance section he tells how it can be done, as well as the electrolysis process for cleaning. He also advises unless you are confident don't try it, but find someone who has experience in to de-activate it for you. Maybe he knows someone in your area you can contact. He would also be a good resource to help date and identify your cannonball.
Hope this helps, and nice find.
http://www.relicman.com/
Under the Ordnance section he tells how it can be done, as well as the electrolysis process for cleaning. He also advises unless you are confident don't try it, but find someone who has experience in to de-activate it for you. Maybe he knows someone in your area you can contact. He would also be a good resource to help date and identify your cannonball.
Hope this helps, and nice find.
cw_relic_hunter
New member
Could we have a size reference please. Looks almost like a pirate cannonball, I cant tell if that a fuse in the top or not, I wouldnt worry about it blowing up, just dont go beating or drilling on it.
Cw
Cw
RelicDigger1
New member
Bryan, please do not do anything remotely even resembling turning this over to anyone who wishes to destroy it or render it inert.
If this is your fuse well, the lighter colored impression on top of the piece in the picture, you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about.
The construction of this piece, if it is indeed a projectile, is simply that a wooden fuse adapter was inserted into that cavity with a powder chamber inside. The wooden fuse adapter is most likely long ago rotted away leaving only a dirt-packed hole.
It appears there is a curvature leading down into the fuse well. No real projectile I know of has this. It may not even be a shell.
But at any rate, you are not going to set the piece off by taking a screwdriver and cleaning the hole out. If you could detonate the projectile simply by digging into the dirt in the fuse well, imagine how many would have gone off at the firing of the cannon -- all of them.
These are not the dangerous monsters they are portrayed to be in the media and by many ninnies in museums and SWAT teams. (I can say these things as I work in the media and my friends are the GOOD Swat teams who won't steal your projectile saying they'd detonated it).
Bottom line, simply clean the cavity out. If you are still uncertain about this, I will do this for you. Seriously. This is the easiest of ALL projectiles to render inert.
Simply let me know if you want it cleaned out and I will do it free.
Richard
If this is your fuse well, the lighter colored impression on top of the piece in the picture, you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about.
The construction of this piece, if it is indeed a projectile, is simply that a wooden fuse adapter was inserted into that cavity with a powder chamber inside. The wooden fuse adapter is most likely long ago rotted away leaving only a dirt-packed hole.
It appears there is a curvature leading down into the fuse well. No real projectile I know of has this. It may not even be a shell.
But at any rate, you are not going to set the piece off by taking a screwdriver and cleaning the hole out. If you could detonate the projectile simply by digging into the dirt in the fuse well, imagine how many would have gone off at the firing of the cannon -- all of them.
These are not the dangerous monsters they are portrayed to be in the media and by many ninnies in museums and SWAT teams. (I can say these things as I work in the media and my friends are the GOOD Swat teams who won't steal your projectile saying they'd detonated it).
Bottom line, simply clean the cavity out. If you are still uncertain about this, I will do this for you. Seriously. This is the easiest of ALL projectiles to render inert.
Simply let me know if you want it cleaned out and I will do it free.
Richard