Cannonball question

Kmaddock · 7th April 2019, 03:38 PM

As a bomb disposal friend of mine from Holland told me most accidents in his profession occur with small simple ordinance.

I was given similar cannon balls as a gift, i kept them for a week pondering how to remove the plug to check if they were live or not. Chatted a bit with some knowledgeable friends and came to nothing conclusive.

In the end I put them in my canoe paddled across a v deep lake and dumped them over board.

Be careful with these things much as I love my hobby these things were designed to kill and destroy.

Keep safe and if you don’t know what you have just accept the fact and be careful

I am not an expert in ordinance so take my advice as just my opinion.

Regards

Ken

M ELEY · 7th April 2019, 04:27 PM

I have this grenado that is still filled with dried powder/shot. I keep it in a very dry place with a coat of wax over the hole.

Will M · 7th April 2019, 04:30 PM

Possibly my premise is incorrect but if such a cannon ball (not more modern artillery) has not detonated in 200 years it's unlikely to do so now with normal handling. I just can't prescribe to dumping into lakes due to the unknown and fear driving the decision.
I do have a solid 24 pounder with broad arrow dug not far from Montreal on a small island where a fort was. The only time the British fired on it was in 1760.
L to R is a 32, 12, 24 hollow and 24 solid with broad arrow. The small one behind the 12 pdr was found in a bag of coffee beans in the 70's and given to my uncle who was then president of Nabob and subsequently given to me.
The 12 pdr sits on a slice of Leopard 1 barrel, 105mm

M ELEY · 7th April 2019, 05:33 PM

I see your point, Will. What I meant was to be careful if deciding to cut into the casing itself. This is a popular action that both museums and some collectors do, to actually show the interior of the shell. When curators do it, however, it is a carefully done and safe practice involved. That being said, I have little doubt that if I threw my old grenade into a campfire, we would be celebrating the 4th of July here early!

Very nice collection, BTW! I'd love to own that broad arrow example!

fernando · 7th April 2019, 06:49 PM

Cutting a cannon ball in halves would never be my cup of tea. Something different would be to acquire a good fragment of a bursted grenade.
I have a reasonable collection of these things and never had one still loaded. The only time i dug some contents from a 5 1/2" howitzer grenade i found no more than some residuals.
I wonder if when the Brits came over for the Peninsular war (also) brought artillery ammunition; the examples i have from that period are not marked and are potentially Portuguese ... or some French.
The ones i have with marks are a 15 HJH 75 (Herzog Julius Hütte) dated 1575 and a XVI-XVII century German clay grenade; the picture shown has a replica fuse; the proper one, not the original but a similar one offered by Michael (Matchlock) is too fragile and kept in a small acrylic case.
The first and second ones in the first picture are stone 'pelouros', a German XIV-XVI century 17 pfund limestone and a Portuguese XVI century granite weighing 18 arratles. Number #3 and #5 are XVIII century 6" and 51/2" howitzer grenades later used in the Peninsular war. The second one in the second picture (set) is one of many hand made by Peter Pögl for King Maximilian.

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P14 · 7th April 2019, 08:23 PM

Thanks for all your help and an interesting discussion. Mystery solved, and I’m relieved I don’t have a shrapnel shell/ grenade.

As far as I understand, provided black powder is kept dry and sealed from the air there’s no reason why it won’t work, even if its 300 years old. I don’t think it decomposes by itself.
Nice collections. Fernando, what is your fuse in the acrylic box made of? Is it like hemp match, the sort used for matchlock musket?

adrian · 8th April 2019, 10:46 AM

Some very nice projectiles there Will & Fernando.

I was unable to post photos of my collection yesterday, trying again this morning:

fernando · 8th April 2019, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adrian

Some very nice projectiles there Will & Fernando.

Thank you Adrian

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fernando · 8th April 2019, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P14

... Fernando, what is your fuse in the acrylic box made of? Is it like hemp match, the sort used for matchlock musket?

I wasn't clear enough. The clay grenade wooden fuse was shown in the bottom of post #7.
The item shown in recent post #23 is in fact a portion of XV-XVI century haquebut matchcord 'Luntenstrick', also offered by the late Michael Trömner (deceased illustreous member 'Matchlock').

7th April 2019, 03:38 PM	#1
Kmaddock Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Ireland Posts: 543	As a bomb disposal friend of mine from Holland told me most accidents in his profession occur with small simple ordinance. I was given similar cannon balls as a gift, i kept them for a week pondering how to remove the plug to check if they were live or not. Chatted a bit with some knowledgeable friends and came to nothing conclusive. In the end I put them in my canoe paddled across a v deep lake and dumped them over board. Be careful with these things much as I love my hobby these things were designed to kill and destroy. Keep safe and if you don’t know what you have just accept the fact and be careful I am not an expert in ordinance so take my advice as just my opinion. Regards Ken

7th April 2019, 04:27 PM	#2
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,159	I have this grenado that is still filled with dried powder/shot. I keep it in a very dry place with a coat of wax over the hole. Attached Images

7th April 2019, 04:30 PM	#3
Will M Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: In the wee woods north of Napanee Ontario Posts: 395	Possibly my premise is incorrect but if such a cannon ball (not more modern artillery) has not detonated in 200 years it's unlikely to do so now with normal handling. I just can't prescribe to dumping into lakes due to the unknown and fear driving the decision. I do have a solid 24 pounder with broad arrow dug not far from Montreal on a small island where a fort was. The only time the British fired on it was in 1760. L to R is a 32, 12, 24 hollow and 24 solid with broad arrow. The small one behind the 12 pdr was found in a bag of coffee beans in the 70's and given to my uncle who was then president of Nabob and subsequently given to me. The 12 pdr sits on a slice of Leopard 1 barrel, 105mm Attached Images

7th April 2019, 05:33 PM	#4
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,159	I see your point, Will. What I meant was to be careful if deciding to cut into the casing itself. This is a popular action that both museums and some collectors do, to actually show the interior of the shell. When curators do it, however, it is a carefully done and safe practice involved. That being said, I have little doubt that if I threw my old grenade into a campfire, we would be celebrating the 4th of July here early! Very nice collection, BTW! I'd love to own that broad arrow example!

7th April 2019, 06:49 PM	#5
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Cutting a cannon ball in halves would never be my cup of tea. Something different would be to acquire a good fragment of a bursted grenade. I have a reasonable collection of these things and never had one still loaded. The only time i dug some contents from a 5 1/2" howitzer grenade i found no more than some residuals. I wonder if when the Brits came over for the Peninsular war (also) brought artillery ammunition; the examples i have from that period are not marked and are potentially Portuguese ... or some French. The ones i have with marks are a 15 HJH 75 (Herzog Julius Hütte) dated 1575 and a XVI-XVII century German clay grenade; the picture shown has a replica fuse; the proper one, not the original but a similar one offered by Michael (Matchlock) is too fragile and kept in a small acrylic case. The first and second ones in the first picture are stone 'pelouros', a German XIV-XVI century 17 pfund limestone and a Portuguese XVI century granite weighing 18 arratles. Number #3 and #5 are XVIII century 6" and 51/2" howitzer grenades later used in the Peninsular war. The second one in the second picture (set) is one of many hand made by Peter Pögl for King Maximilian. . Attached Images

7th April 2019, 08:23 PM	#6
P14 Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: UK Posts: 7	Thanks for all your help and an interesting discussion. Mystery solved, and I’m relieved I don’t have a shrapnel shell/ grenade. As far as I understand, provided black powder is kept dry and sealed from the air there’s no reason why it won’t work, even if its 300 years old. I don’t think it decomposes by itself. Nice collections. Fernando, what is your fuse in the acrylic box made of? Is it like hemp match, the sort used for matchlock musket?

8th April 2019, 10:46 AM	#7
adrian Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 132	Some very nice projectiles there Will & Fernando. I was unable to post photos of my collection yesterday, trying again this morning: Attached Images Last edited by adrian; 9th April 2019 at 12:14 AM.