Jump to content
APC Forum

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hey guys... for a spolette in an aerial shell, if you use a time fuse going up to a small cardboard tube (or straw), what do you fill the tube with? Just granulated bp I imagine..?

Posted

A spolette is used in place of time fuse and is typically compressed in a cardboard tube at a certain length for a pre-determined burn time. Any empty space may be filled with pieces of black match and then nosed and tied off. I think what you are describing is how to pass the fire from time fuse to the center of a shell, and the method you described will work.

Posted

Spolette is tube with compressed black powder into a solid grain. The grain is ignited on one end and passes fire to the internal components of the shell at the end of its burn duration. Time fuses are occasionally put inside paper tubes for increased rigidity, and black match should be used to immediately transfer fire from the end of the time fuse to the center of the shell. Note that the time fuse should be crossmatched on both ends.

 

 

I'd prefer paper over plastic

Posted (edited)

For clarification a spolette is a stout cardboard tube rammed with BP which serves as the time delay for the shell's burst.

 

You can insert a piece of time fuse into a tube as you mention, but it is not a spolette. You can insert time fuse into a tube and nose it with sticks of black match as if it were a spolette.

 

You can also make a coupette, which is a few turns kraft wrapped around the fire giving end of the fuse and filled with burst quality BP and tied off like a flash bag.

 

Edit: three replies at once.

Edited by nater
Posted

Ok.... got it. My plan is to use time fuse, cross-matched at both ends. I guess the part I am talking about would maybe be called "fire transfer tube". But yeah, I am talking about the part that transfers fire to the middle of the shell. What have you guys had the best luck with? Just a cardboard tube filled with MCRH?? Or maybe filled with just bp (2FA)?

Posted
The term for what you describe is called a pipette. Tgis is a few turns of kraft wrapped around the cross matched time fuse to transfer fire the center of the shell. You want to fill it with sticks of black match.
Posted
Fill it with black match. MCRH may not be as good of a fire giver
Posted

ok... I will fill with black match! Thanks! That makes sense, as there would be more empty spaces for fire transfer.

×
×
  • Create New...