Before and After Pics - Quite the Surprise in the Electrolysis Tank!!

[saftgeek]

During a detecting trip to South Carolina recently, I thought I had stumbled upon a runaway slave camp. I found multiple lengths of chains and what I thought was the clasp that held the restraint and a ball. I knew there was a lot of history where I was detecting but my mind wouldn't process anything past the civil war. If you look at the before picture, it looks as if the ball had a spire or something protruding - add to that the chains and the connecting link and I'm afraid my imagination got the best of me...


I was really surprised after electrolysis... I discovered the object appeared to be a cannonball. I measured the diameter and weight - it seems to be a 3lb cannonball from the Revolutionary War - and it cleaned up beautifully. Thank goodness it was a solid shot - I was beating on it with a welding hammer when the entire portion I thought was the spire just flaked off, revealing a smooth surface below. Here is a shot in the tank, just after removing the rust, and a final shot once I applied Rustoleum Rust Remover and Renaissance Wax.



I also found a gun barrel in the immediate are where the cannonball was. It was in the late stages of decomposition and super, super rusted. My main goal was to remove as much of the larger rust as possible then to try to stop the gun from further deterioration. I applied electrolysis and removed as much as I dared with light chipping and a lot of wire brushing. I accidentally broke a piece off of the tang and called it quits. This appears to be a flintlock due to the absence of a nipple and the ignition hole being located on the side of the barrel. I dug the end of the barrel of a blunderbuss looking gun and a hinge - pics of before and after follow...



Hand forged hinge - nothing came easy to folks in that era...



Lastly - the blunderbuss barrel cleaned up...



The cannonball measures 2.825" and is just at 3lbs. I'm thinking I knocked some of the surface off with the rust after electrolysis. The book said it should be 2.84". Either way, the evidence points solidly to a very nice relic from the Revolutionary War era and I couldn't be happier. I'm making plans for a follow up trip and hope to find the lock for the flintlock when I return. There were a lot of iron targets there - I was worn out and couldn't dig in the roots any longer.

Saftgeek-

 

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[11KBP]

Nice finds ...good images, good post.

 

[villagenut]

Sweet old iron. Ain't electrolysis great.

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

During a detecting trip to South Carolina recently, I thought I had stumbled upon a runaway slave camp. I found multiple lengths of chains and what I thought was the clasp that held the restraint and a ball. I knew there was a lot of history where I was detecting but my mind wouldn't process anything past the civil war. If you look at the before picture, it looks as if the ball had a spire or something protruding - add to that the chains and the connecting link and I'm afraid my imagination got the best of me...
View attachment 1674571 View attachment 1674572 View attachment 1674573

I was really surprised after electrolysis... I discovered the object appeared to be a cannonball. I measured the diameter and weight - it seems to be a 3lb cannonball from the Revolutionary War - and it cleaned up beautifully. Thank goodness it was a solid shot - I was beating on it with a welding hammer when the entire portion I thought was the spire just flaked off, revealing a smooth surface below. Here is a shot in the tank, just after removing the rust, and a final shot once I applied Rustoleum Rust Remover and Renaissance Wax.

View attachment 1674574 View attachment 1674575 View attachment 1674576

I also found a gun barrel in the immediate are where the cannonball was. It was in the late stages of decomposition and super, super rusted. My main goal was to remove as much of the larger rust as possible then to try to stop the gun from further deterioration. I applied electrolysis and removed as much as I dared with light chipping and a lot of wire brushing. I accidentally broke a piece off of the tang and called it quits. This appears to be a flintlock due to the absence of a nipple and the ignition hole being located on the side of the barrel. I dug the end of the barrel of a blunderbuss looking gun and a hinge - pics of before and after follow...

View attachment 1674577 View attachment 1674578

Hand forged hinge - nothing came easy to folks in that era...

View attachment 1674579 View attachment 1674580

Lastly - the blunderbuss barrel cleaned up...

View attachment 1674581

The cannonball measures 2.825" and is just at 3lbs. I'm thinking I knocked some of the surface off with the rust after electrolysis. The book said it should be 2.84". Either way, the evidence points solidly to a very nice relic from the Revolutionary War era and I couldn't be happier. I'm making plans for a follow up trip and hope to find the lock for the flintlock when I return. There were a lot of iron targets there - I was worn out and couldn't dig in the roots any longer.

Saftgeek-

This is truly fantastic
Since it is not a slave camp what type of area do you think you found?
Wonder if a brass hammer would be better for beating off rust. Not sure what material is used on a welding hammer.
What sort of set up is your tank?
The canonball is gorgeous!

 

[saftgeek]

Well - Hillbilly Prince
I'm not sure what type of area this may be. It is very remote and swamp, as is most of the low area here. I know there was a Civil War battle fought in that general area but I never researched much past that point of history. This seems to be significantly before that time. I had found some raised areas that didn't look natural - very subtle, but someone dug on both sides to raise and level out 4 or 5 spots. They are just big enough for a small tent on each one. I found a fire pit with oyster shells and some bone - I need to take my time there. I'm hoping to get back there very soon.
As for the brass hammer - you may be on to something. This rust is super tough and a welding hammer is made for knocking off slag. It works very well - just the barrels are super thin and fragile.
My tank is one I put together with a regular car charger. I am already upgrading the anodes to stainless plate. I originally cut, drilled and tapped some 5/8 rebar but they get super rusty very quickly. I'm hoping surrounding the tank with plate will allow my objects to cook more evenly. Thanks for comments...

Saftgeek-

 

[villagenut]

Make sure that if you use stainless that you set it up out of doors....stainless gives off toxic fumes although I do prefer to use it myself.

 

[devldog]

Very nice Relics from S.C. Congrat's te you on some saved American History.

 

[Worm-Slicer]

Stainless steel for anodes will cause cancer. Even if well ventilated, if you put your hands in the water it will absorb the chromates through the pores in your hands and that is just as bad as breathing the vapors. I use rebar as my anode and grind the rust that develops on it occasionally with a dremal to get it back to the bare metal, which only takes a few moments and works just as good as stainless steel.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice restoration!

 

[A2coins]

Thats all I neededto hear to not mess with electrolysis

 

[Whyme]

Wow awesome finds! Congrats! Very nice job on the restoration.