The story of the rusty iron lump

So I thought it would probably take a while before I had a topic to contribute to the Treasure Hunters site. And it's slowly starting to happen. So if you're interested, keep reading.

It started with my discovery of a pair of casting tongs. Of course, I learned to "run over" the site again with the detector after I picked up the artifact. In the same hole, I heard a small iron cylinder. In addition, about two meters from the hole, a rusted iron lump lay on the surface that I had no idea what it might have been used for. Whether it had been carved by a wild boar or by my predecessor with the detector (or both) I do not know. The surrounding area was quite gouged out, as wild boars can be. I put the rusty thing among the LP artifacts, hoping that one of the experienced bards of identification would be able to advise me which direction to look for the correct identification. Oddly enough, no one has come forward with a comment. No wonder no one seemed interested.

I don't even know how I thought the rusty lump might be more closely related to the casting tongs. I approached a Prague ammunition and cartridge reloading shop to see if they could reload cartridges with it in field conditions. The answer, surprisingly, came back that it could be a reloading device, but that they knew of a much more sophisticated device. Then I came across a book on the net that deals with reloading bullets for small and large caliber bullets. I figured its experienced author might have seen something similar or identical before. However, I was unable to find out his contact information, only that he is from Pilsen.

So I wrote to another company, this time from Pilsen, to see if they happened to know him. And they did. There followed a short correspondence and a reply that it could serve as a bullet reloader. I thanked them and replied that I would not throw anything away and would try to cut it off and get it going. I ran the electrolysis in the garage at 7pm that same day. I probably checked it twice and then forgot about it. At about 11pm I went to bed, and at the same time I went to bed I remembered it was still running. So I just ran down to the garage in my pajamas. Just in time. It looked good. I figured I might as well get on with it. So I rolled up my pajama sleeves and got to work.

I was gripped by a kind of fever of impatience and explorer's desire to find out how it worked. Sprays followed: loosening, cutting, lubricating, etc. And it moved! Half an hour later, I returned to the bedroom via the bathroom, satisfied beyond measure, with the intention of finishing the rest in the morning. I fell asleep beautifully.

The next day, my son and I made a short video of how it might work on the first good. Further correspondence with the Pilsen company made me very happy as it confirmed my theory about the function. The gentlemen from Prague also provided me with new information. For example, that every reloading device must be able to remove the old match and press in a new one. I even received a telephone call from Mr. Leitner, the author of the book mentioned above, and we consulted by telephone on the correct operation of the device. He instructed me that with the old cartridge cases, the primer was not removed from the inside of the case, but from the outside.

At first I didn't want to add the video to the post, fearing that I would be laughed at for handling it, that all the powder would be out of the cartridge case before it was reloaded. In fact, he would have properly lubricated the projectile with a mixture of wax and tallow to allow it to go into the case a bit by hand, then only inserted into the reloader, and then the full dollying occurred.

As for the date of the find, I assume it is post 1866. In the following years there was a rapid development of weapons. I would be happy to read comments from experts who are more experienced in this subject, both on the function of the reloading machine and its dating.

This completes my brief but interesting examination of a rusty artifact that has probably not been published on LP before. So the next time you get something similar under your coil, you might be a little wiser.

Finally, I would like to thank the team at Dave, Western guns and ammunition based in Prague, Ing. Jan Král from Strobl.cz s.r.o. in Pilsen and especially Peter Leitner, author of the book Reloading Ammunition for Short and Long Ball Guns.

I was glad that they provided me with interesting and new information, took their time to answer me, and that they didn't send me with my question...you know where.

Finding Status

After electrolysis

Pressing a match