4.5 cannon ball from war of 1812

[mattmatt100381]

4.5' cannon ball from war of 1812




so i have two other pics but there to big apparently. but i can tell you within 3 inches of where i dug it up. over ten yrs ago in the niagara on the lake region in ontario. also the sight of the war of 1812. it is 4.5-5 inches in diameter. has a hole in it but i assure you by its weight it is a solid iron ball there is a ring around it and that is about all i can see. id like to clean it up but i dont know if i can just use water or if i need to do something special. so please if any one can help me with a bit more history a value and how to clean it it would be much abliged.
respectfully mattmatt

 

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[taz42o]

I think everyone was still waiting on those precise caliper measurements.
It looks like a cannon ball to me.
Ive seen them sell for a couple hundred dollars on ebay, although its not something I'd sell.
I dont think electrolysis will hurt it at all. use a stainless steel anode.
Then it has to be preserved afterwards with wax or something
Here is a good site about electrolysis and other conservation.

Iron Conservation: Part II - Experimental Variable and Finals Steps - Conservation Manual - Conservation Research Laboratory - Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation - Texas A&M University

Here are some before and after pics of electrolysis on a cannon ball. Search electrolysis on cannonball you will find more.

Elektrolyse af 10 Punds kanonkugle. | NORDEK

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Mattmatt100381 wrote:
> Yeah I'm waiting for cannon ball guy or some one to tell me what I have here and
> if its worth anything and how to clean it without damaging it.

I use Electrolysis to remove the rust-crust from dug iron relics. That being said, it should not be used on iron dug in swampy ground. But I can tell from examining the iron in your photo that it did not come from swampy ground ...so Electrolysis won't do any harm to your iron ball.

Besides removing the rust-crust, the main reason to do Electrolysis on dug iron relics is, the Electrolysis electrochemically neutralizes the corrosion which is happening to the iron. Dug iron which doesn't get Electrolysis-treatment will continue to deteriorate and scale.

Sidenote: dug brass, lead, copper, etc. do not need to be put through Electrolysis. Unlike iron, those metals don't continue to corrode after they're brought out of the ground..

The reason I'm not calling it a cannonball yet is, we don't yet have the precise measurement without including the raised ridge around its body. (Yes, precise measurement is THAT important... because even a difference of even 1/10th-inch is important about artillery projectiles.)