Antique store find - barrel blank

[David R. Pennington]

Picked this up yesterday in antique store for $25. Not exactly sure what I have yet. Measures 50 3/4” long.

[Bigmon]

Coal mine roof bolt??

[Pukka Bundook]

It looks very useful David!
would make a good homespun if the outside was left pretty well as it is!

[Bob Roller]

Coal mine roof bolt??

No reason to use a hollow bolt unless they were very cheap.The hammer marks look like a possible start of an octagon barrel.We have a friend here in Huntington WVa that has a number of muzzle loaders in his antique shop and a number of them are antiques in decent shape.He will be in Arizona for the next 3 weeks but after that call him at 304 523 6990. His name is Larry Vaden and he has a coarse voice because of throat cancer at stage 4.
Bob Roller
 

[Stoner creek]

Maybe from a pneumatic rock drill?? If so they are tempered steel.

[Longknife]

Looks like a LOT of work left to do!!!!

[Daryl]

Looks like a LOT of work left to do!!!!

My first thoughts exactly - thought it was a finished barrel. Not quite.

[Bigmon]

I wasn't joking at maybe a roof bolt?  Here in western Pa when we used to be allowed to mine coal when I was a kid.  We got a few of these bolts and thought we could make MZLDR barrels.  No way.  They were big and heavy Octogon outside with a hole, maybe 1/2" thru like a bore.
Hard as flint, could do nothing with them.
They looked sort of like a LR barrel, especially to kids, but they were not.
I see them all over now being used in structural shed applications, fences, etc.  And as tomato stakes.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

[Pukka Bundook]

How hard and heavy is it David?
Might be  a lot of work to do, but a lot of work done as well!

How big is the 'bore'?

[David R. Pennington]

I solved the mystery of where this came from I believe. I spoke to a gentleman by phone who thinks he did this about 50 years ago. Drawn out via power hammer from heavy tubing/ gas pipe or some such. It was done as an illustration piece for someone demonstrating early gunsmithing at shows etc.,.
Not sure if it would be useful to build gun barrel from or not. Interesting nonetheless. The plus to the story is I met by phone a very interesting and accomplished blacksmith, with an invitation to visit his shop.