I've been cleaning (electrolisis w/ baking soda) shell fragments with some nice results but havent the nerve to drop a live, armed Parrot Shell in for cleaning since I dont know if the process might in some odd way explode the shell. From what I have read so far, Im thinking it can be done...???? Any warnings or suggestions are more than welcome. (My first post... hope an expert will weigh in...)... Thanks, dandan
Any dangers with Electrolisis and a live shell?
- Thread starter dandan
- Start date
CWArtillery
Established Users
Drilling...
Hello,
The danger would come from drilling it. If you attach the wire with a screw by drilling and taping then you are in danger of drilling into the powder chamber. Drilling is what sets them off. Why it does is debated but not that the ones that have exploded did so while being drilled. If you attach the wire in some other fashion (clamp, etc.) then there should be no danger.
All that said, FortDonelsonRelics.com and others can safely disarm it for you and that's your safest route.
Best,
Carl
Hello,
The danger would come from drilling it. If you attach the wire with a screw by drilling and taping then you are in danger of drilling into the powder chamber. Drilling is what sets them off. Why it does is debated but not that the ones that have exploded did so while being drilled. If you attach the wire in some other fashion (clamp, etc.) then there should be no danger.
All that said, FortDonelsonRelics.com and others can safely disarm it for you and that's your safest route.
Best,
Carl
I've been doing Electrolysis on non-emptied civil war shells for almost 35 years (meaning, I've done it to hundreds of them). No boom has resulted. In those 35 years I've never heard of a boom resulting from somebody using Electrolysis on a civil war shell. Take that evidence for whatever you think it's worth.
CivilWarArtillery's caution-note about drilling into shells is correct. That having been said... on the few occasions when a hole needs to be drilled for the purpose of good electrical contact, I use a very small drillbit (3/32-inch) ...and all that is needed is a 1/4-inch deep drillhole. ABSOLUTELY NO DEEPER. That depth doesn't penetrate into the shell's powder-cavity.
After I've drilled my 1/4"-deep hole for good electrical contact, I remove the drillbit from the drill, and stick the tiny drillbit's BASE (not the grooved end) into the hole I've made ..and then put the battery charger's alligator-clamp onto the drillbit's tip.
But whenever possible, I greatly prefer to simply clip the battery-charger's clamp onto the shell's sabot or fuze. I use a small file to make a TINY spot of "shiny-clean" metal on the sabot or fuze's edge (for "good" electrical contact), and then I put the alligator-clamp's jaw precisely on that shiny-clean spot.
The reason I said "whenever possible" in the paragraph above is:
Unfortunately, unlike cylindrical projectiles, some spherical projectiles (cannonballs) such as a solid-shot or wood-fuzed ball don't have a place on them that the alligator-clamp can grip ...so, making an electrical-contact drillhole tends to be the best option in those cases.
Obligatory safety-warning:
Of course, NEVER tinker with an electrical device's connections while it is plugged in! Always confirm with your own eyes that it is unplugged.
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
CivilWarArtillery's caution-note about drilling into shells is correct. That having been said... on the few occasions when a hole needs to be drilled for the purpose of good electrical contact, I use a very small drillbit (3/32-inch) ...and all that is needed is a 1/4-inch deep drillhole. ABSOLUTELY NO DEEPER. That depth doesn't penetrate into the shell's powder-cavity.
After I've drilled my 1/4"-deep hole for good electrical contact, I remove the drillbit from the drill, and stick the tiny drillbit's BASE (not the grooved end) into the hole I've made ..and then put the battery charger's alligator-clamp onto the drillbit's tip.
But whenever possible, I greatly prefer to simply clip the battery-charger's clamp onto the shell's sabot or fuze. I use a small file to make a TINY spot of "shiny-clean" metal on the sabot or fuze's edge (for "good" electrical contact), and then I put the alligator-clamp's jaw precisely on that shiny-clean spot.
The reason I said "whenever possible" in the paragraph above is:
Unfortunately, unlike cylindrical projectiles, some spherical projectiles (cannonballs) such as a solid-shot or wood-fuzed ball don't have a place on them that the alligator-clamp can grip ...so, making an electrical-contact drillhole tends to be the best option in those cases.
Obligatory safety-warning:
Of course, NEVER tinker with an electrical device's connections while it is plugged in! Always confirm with your own eyes that it is unplugged.
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
Thanks Carl..... Thanks P.C.George .....Thanks for taking the time to reply... very, very helpful!!! When I finish with the fragments, I will try the big-boy! I'm going to just wrap my copper wire aroung the whole shell and make sure I have a couple of contact points.... Then, I plan to turn the breaker on from the house with my shell hooked up far away in the shed! LOL ...from what I'm reading, I think maybe I should leave the tip top of the zinc fuse (10lb U.S. parrot) out of the water ? .... or, do I leave the brass sabot out of the water so as not to discolor it? Thanks again!!
CWArtillery
Established Users
Just a few quick comments:
Don't put anything in the solution that you want to keep the patina on. Rust is patina specific to iron and electrolysis removes all patina. Most people cleaning will not typically try to save the patina on copper or brass (sabots and fuses) but they do on lead. Also, for a pewter fuse, it's often quite brittle and electrolysis may remove a good bit of it.
If you have a lot of exposed copper, i.e. have wapped a shell in it for contact, you'll find it might give an odd hue to the item being cleaned. I recommend attaching an insulated wire with a clamp as Pete suggested or screw.
Don't put anything in the solution that you want to keep the patina on. Rust is patina specific to iron and electrolysis removes all patina. Most people cleaning will not typically try to save the patina on copper or brass (sabots and fuses) but they do on lead. Also, for a pewter fuse, it's often quite brittle and electrolysis may remove a good bit of it.
If you have a lot of exposed copper, i.e. have wapped a shell in it for contact, you'll find it might give an odd hue to the item being cleaned. I recommend attaching an insulated wire with a clamp as Pete suggested or screw.
Thanks ... The Shell came out looking beautiful (partly due to the fact it was found on the side of a mountain and never really sat in stagnant water over the years)... the light rust covering came off like breaking away an egg shell revealing a gorgeous non-pitted shell... On the base it has three deliberate scratches made with maybe a pocket knife... All I can think of is maybe this indicated the shell had a timed-fuse of 3 seconds? Any other ideas?
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Dandan wrote:
> Here are some photos of the shell I cleaned -- no preservative coat applied!
Because I've used Electrolysis to clean hundreds of shells, I recognize good cleaning-work when I see it. You did a very good job, especially since it is your first try at cleaning a shell.
> What do the 3 "strikes" on the bottom mean? What sort of shell is this one? Thanks.
Your shell is definitely a US-made Parrott. It has Robert P. Parrott's brass Type 3 sabot, which made its first appearance in combat during early 1863. Your shell was fired from a "10-pounder" Parrott cannon -- which was 2.9" caliber until the 3"-caliber version was introduced into Federal service in February 1864.
Now, about what the three "strikes" on your shell's flat iron base MAY mean. It is important to remember that a Muzzle-loading artillery projecile's diameter is always a little bit smaller than the bore-diameter (called "caliber") of the cannon it was intended to be fired from. For example, the main iron body of a 2.9"-caliber Parrott cannon's shells was 2.84 to 2.88 inches in diameter. A 3.0"-caliber Parrott cannon's shells were 2.92 to 2.94 inchhes in diameter.
To diminish the possibility of confusion over such ammunition by the cannon-crew, some cylindrical projectiles were marked on their base with a number "3" to tell the caliber of cannon they were intended for. So, there is a POSSIBILITY that the three "strikes" on your shell's base represent its caliber. You'll need to extra-precisely measure the main iron body's diameter with a good set of Digital Calipers. If its diameter is greater than 2.88 inches, the three "strikes" do represent 3-inch caliber.
If you don't own (and cannot borrow) some accurate Calipers, there may be another answer. As I mentioned, Mr. Parrott's 3"-caliber rifled cannon did not get into Federal service until February 1864. If the site you found your shell at did not see any artillery action on or after that date, your shell cannot be a 3"-caliber Parrott shell.
For example, it is impossible for 3"-caliber Parrott projectiles to have been dug from Gettysburg -- despite claims by certain relic-sellers on Ebay. ;-)
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
> Here are some photos of the shell I cleaned -- no preservative coat applied!
Because I've used Electrolysis to clean hundreds of shells, I recognize good cleaning-work when I see it. You did a very good job, especially since it is your first try at cleaning a shell.
> What do the 3 "strikes" on the bottom mean? What sort of shell is this one? Thanks.
Your shell is definitely a US-made Parrott. It has Robert P. Parrott's brass Type 3 sabot, which made its first appearance in combat during early 1863. Your shell was fired from a "10-pounder" Parrott cannon -- which was 2.9" caliber until the 3"-caliber version was introduced into Federal service in February 1864.
Now, about what the three "strikes" on your shell's flat iron base MAY mean. It is important to remember that a Muzzle-loading artillery projecile's diameter is always a little bit smaller than the bore-diameter (called "caliber") of the cannon it was intended to be fired from. For example, the main iron body of a 2.9"-caliber Parrott cannon's shells was 2.84 to 2.88 inches in diameter. A 3.0"-caliber Parrott cannon's shells were 2.92 to 2.94 inchhes in diameter.
To diminish the possibility of confusion over such ammunition by the cannon-crew, some cylindrical projectiles were marked on their base with a number "3" to tell the caliber of cannon they were intended for. So, there is a POSSIBILITY that the three "strikes" on your shell's base represent its caliber. You'll need to extra-precisely measure the main iron body's diameter with a good set of Digital Calipers. If its diameter is greater than 2.88 inches, the three "strikes" do represent 3-inch caliber.
If you don't own (and cannot borrow) some accurate Calipers, there may be another answer. As I mentioned, Mr. Parrott's 3"-caliber rifled cannon did not get into Federal service until February 1864. If the site you found your shell at did not see any artillery action on or after that date, your shell cannot be a 3"-caliber Parrott shell.
For example, it is impossible for 3"-caliber Parrott projectiles to have been dug from Gettysburg -- despite claims by certain relic-sellers on Ebay. ;-)
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
Last edited:
Aug. 1863
PCGeorge... Thanks for your help, expertise, time and kind words as to the job I did on my first full shell electrolysis-cleaning! In light of what you had to say, I can most assuredly say this one was dug from an August 1863 context ruling out the possibility that the three "strikes" on the bottom could have meant 3".... so, the only thing left for me to guess would be that PERHAPS they were indicating the number of seconds on the timed fuse it contained. Perhaps I should find out approximately how many yards a 3 second timed fuse would allow for and measure it up against the context of where I found it (taking into consideration of course that this one never exploded at 3 seconds and may have overshot its mark). Thanks again!
PCGeorge... Thanks for your help, expertise, time and kind words as to the job I did on my first full shell electrolysis-cleaning! In light of what you had to say, I can most assuredly say this one was dug from an August 1863 context ruling out the possibility that the three "strikes" on the bottom could have meant 3".... so, the only thing left for me to guess would be that PERHAPS they were indicating the number of seconds on the timed fuse it contained. Perhaps I should find out approximately how many yards a 3 second timed fuse would allow for and measure it up against the context of where I found it (taking into consideration of course that this one never exploded at 3 seconds and may have overshot its mark). Thanks again!