John D. Bartleson wrote:
> Did your Read come from the Oconee River cache?
No. Seven posts back in this discussion, I said "On a shell-digging trip with Tom Dickey in the mid-1970s, I personally dug a 3.3" Read shell out of the exterior face of a yankee cannon emplacement at Spanish Fort AL."
> Was this shell made at the Selma Arsenal?
Yes, my Spanish Fort AL specimen was made at Selma. But there is another variation of 3.3" Read which was made at some other Deep South foundry.
> "Selma base knob" does this mean that not all Reads will have the lathe dimple which was, hither-to-fore , a Read I.D. feeature?
Yes, not all Read projectiles have the lathe dimple in the baseknob. A chief defining characteristic of the Selma Read baseknob is the lack of a lather dimple. Another characteristic is that the Selma Read baseknob looks very much like a York Peppermint Patty. Meaning, the Selma Read baseknob
1- is very thick
2- with steeply rounded edges
3- a perfectly-flat top
4- no lathe dimple.
The example of a Selma Read baseknob shown in the photo below is on a 6.4" Read Bolt. Note that it has no lathe dimple.
Regards,
Pete
