Found these beauties in an 1825 cellar!

[Ihatepoisonivy]

Yes

 

[detectahead]

Very interesting

 

[digging440yrs]

SUPER FIND, YER ON A ROLL !

 

[Steve in PA]

I have always understood that the iron balls with flat spots are mill balls used fro crushing ore, coal, etc.

 

[Ihatepoisonivy]

What is the typical size of a mill ball...are they identical with solid shot cannon balls.... Hmmmm
I'm hoping they are just unfinished or in there rough preliminary state.

 

[acepro]

I believe the circular flattened part is where the molten iron was poorest into the form. The form is like a clamp made whole from 2 halves, the balls have a line running it's circumference where the halves met.

yes that is correct! nice finds

 

[acepro]

I believe the circular flattened part is where the molten iron was poorest into the form. The form is like a clamp made whole from 2 halves, the balls have a line running it's circumference where the halves met.

yes that is correct! nice finds

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you getting precise measurement done and reporting it (3.58-inches). I'll assume the Machinist didn't measure the ball's diameter "atop" the raised moldseam ridge... which would add to its actual main-body diameter.

There is one more step needed for cannonball authentification. That is super-precise weighing. A digital Postal Shipping scale is required, because typical household bathroom scales are notoriously inaccurate. We have to use a scale which measures accurately in half-ounces, at the least. (My own Postal Shipping scale weighs in 1/10th-ounce increments.) The "Shot Tables" charts in the Ordnance Manual specify that a 6-Pounder caliber (3.58-inch) Solid Shpt cannonball should weigh 6.1 pounds (6 pounds 1.6 ounces). However, because cast-iron can contain lots of tiny airbubbles trapped inside during the casting process, I've found that actual cannonballs can weigh a few ounces less than the Manual's weight specifications.

But a solid CAST-IRON ball will never weigh MORE than the Manual's specifications. If the ball weighs more than what the Manual says it should (for its size), it is made of Steel, which is typically 10% to 15% heavier than cast-iron. There is no record of Steel artillery balls ever being made or used in America. Thus, if it's a Steel ball found in America, we exclude it from being an artillery ball. Some post-offices will let you weigh the ball. If you do not have acess to a Postal Shipping scale, sneak it into a grocery store's Fresh Vegetables department, and weigh it on the scale there (which is usually accurate to within one ounce).

You said you found them in an 1825 Cellar-Hole. That would tend to indicate they are pre-civil-war era. The "oversized" mold-vent mark is also an indication that they are from before the civil war, and were made at a privately-owned foundry rather than at a Government-owned one (such as the Atlanta Arsenal during the civil war). Also, as one of the diagrams in the article I co-wrote shows (http://www.pochefamily.org/books/SolidShotEssentialsMod.html)
by the time of the civil war the mold's seam did not run across the mold's vent-hole. Instead, the seam was at the ball's "equator" and the vent-hole was at the "north pole." Your ball's mold-seam runs up to the vent-hole mark, which indicates pre-civil-war manufacture. As I said in my previous reply, the balls you found look "unfinished." If the precise weight test proves they are made of cast-iron, not Steel, they might be leftovers from a pre-civil-war iron foundry that went bankrupt.

 

[SALTERSNATCH]

there really large muzzleloader ballz with a spru

 

[Ihatepoisonivy]

Super informative info CBG, I made sure it was measured correctly, tomorrow I will get it weighed at a post office, cross my fingers it's in the ball park...hehe .... On another note the cellar contained all sorts of old stuff from all sorts of dates as the home is still occupied, so perhaps the balls were made in a time near the Civil War and as you stated home made like.
Everyone's input is appreciated as always.

 

[Ihatepoisonivy]

Alright it's done, just left the post office and the ball weighs 6 lbs 3 oz. perhaps the extra 1.4 oz accounts for the unfinshed material on the ball, what do you guys think?