Cannonball? Live?

Ne1441 · Sep 27, 2015

Hello all,

I know there are a few experts here on this subject so I'm hoping one can give a little insight. I found this a few years ago while cleaning out an apartment of an evicted tenant. My first thought was it could be a cannonball but the "holes" didn't make any sense to me. I didn't put much thought in it and just put it on a shelf because I thought it was interesting either way. So this morning I decided to try to find more information and have now learned that some cannonballs are in fact filled with explosives and capped off. The ball I have is 5 pounds 10 1/4 oz and 3 1/2" diameter. There is a hole on one side that is 5/8" diameter and possibly a second hole opposite of the first one that is 1/8". Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Brian

jewelerguy · Sep 27, 2015

certainly looks like one to me, but I'm no expert by any means. I'm sure it would be helpful to those in the know if they knew if there had been any war activity in your area

Ne1441 · Sep 27, 2015

I'm in Green Bay WI but I can't say that it is from the area. I don't have any knowledge of the tenant that left it or how she acquired it.

NOLA_Ken · Sep 27, 2015

What is in the larger hole? Is it a wood plug, or is it solid metal?

Ne1441 · Sep 27, 2015

Metal

jewelerguy · Sep 27, 2015

send a pm to cannonballguy with a link to this page and see what he has to say

Red James Cash · Sep 27, 2015

A cannonball loaded with powder should only have one hole.

Tnmountains · Sep 27, 2015

Could be the second hole was to flush the powder out. I would run water in it and see. It looks to be a cannon ball.

Ne1441 · Sep 27, 2015

My first thought was that if is indeed a second hole that maybe it has been drilled to decommission it and the filled.

TheCannonballGuy · Sep 27, 2015

The ball's diameter-to-weight ratio is very close to proving it is a solid object, not hollow. Is your measurement of the ball's diameter (3.50-inches) precisely accurate? I'm asking because a civil war era Solid Shot cannonball which is 3.58-inches in diameter weighs 6 pounds 1 ounce... or sometimes a few ounces less due to casting-flaw airbubbles trapped inside the cast iron. That is very close to you ball's weight and diameter.

Please use a digital caliper to check your ball's diameter in hundredths-of-an-inch, and tell us what it is. If it's really 3.50-inches it is not a cannonball.
www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

Ne1441 · Sep 27, 2015

Thank you for the response. I'll try to find a digital caliper to use. I used a woodworking clamp like a caliper and then measured the opening. I will say that it's not perfectly round. There were areas that were slightly over 3 1/2". Is there any chance by your opinion that this could be live? Is the larger "hole" just from casting?

lockster99 · Sep 27, 2015

Shot put?

TheCannonballGuy · Sep 27, 2015

Since you say the ball is out-of-round, it is definitely not a cannonball... nor a grenade. As I said previously, it is solid, not hollow. Therefore, it cannot be "live."

For Lockster99:
Sports Shot-Put balls are carefully manufactured to weight an exactly-even amount of full pounds (such as 12.00 pounds, or 16.00 pounds)... or kilograms (such as 4.00 kilograms, etc). Because this ball's weight is nowhere close to __ pounds zero ounces (or __ point-zero kilograms) it is definitely not a Shot Put.

Ne1441 · Sep 28, 2015

Thank you for the direct response. My only goal here was to make sure I don't have anything explosive sitting on my shelf. I know too many firefighters for that type of risk. Thank you again for the clarification.