Bullet and Shell Civil War Projectiles Forum

Relic Discussion => Artillery => Topic started by: divedigger on March 22, 2017, 06:47:44 PM

Title: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: divedigger on March 22, 2017, 06:47:44 PM
this is all that remains of a wood fuse that apparently had cloth wrapped around it as a shim. Came from a 10" ball
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: emike123 on March 22, 2017, 07:33:59 PM
Neat.  I have a couple wood time fuse adaptered shells with that kind of stuff and always thought it was "tow"
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: divedigger on March 22, 2017, 08:11:17 PM
the only tow I've seen went in the fuse adapter, this was on the outside between the fuse and the shell
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: emike123 on March 22, 2017, 08:25:22 PM
Here is an admittedly fuzzy photo of a 10pdr Read shell.  I got this one from forumite Terry Waxham who I'd love to hear from.  Hard to tell but the cloth is outside the wood adapter as you say.  Could it be they put cloth "ribbon" in there to facilitate extraction of the wood adapter?  Those wood adapters have a nasty habit of sticking in the fuse hole.
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: divedigger on March 22, 2017, 08:43:19 PM
maybe, but this one seems to be a strip around the top portion of the fuse,maybe to close gaps so as not to have detonation in the gun from flames leaking past the fuse. The shell had remnants of the cloth all the way around the top of the fuse hole but this is all that survived. Plus the cloth would give a little grip so the fuse wouldn't move any

Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: pipedreamer65 on March 23, 2017, 08:51:46 AM
That's really cool.  I'd think it was used as a "shim" since wood expands and contracts with moisture.  Thanks!
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: divedigger on March 23, 2017, 11:29:25 AM
 a 30lb Parrott with a leather washer in place. I'm thinking the cloth with the wood fuse was serving the same purpose as the leather washer in the Parrott, to keep flame out during the firing of the shell
Title: Re: wood fuse with a cloth washer
Post by: divedigger on March 23, 2017, 11:35:23 AM
tow in place in a 2.25 Harding and tow that came out of a 2.25 Harding