12 lb cannon ball?

[Georgivs]

I found this ~4.5 inch ~12 lb spherical chunk of iron in my dads woods near Athens GA. The property was a mule farm on the seaboard rail line around the time of the civil war and there were no battles / fighting in the area that I know of. It has an odd spherical hole that I drilled about 1/8" into to see if there may have been a plug (you can see in the 2nd pic where I drilled into the bottom of the hole) judging from the hardness its cast iron.





Cannon ball?
Ball from ball and chain?
Half a barbell weight?

 

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[Oddjob]

Very Nice. Good work.

 

[vpnavy]

I noticed this was your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard Georgivs! Take a look at Sub-Forums: Georgia for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

I’d say cannon ball for sure, but let the artillery experts weigh in

 

[mick56]

Here is a chart that should help.

[h=3]Cannon Range Tables[/h]

Descriptions of solid shot for smoothbore guns​
Caliber designation	Bore Diameter in inches	Diameter of shot in inches	Weight in pounds (Shot)	Weight in pounds (Shell)	Mean weight in pounds (Case shot)
1-Pdr.		1.95	1
3-Pdr.	2.9	2.84	3.05
4-Pdr.	3.2	3.12	4.07
6-Pdr.	3.67	3.58	6.1		3.22
9-Pdr.	4.20	4.10	9.14
12-Pdr.	4.62	4.52	12.25	8.34	6.22
18-Pdr.	5.30	5.17	18.3	13.45	9.27
24-Pdr.	5.82	5.68	24.3	16.8	12.32
32-Pdr.	6.40	6.25	32.4	22.5	16.12
42-Pdr.	7.0	6.84	42.5	31.3	20.73
8-inch	8.0	7.88	65	44.12 (Mortar) 49.75 (Gun)	30.36
9-inch	9.0	8.87	88	70
10-inch	10.0	9.87	127.5	88.42 (Mortar) 101.67 (Gun)
11-inch	11.0	10.87	165	132
12-inch	12.0	11.87	222
13-inch	13.0	12.87	282.84	197.3 (Mortar) Model 1841
15-inch	15.0	14.85	400 (varies)	330 (varies)

 

[Red James Cash]

Doubt it's a cannon ball.A fuze hole would mean its a shrapnel round.A shrapnel round would be hollow..The hole in it serves no purpose if it were solid shot.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Fair enough, let’s call it a projectile

 

[ARC]

Ok ok...

Lately I have avoided the "cannonball" threads just because others who really enjoy doing them like CBG.

But I will weigh in on this...

I would say cannonball... FOR its size ... weight... and hole are correct... FOR SOLID SHOT... which this seems to be "filled".

What is not correct is the "fill".

So...

There is my 2 cents.

 

[ARC]

Oh sheesh... almost forgot... you know me...

I am a picture freak

Here is what yours COULD be... exact.

 

[ARC]

Awwwww what the heck... lets have another photo... CHEERS !

 

[Georgivs]

AARC, That looks just like it! I'm going to have a buddy at a machine shop try to drill it out for me to see if it is hollow/ filled. Thanks to all who have weighed in. I'm suspicious of it being a cannon ball because of the weird spherical hole in it, but the weight and the size seem right. I wonder if it could be a projectile that was re purposed for something else, or had a defect in the casting (like a bubble).

 

[Tpmetal]

AARC, That looks just like it! I'm going to have a buddy at a machine shop try to drill it out for me to see if it is hollow/ filled. Thanks to all who have weighed in. I'm suspicious of it being a cannon ball because of the weird spherical hole in it, but the weight and the size seem right. I wonder if it could be a projectile that was re purposed for something else, or had a defect in the casting (like a bubble).

do not have joe schmo drill it in a machine shop. thats a good way to get yourself or others killed.......... you need a isolated auto feed drill with a water feed for safety, preferably in a bunker. that is if its a cannon ball

 

[ARC]

do not have joe schmo drill it in a machine shop. thats a good way to get yourself or others killed.......... you need a isolated auto feed drill with a water feed for safety, preferably in a bunker. that is if its a cannon ball

He has already drilled it once... note the photo and statement.

 

[A2coins]

cool find

 

[Hawks88]

Very nice show piece. I wouldn’t tamper with anymore though. Looks good just the way it is. Congratulations on a real nice find.

 

[Red James Cash]

If you're drilling into iron through the bigger hole it is not hollow.I have an 18 pounder cannon ball,solid shot,there's no big hole in it like in yours.The only way that it's a cannon ball is if it's a defect.

 

[HuntinDog]

Being solid with the hole in it, it's more likely to be a centrifugal governor weight.

 

[Bonzododa71]

Hi Geo, that would be a "howitzer shell" minus its contents (lead balls and black powder) I found one from the 1812 war intact ..Heres a pic...

 

[Red James Cash]

I don't think an empty 12 pounder shrapnel ball would weigh in at 12 pounds if a solid ball weighed 12 pounds.

 

[Georgivs]

Being solid with the hole in it, it's more likely to be a centrifugal governor weight.

This would make sense seeing as how it was a stones throw from the train tracks.

For those worried about me drilling into it, my friend works at a machine shop that specializes in firearms.

Its just real weird that it is the approximate size and weight of a 12 pounder.