I was looking for something else and coincidentally ran across this humorous snippit from the Richmond Dispatch:
Borman fuse.
--This new military contrivance, for exploding shells at given times, is now being manufactured in great quantities, at the Virginia Armory, for use in case of emergency. They are made of a substance a trifle harder than lead, and when used are screwed on the shell. The concussion, when powder in the piece is fired, causes the fuse to ignite, which is timed to explode the shell at the proper moment. The Borman fuse is about the size of an old fashioned dollar, is half an inch thick, is numbered from 1 to 5, on the face, and is applied somewhat on the principle of the top of a self-sealing preserve can. We heard an intimation that they were to be tried at the Armory on Saturday.
The Daily Dispatch: March 4, 1861. Richmond Dispatch. 4 pages. by Cowardin & Hammersley. Richmond.
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Best,
Carl
These last two posts are from the earlier discussions, which I added here rather than bring the threads to the front. Does anyone know what the metal composition of the fuses was? I also study some Pewter, which is a mixture . Typical composition of pewter tends to be in the range of 74 to 89 percent tin, 0 to 20 percent lead, 0 to 7.6 percent antimony, 0 to 3.5 percent copper with trace levels of zinc. Arsenic and iron may also be present as impurities.
Pewter tends to a higher lead content, but is very soft, while later britannia ware dropped most of the lead, and had a much higher antimony content, which was safer, harder, but more brittle like pure tin and had a higher melting point
curious if these are pewter fuses, or some other alloy
