Iron ball

[rick in mi]

Can anyone tell me what this is. At first I thought it was a cannon ball. But where I found it doesn't make sense. Maybe a shot put?? Weighs around 20 or more pounds. That's just a guess as I have no way to weigh it. Has a flat head screw in it... hhricknmi

 

[fwcrawford]

Neat find!!
It does not appear to be very old due the small amount of rust on it.
My guess is that it is not a cannonball, but I have no idea what it could be.
If you measure the diameter of it, that may help some.

 

[MuddyMo]

Cool find

 

[north1]

Shot in the dark but could it be from an ore mill? They often used iron balls to help crush and pulverize ore for extraction of minerals/metals.

 

[Odanscoils]

Interesting find. Not a clue.

 

[rick in mi]

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately I have no service where I live so I have to go into town to post on the forum. It's roughly 16 inches in diameter. It overloaded my F75 in tall grass. I kicked the grass away and thought I broke a toe lol. Here's another pick. hhricknmi.

 

[fwcrawford]

Thanks for your input. Unfortunately I have no service where I live so I have to go into town to post on the forum. It's roughly 16 inches in diameter. It overloaded my F75 in tall grass. I kicked the grass away and thought I broke a toe lol. Here's another pick. hhricknmi.

Looks like I can make out “16 Lbs.” next to the screw head.

 

[JimmyCT]

I believe it is a vintage shot put.
Whatever you do, don’t kick it

 

[PDH]

Men's shot puts are 16lbs. Sure looks like one to me.

 

[rick in mi]

I'll go with it being a shot put. Now I don't have to worry about it blowing up in my back yard. hhricknmi

 

[Picketwire]

A 16 inch diameter shot put? 16 inches across! Dang those guys must be strong! LOL Official shot put is about 5 inches in diameter for men and smaller for women. I don't question it is a shot put, I question a 16 inch diameter steel ball hiding in the grass.

 

[Ted S]

If it had a chain attached to it my wife has one something on that order to keep me home!

 

[JimmyCT]

If it had a chain attached to it my wife has one something on that order to keep me home!

I’ll save you Ted

 

[Odanscoils]

Did they make 16" cannon balls ?
That screw could be where the fuse screwed in.

 

[jim tn]

I "put" the shot put in high school, which as I recall was 12 lbs, I think 16Lbs for college, but I don'r remember them having a screw in them, just smooth. But, that was a good many moons ago, so things could have changed, too. HH jim tn

 

[floodplaindetector]

I did the 16 lb shotput for Decathalon in college many years ago and none of them had screws in them but maybe this could be an older one.
Maybe the screw would be for adding and calibrating the weight to be exact. If you got an exact weight on it, it may help.
I found this one when I did an image search.
Dave

 

[rick in mi]

That's definitely what it looks like. But has what I think is sixteen stamped on it. I will rest assured it's not a bomb lol. I agree the screw could be removed to add or take away the weight in calibration.... thanks for the comment.. hhricknmi

 

[Geologyhound]

Are you sure that is not 16 inches in circumference rather than 16 inches in diameter? If it was 16 inches in diameter and made of metal it would have to be hollow or you wouldn’t be able to move it.