Restore Old Cannon Ball

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MtnCreek

MtnCreek

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Anyone here have suggestions on restoring a old cannon ball? It’s in pretty bad condition, presumably because it’s be laying around in the weather for the last 147 years. It’s a small ball, probably 4 or 5”, so I guess it’s safe to assume it’s a solid ball. I would like to clean it up and make a small wooden block for it to sit on (it would look pretty cool in my barn). Anyone know the preferred method for cleaning these up? Any thoughts?

Thanks!
MtnCreek
 
Just throw it in a tumbler and let it go for an hour.:D

Kidding. Personally, I would leave the "patina" and display it as-is.
 
Display as is. You have a piece of history. As with most things old, the more you modify it the less genuine it becomes. It being old and weathered is part of it's history.
 
I'll try to post a picture this evening. It has some soil or rock embedded into the surface in a couple of spots. The ball was excavated at a construction site near Kennesaw Mountain (less than a mile from Cheatham Hill).

If I don’t restore, should I just clean it with a mild wire brush and water, then dry and oil?

Thanks!
 
:) I think those cannon balls are made to explode on contact. What would be the point in shooting a solid cannon ball? Better do some more research. Don
 
hawkeye10 said:
:) I think those cannon balls are made to explode on contact. What would be the point in shooting a solid cannon ball? Better do some more research. Don
Click to expand...

They fired all kinds during the Civil War. Some had impact fuses, some had air burst fuses, some were round shot. They used grape shot and cannister as well. If they were firing at a massed infantry formation that was a long way off, they would sometimes use solid shot. The solid shot would roll and bounce along the ground and could go right through an infantry formation.

The impact fuse shells had a very limited damage radius because the ground would absorb much of the shrapnel and explosion. Timing of the fuses for air burst shells was very difficult. Sometimes they would explode short of the target, sometimes they would explode too high, sometimes they would explode behind the target.

There were all types of artillery used during the war. Small smooth bore cannon, small smooth bore howitzers, larger smooth bore cannon, large rifled guns. HUGE smoothbore columbiads, HUGE rifled cannon. Each of them had multiple different projectiles they could fire.
 
Not necessarily. The case shot (air burst round) for smooth bore cannon were round. You would be able to find a hole for the fuse on it most likely if it was case shot. If you see any sort of symmetrical hole on the ball...then it is most likely a shell and may be filled with gun powder. Better to have an expert look at it before you try doing anything rough to it.
 
If it's a solid shot and 4 inches in diameter, it came from a 9 pounder. could well be a civil war round, or possibly earlier. As long as you don't see a fuse hole anywhere, I would just brush off any loose surface dirt with a paint brush and put it on the shelf. My wife would say "The start of another collection."
 
I would have someone check it before doing anythingto it.
Older explosives can become very unstable.
very cool item though.
 
Sure would be bad to discover it's "hot" by throwing it in a tumbler and having it go off...just like your pistol, you need to confirm it is unloaded.
 
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Once it's proved to be inert or has been made to be inert you'll want to remove the dirt and scaled rust. But to keep it looking properly old you do not want to use any steel wire brushes or anything abrasive that will remove the black age patina.

Instead I'd suggest you wash it down with something like Ed's Red mix to basically loosen any scale'y rust and brush the loose flakey stuff away with a stiff brislte fiber or plastic scrub brush. That'll leave the black oxide patina and the light oil in the mixture will darken it and avoid future rusting.
 
If it were me, I'd make sure it wasn't likely to blow up, then mount it as is. The age and patina make it a part of history, and history is what adds value. Otherwise, it's just a ball of iron. I can get iron scrap from the yard at cost. 9 pounds of scrap iron isn't worth much, but as a civil war cannon ball, 9 pounds of scrap iron can be worth significantly more.
 
4" to 5"?
Maybe it's a Shot Put ball? :D

The men’s shot weighs 7.26 kg (16 pounds) and is 110–130 mm (4.3–5.1 inches) in diameter.

If it's a iron cannon ball it should weigh in that general range.
Unless it is hollow and filled with explosive.

rc
 
I've got one that my great grandmother's uncle brought back from the Civil War, it sits on my shelf, and for years it was under Mom and Dad's bed.
My stepson is a Marine EOD and he about had a stroke when he saw it.:D
He is pretty certain it's "live" :confused:
 
Andrew's got an idea, there.

Naval guns used to shoot grape at the decks and rigging, and solid heated shot at the hull. Like, the ball would be red hot and glowing when it was loaded, and it would be fired as soon as the barrel was run out the firing port. When it drove deep into the hull, it didn't explode, unless it hit the powder magazine. It was intended to start a fire.

So, it sure could be solid, whether it was fired from a land-based gun or a naval gun. Where did you get it?
 
sixgunner455 said:
Andrew's got an idea, there.

Naval guns used to shoot grape at the decks and rigging, and solid heated shot at the hull. Like, the ball would be red hot and glowing when it was loaded, and it would be fired as soon as the barrel was run out the firing port. When it drove deep into the hull, it didn't explode, unless it hit the powder magazine. It was intended to start a fire.

So, it sure could be solid, whether it was fired from a land-based gun or a naval gun. Where did you get it?
Click to expand...

He said near Kennesaw...which is just Northwest of Atlanta....huge series of Civil War battles took place there.
 
I read an article several years ago about the restoration of the USS Constellation in Baltamore Harbor. They found the hold full of hundreds of cannon balls used as ballast. They hauled them off and sold them as scrap. They could have sold them to help pay for the restoration. I would have given more than scrap value for one.
 
A conservator at a museum will clean metal using olive oil and a soft bristle tooth brush. The olive oil is allowed to soak overnight on the object to loosen surface corrosion and then cleaned with the tooth brush.

After the metal has been cleaned a neutral PH wax is applied to keep oxygen and moisture from getting to the surface of the metal.

Any wooden parts or gun stocks would be cleaned with a 50/50 mixture of raw linseed oil and turpentine and a heat lamp to bring contaminates to the surface. A lint free cloth would be used to apply and remove the linseed oil mixture.

Be careful and read below

Civil War cannonball kills relic collector

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24441427/ns/us_news-life/t/civil-war-cannonball-kills-relic-collector/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_artillery_in_the_American_Civil_War
 
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