FreeEnterprise wrote:
>it looks to be 6 1/8 in size. It is very round, with no visible seams, and weighs 34.84 lbs...
Thank you for the effort of getting an extra-precise weight measurement.
The Ordnance Manual tells us that a 6.25"-diameter perfect sphere which is solid (no cavity) and made of cast-iron will weigh 32.4 pounds.
Weighing more than that is impossible, unless it contains a metal heavier than iron.
Your ball is 6.125" and weighs 34.84 lbs. Thus, it is SMALLER but weighs about 1.5 pounds MORE than the Ordnance Manual's specs for a
32-pounder caliber Solid Shot.
This means your ball is made of Steel, not cast-iron. (Steel is a "denser" alloy of iron, thus it weighs a bit more.)
There never was such a thing as a steel cannonball. Your steel ball is an ore-crusher ball from the Mining Industry.
Steel balls were used because that metal is "tougher" than cast-iron, important when you want to crush ore-bearing stone, such as Granite.
Here's a link to a book about ore-grinding in the Mining Industry, with a photo of the ore-crushing/grinding balls in the huge machine.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Kj7PSO ... #PPA102,M1
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]