This weekend, a small detachment began the work on a project we’ve been researching for a while….reproduction cartridges. The first step is, of course, casting the lead musket balls!
The main difficulty is the twin nature of molten metal and toxic lead, so appropriate safety precautions (as seen here) were an essential – but otherwise surprisingly simple as a process. This is largely why lead was used historically. It melts at a reasonably low temperature (250-330 Degrees Celsius) whilst also being dense, and therefore heavy.
Our cartridges (or cartouches) are cast at 0.65″, so that they will fit comfortably in the 0.69″ French musket barrels. In fact, the issue of ensuring a comfortable fit (when gunpowder causes so much fouling) led the later Republican army to reduce the balls to 0.63″.
Now we have enough for a full giberne, the next steps are the construction of the cartridge-making tools, and the final construction of the cartridges themselves! Watch this space…
Le Régiment Gatinois 