Electrolysis Preservation

[Jocelyn S.]

Re: Electrolysis Preservation

I am new to this forum and want to learn as much about conservation of artifacts as I can. My interest came from Metal Detection (I have less than one year at it). I found an old artillery range that was closed some 80 or 90 years ago. There were cannon balls (solid and exploding types) + various artillery shells like on the picture I joined. This range was used during the ACW and a few decades before. This is one of the reasons I joined here: to learn as much as possible about the ACW and to learn how to preserve the artifacts I found (in the clay shores of the St-Lawrence river next by where I live).

I will mostly read and learn as I am not american and I do not have a vast knowledge of the CW conflict.

The believe the artillery piece is a British 1863 Armstrong Muzzle Loading Rifled Cannon Canister Shell 9lb Size and the cannon ball is a 24 pounder that actually weights 25 pounds if my scale is correct.


Jocelyn Savoie
Quebec city
Quebec ; Canada

[Busterbuttonboy]

Re: Electrolysis Preservation

Jocelyn,
While there may be some threads here which may help or direct you in your quest to learn how to conserve artifacts there are only a handful of people on this thread who are trained conservationists or curators. It is important to note that while some methods of "preservation" or "conservation" are suggested here, some are directly the converse of what Parks Canada and the NPS suggest, some are very close but skip important steps etc. While it may not appear a big deal in picking the right method in reality coating a cast/metal artillery shell in lacquer or paints for example will cause them to rust from the inside, leaving you with a pile of rusty dust in a few years. In my humble opinion there would be no better forum to help you learn more about the ACW, especially material culture, however it would be best for your time, money and artifacts if you consulted a local archeological firm, Quebec's office of cultural resources and or Parks Canada to help you preserve the items. They will lend you advice, show you archival supply stores in your area and should be free of charge. The National Park Service here has a series of preservation briefs which will be helpful as well.

[Jocelyn S.]

Re: Electrolysis Preservation

Thank you very much for such a rapid reply. I am glad I joined this forum. People here are very kind, helpful AND knowledgeable. And to top this all, I found a place to learn about the conflict itself and its differents aspects (economic, human, military etc).

Jocelyn Savoie
Québec city
Québec, Canada

[John-Owen Kline]

Re: Electrolysis Preservation

... the artillery piece is a British 1863 Armstrong Muzzle Loading Rifled Cannon Canister Shell 9lb Size

Jocelyn, from my vantage point I can't tell if your (Armstrong) rifle projectile is a sold bolt or an exploding shell or case-shot. I don't see a fuse or an aperture for a fuse. I can tell you that it isn't canister. Canister is just what it sounds like, a "can" of packed shot. It's similar in theory to a modern shotgun shell, only the entire projectile, “can” and all, is discharged. The can disintegrates upon leaving the muzzle allowing the shot to disperse.

In short, an iron rifle projectile was a blunt force solid round or bolt good for busting up hard targets, or a hollow exploding shell that contains powder alone, or an exploding case shot encasing a combination of powder and shot.

[Jocelyn S.]

Re: Electrolysis Preservation

Thank you John-Owen. For what I've seen, there have been loaded shells shot and exploded on that range and there have been other that were empty, no powder nor fuzes. I can be sure they were empties when they were shot by the fact that the body was filled to the brim with shore debris of clay and wood splinters and the threads were packed hard with that clay residue now hard as concrete on 2 out of 3 of my "complete" shells. I was also lucky enough to find many used fuzes from 1872 (Mk1), a Mk2 (1873) to an 1889 (Mk3) and a MkIV time delay/percussion fuze. I found some more Mk3 from different month/years all with intact threads but used. I put one on top of a shell for display but still have to find a way to clean the threads on the shell for it to fit correctly.







I have now so many fragments of those same shells and newer (much bigger too) ones that I leave them on the spot on surrounding big rocks for other MDs to find them and keep it or leave it in place.

This is the best out of 3 complete artillery shells I found. Note that each has zinc studs, not copper ones.


And this is the second 24 pounder cannon ball we (I was with a "hunting" buddy) found barely 100 feet from where I found mine less that 2 weks ago. Boy was that man glad when he found his own cannon ball!


Jocelyn Savoie
Quebec city
Quebec ; Canada