Shot Towers are another interesting industry of yesteryear and another application of transforming raw ore into a useful item. The basic process for creating ammunition is deceptively simple - molten iron or lead was passed through a sieve and dropped by force of gravity to a tub of water. The process of descent results in the formation of a spherical object, creating round musket balls suitable for use in firearms. The method was patented by an Englishman named William Watts in 1769. He actually expanded his existing three story house to a six story structure, knocked holes through each floor, and then passed molten lead through a sieve, which then dropped to the tub of water on the ground level. The original tower was built in 1782. This method soon spread around the world and I assume was used at Herculaneum although a shot tower isn’t obvious in the mural.

The Shot Tower (note: not the original), Bristol, England, from a tethered passenger balloon at 500 feet.
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Miner's Foundry and the Shot Tower, First Street, San Francisco 1866.
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Sparks Shot Tower, 129-131 Carpenter Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA.
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Shot Tower, Commercial & East Fourth Streets, Dubuque, Dubuque County, IA
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Phoenix Shot Tower, Front & Fayette Streets, Baltimore, Independent City, MD
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Phoenix Shot Tower, interior view, Front & Fayette Streets, Baltimore, Independent City, MD
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Very interesting site on Shot Towers. http://www.traphof.org/shot-towers-2/shot-towers-page-1.htm 

28DL covered the oldest surving Shot Tower in Britain at Chester.
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=13360 

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Thanks carnkie for linking my 28DL report.
It's a really interesting site & as far as I know is still accessible, although the climb onto the first ladder run is a little awkward!

How it works:-
In 1783, one William Watts of Bristol (a plumber) took out a patent for his new technique, a process "for making smallshot perfectly globular in form and without dimples, notches and imperfections which other shot hereto manufactured usually have on their surface".
Watt's technique, as carried out here in Chester, was to allow molten lead- to which the deadly poison arsenic was added- to be poured from the top of the tower, passing through a griddle to separate it into tiny pellets before landing in a wooden vat of water below.


...Lister;~)

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There's also a delightful stone shot tower in Tasmania, at Taroona just south of Hobart:

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It's 58 metres high and the first built in Australia.

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There are a couple of archive photos of the Taroona one at the other link.

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I've made lead shot by dribbling the lead off a length if iron gutter from a garage roof into a bucket of water in the past. It's quite tricky as the guttering needs to be heated as well. The results weren't particularly good either. Probably because the height wasn't sufficient.

Did much more casting of bullets, quite a skill in itself as you had to keep the right pace to keep the moulds at the right temperature, too slow and they cooled and you got wrinkly bullets, too fast and they overheated giving you bullets with a sort of crystalline texture.

Old wheelweights were the best alloy but you had to dry them thoroughly first as the moisture got in where the little steel clip was and caused small steam explosions as you added them to the pot.

I've made lead shot by dribbling the lead off a length if iron gutter from a garage roof into a bucket of water in the past. It's quite tricky as the guttering needs to be heated as well. The results weren't particularly good either. Probably because the height wasn't sufficient.

Did much more casting of bullets, quite a skill in itself as you had to keep the right pace to keep the moulds at the right temperature, too slow and they cooled and you got wrinkly bullets, too fast and they overheated giving you bullets with a sort of crystalline texture.

Old wheelweights were the best alloy but you had to dry them thoroughly first as the moisture got in where the little steel clip was and caused small steam explosions as you added them to the pot.

Is there any interesting industrial process you haven't tried on a domestic scale? Coke ovens in the garden, perhaps? I once made a miniature charcoal-burning kiln - it seemed to work pretty well. It was the traditional "pile of wood covered in earth" type.

Totally off-topic - maybe the subject for a new thread? "Don't try this at home, I did, and look at me now!"

When I used to shoot alot in the days when such things were allowed, it was much more economical to make your own ammunition at home than to buy factory made stuff. It started out of necessity but became quite an interesting hobby in it's own right.

Mistakes could be embarrassing though, particularly one incident when I showered a policewoman with burning pink toilet paper :oops:

I had a go at gunpowder and got it right first time .... unfortunately no one was very impressed with the 4 ft round hole about two feet deep and the airborn remains and shards of the tree stump we planted our keg of black powder under over the back field 😮 :lol: .... oh happy 6 week holidays!

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