P-59A Posted November 19, 2017 Share #1 Posted November 19, 2017 Cannon balls are not my thing, but what the heck no guts no glory. This is a swap meet find. I do not have a caliper or a real scale. I put it next to a Hotchkiss I found at a yard sale for scale and to compare patina and pitting. My bathroom scale puts it at 12 pounds and it has a rough diameter of 4 and 7/8ths. Along the seam is a hole for the mold that is about 1" and 15/16ths across and off to one side of that hole at about 3 o'clock is another area that looks kind of like another hole that has been worked over. This area is not on the seam. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share #2 Posted November 20, 2017 I took a cloth sewing tape and ran it around the mold mark. I then transfered that to a film positive I used back in the day when I worked in a graphics shop. The film strip meassures in inches, picas, points, cm and mm. It is very accurate. I came up with a circumference of 15.50". If any of you math wiz kids knows how to calculate a diameter from a circumference that would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted November 20, 2017 Share #3 Posted November 20, 2017 https://www.reference.com/math/convert-circumference-diameter-409874846218215b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share #4 Posted November 20, 2017 https://www.reference.com/math/convert-circumference-diameter-409874846218215b Well another first. That is the first time I have ever used PI. 4.933... diameter sure looks to be larger than the published bore diameter of a Napoleon cannon and it sure comes close to the 4 7/8" I came up with using a large C clamp and tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted November 20, 2017 Share #5 Posted November 20, 2017 Math isn't my friend. There were a few topics on conversion and just picked one at random. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share #6 Posted November 20, 2017 Math isn't my friend. There were a few topics on conversion and just picked one at random. That eliminates it being a US Civil War round, could be Euro, but that is way outside my area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share #7 Posted November 20, 2017 I just read that 18th century British 12 pound cannon balls are about 5 inch's in diameter, have rough mold marks and a large vent hole like the one pictured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-59A Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share #8 Posted November 21, 2017 This diagram shows how a cannon ball is made. The web site I borrowed this from dives deeper into what could be a cannon ball and what is not a cannon ball. So far this ball meets the things one looks for. The diameter is the only hang up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now