Ideas for cannon ball extraction?

MossRoad · Jun 23, 2022

If it's a lead ball, couldn't you just heat the cannon up like a crucible and pour the lead out? It would only take a few large torches, a few bottles of gas, removing the cannon from the wood mounts, making new metal supports for tipping the cannon from the melt point to the tipping point, some protective gear, something to pour the lead into so it doesn't go to waste, like a mold of a grizzly bear, or maybe even another cannon ball?

You're making it way too easy when you could make it much more complicated for our entertainment.

WM75Guy · Jun 23, 2022

I would make it a "Hold my beer" event.

MF RED in MT · Jun 23, 2022

3 drops of unleaded fuel in the flash hole,
generous length of proper fuse,
flash hole sealed to keep fuel gases in,
pointed in a safe direction like next to a cliff wall,
very large area free from potential damage from this event,
wearing safety glass and hearing protection,
light fuse,
turn away and bury your head in the ground,
and kiss your asp goodby!!

Good luck and be safe,

KC

F.Y.I. this advice may work or not work, and can cause joy, sorrow, injury, or even death...

JethroB · Jun 23, 2022

This is an interesting and fun thread. Thanks Richard for letting us tag along, keeping it light and humorous.

I can envision your progress. This is a .45 caliber but I’ve never had the guts to fire it.

Fladogman · Jun 24, 2022

I'm a little late getting into this conversation but have you thought about this?
Ospho OSPHOG; Ospho Metal Treatment Gallon Made by Ospho

I've had good luck removing rust with it.

dodge man · Jun 25, 2022

What better place to store cannon balls but in a cannon?

LS Tractor Owner · Jun 25, 2022

Going to try the same process to getthe second one out?

Richard · Jun 25, 2022

Here's the ball that came out. The flat side that's on the right side is what I referred to earlier. No idea how/why it's there. No idea if that was part of a deformation issue.

When the drill bit "bit", it ended up spinning the ball. You can see the smooth sides on the ball where it spun in the bore.

Bit was buried SOLID. Rather than try to saw it out, I just got my air chisel and it made short work of it. I didn't want to destroy the ball but I would have been fighting this for a much longer time had I not. Besides, I don't intend to actually fire a cannon ball, just to be cautious AND, since I still have the mass of led, I'm willing to bet I could take it to my newest best cannon friend and he could melt it back into a ball (he sent me some pictures of his ball making tools)

Richard · Jun 25, 2022

One of my issues on honing the bore is/was the hone is too short. I saw what should work but passed while I thought about it. This morning, I went back to get it thinking I could probably buy a drill extension at Home Depot and extend it. (I was wrong)

Just no way the above is long enough... I meandered through the store...debated on just taking the hone back... then it hit me. The right half screws in....so it will unscrew.

I can go measure it and find out it's a (I forget) 3/16th's 16 thread....and move everything over to a threaded rod...

.
and viola, I have my extension for the full bore.

Richard · Jun 25, 2022

Now it's time to take my borescope back down.... this was AFTER a brief running of the hone. To be honest, I don't think I had the hone firm enough but prefer to go slow so I'm ok with that.

Deeper and deeper...I see a shadow....

This is where I started thinking in the back of my head... WHAT the heck is that? Is the back of the bore nice & shiny? Is it a semi circle to help propel the charge forward? I don't know...

and there is the other ball.

I've since cleaned it out some making it easier to see but that was after i took the picture.

Off the cuff, the ball is NOT moving at all. I'm currently letting it soak overnight. I might just drill it out tomorrow if I get fed up with it.

So that's where I currently am. Oh, and I noticed the ball in part because before I put scope down, I put flashlight on flash-hole and did NOT see any light in the cylinder. That perplexed me causing me to go down via scope.