Featured Help with antique, heavy bucket(?) w/metal bands & forged nails?

I found this today at my local thrift store & at first I thought it was a antique bucket, but -
It's very heavy
The interior is not done to the bottom; only about 3/4 of the way
It has steel/metal bands around it & they are held in place with what looks like hand forged nails/nail heads
And it's the same size high as it is wide; 10" x 10"
My 2nd thought after lifting it & feeling the weight and also the short scooping out of the interior - it reminded me of a antique cannon; the ones with short barrels!
I'm pretty sure it's not that - but what is this?
Thanks for any help!

 

My first thought is something for measuring dry goods, like grain. But this is purely a guess.

 

Makes more likely sense than a early cannon or cannonball maker/storer!
How old would you guess it is?

 

Cool looking thing. Not maybe for gunpowder or some explosive?

 

Maybe the yellow and red bands acts as a ‘warning’

 

Yes maybe. But seems pretty ‘over engineered’ to measure grain with. Also why doesn’t it have handles?

 

Is it one piece of solid wood? I'm guessing some sort of industrial application... not sure!

 

Yeah, I thought about the not having handles. Kind of based my guess on what appears to be a controlled depth. Perhaps it was just a means to keep it bottom heavy.

 

That also makes sense.. Well it’s interesting. Hopefully someone knows or figures it out..

 

I believe that it was used to measure and pack gunpowder! I believe that it is tapered larger at the top and smaller at the bottom. This would facilitate the easy removal after the gunpowder was packed into a semisolid plug. The plug would then be sewn into a cotton bag. This combo made quick loading in the field, drop the bag down the muzzle of a cannon, ram it to the bottom, insert the cannonball and ram it into the powder-filled bag, then fire. The one-piece construction also lends itself to this purpose so that no dust could escape thru seams. Leather bags were also used for this. Just an educated memory of antiquing over 50 years ago in New England while working with George Michael in Rochester NH.

 

I just saw the comment on it being tapered so I measured the bottom - the top is 10" across and the bottom is 9.5" ! (see 1st photo below)
Would this be from the civil war?
There is also an indention around the bottom between last 2 red bands (see 2nd photo) - maybe a rope some
how went around it? (I thought the steel band had slipped but it's nailed into place at the very bottom.
PS - The colors being warnings was a great observation.
What would they call these?
PSS - I think this may be the coolest $19.95 I've spent!
Thank you all!

 

I actually had a civil war cannon shot packed in cloth - it was called a grapeshot (I just remembered it thanks to David Kiehl!
But - it was smaller than what this barrel would make?
Did the barrels have a name? I've tried wording it different ways but nothing yet.

 

@springfld.arsenal - do you have any thoughts?

 

Great information and comment. Thanks

 

Is this civil war era? Was there a name for the instrument used to pack gunpowder & shot?
If not would I call this a bucket or a barrel?
Thanks all

 

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/row...de-entrance-stone-colonial-fort-148109278.jpg

 

Bucket

 

Try contacting these great people. I believe they can help you answer many questions! Good Luck!
https://www.fortticonderoga.org/

 

I got a reply from them - here it is:

Hello Charlie,
I looked at the photos you posted on that online antique forum. I haven't seen anything like it in a military context. It's not quite like an sponge buckets or grease pots I've seen related to artillery. It's also different than any powder storage containers I've seen. Copper bands are the hallmark of those.

I believe this heavy duty bucket is for some kind of food press, though whether wine, cider, or etc. I do not know. Thank you for sharing this object with us and good luck in chasing down exactly what it is!

Best Regards,

Stuart Lilie

Vice President of Public History

 

I just thought of something - if it was for a press; how did the press reach the bottom to squeeze out all the juice when the bottom is tapered/smaller than the top?