Bullet and Shell Civil War Projectiles Forum
Relic Discussion => Artillery => Topic started by: CarlS on December 12, 2015, 06:23:20 PM
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Hello,
Anyone ever cleaned brick mortar out of a shell? I've got a wood fused 12-lber that is possibly a polygonal but someone stuck a heavy wire into it and filled it with mortar to presumably make a weight out of it. It is in good shape with a nice mold seam, etc. that would be a real nice shell if it didn't have that #$#&^# mortar in it. Any experience or thoughts that might help me?
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Carl, I would drill out all you can with a concrete drill, than pour in sulphuric acid to 'melt ' the concrete. I haven't done this myself, but I am told the acid does not eat into the cast iron unless you leave it in there, but it will eat up the concrete. Wear protection !!
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Or, have it sawed in half, then chisel out the concrete. I think the result would still be worth more than what you've currently got.
Regards,
Pete
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David: I've also heard about using acid, although I though I heard muriatic acid, to remove it. I've drilled what I can already which wasn't a lot due to the wire. I started to try it but was worried that it might boil over or something and stain the outside. It is a nice shell and I'd hate to mess it up.
Pete: You sound like Mike the chopper!
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I have tried the muriatic (same as hydrochloric) acid route and it doesn't work unless you want to do it 1,000 times repeatedly to get a dram of sand out each time while risking your clothing, etc.
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Carl,
Clip off the wire and carefully drill out the center. Gentle taps with a maul might cause the cement to crack and become loose. My advice about using acid is NOT.
Kind Regards,
John
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Some years ago Rick Burton had a shell I inquired about that he said was filled with concrete that he was trying to remove. Never heard what happened with it. You might want to contact him and see if/how he was successful.