TWISTEDWILLOW Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 Thanks Daswulf, I just looked it up using that term and that’s it, lol well I guess they really are cannon balls after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Thank you both. As it happens, poultry barns are everywhere around here too, so I may be in luck! I never knew they existed. Cannonball agitators that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 I forgot to post on this thread, my leaf stake redo, I wasn’t happy with how it turned out so I cut it off and re forged it, this time I upset it first and then used a handled hot cut to split it from the top, I like how this one turned out better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 We use the term "Mill Balls" for use in ball mills. They come in a number of sizes depending on what is being crushed---pulverizing coal starts out with huge ones and throws them away when they get down to a couple of inches. A company that makes them is just off I10 at the Vinton exit just west/north of El Paso, TX: Vinton Steel LLC "Makers of grinding media for the mining industry". Yes they are generally sold at inflated prices as Civil War cannonballs; even though the size of civil war cannons was standardized and almost NONE of the mill balls match a standard size! (Was at the Flea Market in Las Cruces once and a fellow was selling mill balls at US$1 apiece; two lanes over someone was selling them as cannon balls for US$30 apiece... When welding on them: PREHEAT and SLOW COOL, Used balls may have a lot of stress built up in their outer "shell". The Vinton Steel LLC website says they make 1/2" to 4" diameter balls and they have the MSDS that has all sorts of interesting information in it (The form is designed for chemicals so a lot of the listing is a bit odd like "Inhalation of rebar and grinding balls" Skin contact---Nickel, manganese and chromium sensitivities warned, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 The 2 commonest cannon using round ball projectiles during the American Civil War were the 6 and 12 pounder guns which had a caliber (diameter of ball) of 3.67" and 4.61" respectively. So, if a round ball is not one of these diameters it is unlikely to be an actual cannon ball. Also, civil war cannon balls were made of cast iron. Mill balls are made of steel. A spark test will tell them apart. There are other calibers but these are by far the commonest. Earlier, e.g. US Revolutionary War, guns had other calibers such as 2, 4, 9, 16, and 18 pound balls. Naval, siege, and coastal defense guns were usually larger calibers because the guns did not have to be hauled around over the country as did field artillery. Shells, which explode, are lighter because they are hollow for an explosive filling but have the same diameter. They also have a hole in the side for the fuze. The civil war era ones had a threaded fuze hole about an inch and half in diameter. If one of these is encountered, particularly if the fuze is in place, it should be treated as live because the explosive (black powder) may well still be intact. There are ways to disarm them but there have been fatal accidents. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Rev war cannon balls often show long exposure to the elements too. (Note corrosion can change the size both up and down!) Size is the fasted way to check a "find" at a fleamarket. The spark test works well for things in your shop. Out here in mining country when you find balls used as finials on fenceposts or other places you generally assume they are mill balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 A concrete batch plant is a good place to find used mill balls, they're used to break up (condition) aggregate and sand before it's added to the mixer. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I will keep my eye out for those as well. I was watching videos showing how mill balls are made. There is just something about watching hot metal being squashed into dies..... Some of them were cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I used to get mill balls at our local pottery supply shop. Too bad they closed years ago sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Irondragon, I am near Seagrove, NC and they have a LOT of pottery shops. I've visited some and their work is fantastic. I did not see any mill balls though. Another potential resource..... TW, you are making some nice tools and I didn't mean to steer your thread off into mill ball land! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 Lol, it’s okay Nodebt, we’re all learning good places to hunt for them and if someone comes along this thread later on, an wants to copy that tool then they will know where to go looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Most sucker rods I have run across are made from 4130 steel. Pretty hard to move with a hand hammer. If I didn't have the 30 pound Starr hammer, I would be into next week or the local ER drawing this out by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I have a set of 3# hammers for forging sucker rod, lol. One is a big radius cross pein, the second is a like radius cross pein and the third is round. They all are simple bald rounds ground from double jacks. They do an excellent job of drowning out large diameter sucker rod over the horn. I use the largest diameter for bics. Forging the coller down to 1” is the biggest pain. Forgot and cold hardiest I actually use the treaded end on the medium size stock (1” square) forging the transition on the rod end down square is easier than the flange and the treads just grind off when you sharpen it. I just let it fan out and then grind them much like an axe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 I like it Randy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Nice bickern Randy but you make it sound like they have a power hammer in the local ER. It gave me an entertaining mental image of you yelling out, "Nurse, FLATTER, STAT!" Nice start on a Sunday morning, thanks. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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