British 6 pounder

[dano1917]

I have this beautiful 6 pounder British WW1 shell casing, well beautiful except for one problem. The "sloop jawed stumblebum" that removed the projectile musta removed it with a sledge hammer and the top side of shell case has a "bell shape to it now". I guess it could have happened when shell was fired, not sure. I need a clue on how to fix it. I want it to look right because it is otherwise in really good shape. I know i'll need to shrink the metal in some form but not sure about how to go about it. Any suggestions Phil? anyone? Dano
PS did a close up of top of neck to show just how wallowed this is..DK

 

[18pounder]

That will be very difficult to do as the metal has stretched past its original dimentions .

what about inserting a cylinder of wood into the shell and slowly rolling it??!!
or what about taking it to a proffesional panel beater/garage repair shop?
18pounder

 

[Weasel]

Hi Dano,
Keep us posted on how this turns out please, as i reckon we all have a case or two that could benifit from this treatment.
Best regards Weasel.

 

[SG500]

I've found if you put the case in a vice and rotate it slowly whilst gently doing the vice up it sorts out most stretched case mouths
HOWEVER SOME WORDS OF CAUTION
Some cases are brittle so if you even suspect the neck is going to split then don't do it.
If there are already splits in the neck then don't do it.
Make sure you line the jaws of the vice with something like leather otherwise the brass will get wrecked as you rotate it. You may laugh but I use an old gardening glove, put it in the vice in a U shape, then start closing the jaws, works a treat.
Dave.