Relic Discussion > Artillery

What did black powder in a shell look like?

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CarlS:
I thought y'all might find this a bit interesting and we haven't had a new topic in a few days so here goes....  

I had an unpunched 24 pounder Bormann cannon ball that a friend wanted disarmed.  The person who drilled it took it out from under the drill and just poured the powder on a blue plastic container lid.  Literally the whole contents of the shell (common shell; not case) poured out.   Very little was left when I washed it out.  I thought some of you might like to see how the artillery powder looked as it was loaded about 150 years ago.  I don't know the recovery provenience on the projectile.  As I said this shell was unpunched and presumably non-fired although dug.  This is probably the biggest reason the powder was still loose inside as a fired shell typically has the powder compressed in the bottom on being fired and, if it hits something hard before it goes off, the powder compresses in the nose on impact.   This was nice and loose and you can see the powder grains clearly in the close up image.  The grain size was very important for its effectiveness and you won't see this in powder that's gotten very damp or wet.

Note the powder came out of the Bormann in the front right of the group shot.  I happened to have this group shot of some pretty neat shells I'm in the process of cleaning so included it for anyone who may not know what a Bormann is.

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CarlS:
Additional Pics..

Garret:
Thanks Carl.  I have several shells that still have a little black powder in them that come out of the drill hole if you tap it.  Is this something to be concerned about?  I always worry about it if someone from law enforcement finds out about my stash of artillery shells. 

Dave the plumber:
    did you try lighting any of it up ??

CarlS:
The only right answer is that it needs to be cleanly washed out so there is no powder left.  Otherwise it's not fully disarmed.  The residue in yours might not be enough to do anything and may not even be flamable any more but it would be hard convincing authorities that blow up bolts and wood fused shells.  I wash mine with a high power water nozzle, soak for a day or so and wash again then repeat until clear water is all that drains out.  A forum member who I'll let speak up since I haven't talked to him about it has found that sudsy amonia helps break down the powder faster and makes it wash out easier.  I plan to try that.  Then when they are washed good I set them out in the sun to dry out.  That takes a while especially on a larger shell.

Also, as an aside, you want to be sure and have a hole large enough to wash it out.  I personally don't think it's practical to do a sufficient job wshing out with a 1/4 inch hole.  I request a 3/8 on most shells and 1/2 on the larger ones and those are hard enough to wash out.  Most shells don't have loose powder and it's often compacted.

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