Is this a cannonball?

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

Sorry, no pictures, just a description.
 
Three inch diameter.  Weight a hair over four pounds.
Obvious grind marks to remove the sprue (sp?) and to smooth out the circumference.
No apparent holes for a fuze.  Almost positive it would be shot and not shell.
 
Story goes it was dug up in a fence line in Southwest Iowa last year.
 
I can't think of anything of this caliber.
 
What say the group?

[MKlein]

4lb shot put

[KABAR2]

Shot put, gate weight grind marks may be from grinding the eye off a gate weight to make it a "cannon ball" .... photos always help otherwise all we can to is guess.... is there by any chance a number on it?

[MKlein]

Thanks Kabar2,
I have learned something new
A gate weight could be possible too
 

[shred]

or ball-mill ball.  I don't know how big those got but remember as kids finding some in 2" sizes and thinking we'd found a long-lost battlefield.

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

Thanks for the input, guys.
 
Do they even make a four pound shot put?  I think even I could toss that a fair distance.
 
I suppose a gate weight could be a possibility.  Somebody spent a considerable amount of time grinding off the eye, but it is possible.  The story goes that a larger one was found in the same location, but he did not have that one available for me to examine.  No numbers visible on this one.
 
Believe it or not I thought about a ball-mill ball.  The guy that has it runs a welding shop.  We talked about the various types/sizes of ball mills.  He even has a home (shop?) made one that he uses.  A three inch ball-mill ball sounds VERY large.
 
So it could be anything, but not likely to be any type of cannon ball?  The size does not seem to be consistant with anything I know about.

[KABAR2]

 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Shot_put_weight no 4 lb shot put....

[flagman1776]

A really big ball bearing?  LOL!!

[skratch]

Put it against a grinder wheel, yellow star burst looking sparks probably iron so maybe cannon ball, bright streak like sparks probably steel.

I had a steel ball about the same size, pretty sure it was a mill ball or possibly a bearing from a train axle?

[MKlein]

no 4lb shot put...
Ok, don't have to call Mythbusters to see that 4lb shot puts exist
http://www.amazon.com/Competition-Shot-Put-lbs-80mm/dp/B001M0IMBQ
http://northstarsports.com/shot-puts/shot-put-outdoor-4-lb/
Could be anything even a cannon ball from the Honey War
Does it look like this one on linked page?

http://www.ambroseantiques.com/cannons.htm

[subdjoe]

My pet, Peeve, is barking.  The EVENT is the "shot put" because one "puts"(throws with a pushing motion) the shot.  The ball is just "shot" not "shot put."

[seacoastartillery]

     Joe, to reduce barking you could prodigiously prepare your pet, Peeve to perceive the differences between pouncing and preening.  It's a re-direction thing.

Tracy

[Frank46]

Speaking of ball mill balls. back when the power station I worked in was burning coal the ball mills had 16 inch diameter balls. They would periodically check the sizes of the ones in service and when they wore down to 15 inches they chucked in another 16 inch one. Frank

[GUNNUT in Iowa]

no 4lb shot put...
Ok, don't have to call Mythbusters to see that 4lb shot puts exist
http://www.amazon.com/Competition-Shot-Put-lbs-80mm/dp/B001M0IMBQ
http://northstarsports.com/shot-puts/shot-put-outdoor-4-lb/
Could be anything even a cannon ball from the Honey War
Does it look like this one on linked page?

http://www.ambroseantiques.com/cannons.htm

No, it does not look like that.
I has obvious grind marks at the top center of one "hemisphere".  This mark is perhaps one inch wide and one and a half inches long.
There is also a grind mark around the circumference of the sphere.  This mark is perhaps one half inch wide and, of course, goes all the way around the ball.
I really don't believe it would be a cannonball with those types of grind marks.
As was suggested earlier, I am leaning more toward a weight of some kind: gate, livestock, itty-bitty "ball and chain", etc.
I also believe if it was a ball from a ball mill, it was not used, as the grind marks would have been worn off.  Same with a "bearing" of some type.  It looks cast, but there is no desire by the owner to take it to the grinder.
 
Frank,
A 16" diameter ball from a ball mill!  Cool.  Know where I could get one of those?  It would be great to sit in the yard and watch folks try to move it.

[RocklockI]

Looks like a shot put to me !
 
Or a 4 lb cannon ball that is a hair shy ?
Trying to help
 
Gary