Lost a bandsaw blade last night

[Pounds on Wood]

What I haven't seen asked yet is, why did a lead ball ruin a band? It should have cut it easily.

[Sweet Sawdust]

I'd have to look it up now, but there were a variety of .58 caliber guns made. And, about every other calber.

I did and there was a manufactured .58 cal weapon used in the civil war, the Zoave rifle was .68 cal. and used a miniball instead of a round ball. The books I have on the Civil War refer to the .68 cal as being a standard round for both the north and the south, at the museums and from the collectors there seem to have been a lot of nonstandard caliber weapons in use at that time at least in this area. I have not found the reload rates for troops in the Civil War but I understand for the American War for Independence an American Rifleman was expected to load and fire 13 rounds in one minute from a smooth bore musket. I don't think I would like to try that myself even under Ideal conditions, but it may explain why there were a lot of misfires in combat, and why they have found weapons of that period with several loads in the barrel.