Cartridge Former
Description
Cartridge former. Dark brown peg- shaped item, resembling a flattened cylinder. Has groove cut out of it around one end.
This wooden cartridge former was used for making musket cartridges. The cartridge former was wrapped in paper and filled with shot. The gun powder was placed in the formed cartridge first, followed by the paper ends and the ball. Paper cartridges were the most common type of cartridge as the paper would be consumed in the explosion when the musket was fired. If the material used for the cartridge was too dense, residue from the material could be left reducing the gun’s effectiveness. To use, the container was torn open with the rifleman’s teeth and the powder was then poured down the muzzle of the weapon. Finally, the paper was used as a wad which was rammed down the barrel with a ramrod. Linen was often used as an alternative material to paper since it was more resilient than paper and was good at removing moisture from the gun powder to keep it dry. The downside of linen was that it did not burn completely when the musket was fired.
See full details
Object Detail
Breadth: 16mm
Depth: 10mm (3/8")