Bouncing Betty fuse, how do you know it's inert?

[p-59a]

I bought some U.S. aircraft bomb release metal tags and this came with them. I just found out what it was and now need to know if it is inert or how to make it inert.

[Jean-Loup]

This part of the fuze is only supposed to have a spring and percussion cap in it: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smine-sensor.jpg

I am not sure how dangerous the percussion cap is, probably not very dangerous, but I wouldnt want it to blow near my eye.

[DTVPKING]

Pull the pin, shove it in the dirt and step on it. I wont be louder than the bullet primer. Ive done it few times, you can even do it holding it in your hand (just dont point is towards yourself, smells bad also).

[25thapril]

fuse

If you unscrew the end cap you will be able to tell if the percussion cap is in place if it is open on the end then it will have been inerted/fired If still not sure carefully unscrew the lower part that the cap screws onto , this is the part that holds the PC the PC is copper and if fired will have an indent from the plunger if you can look right thru it there is no PC and quite safe unless you release the spring and those little buggers disappear under the bench somewhere

[p-59a]

If you unscrew the end cap you will be able to tell if the percussion cap is in place if it is open on the end then it will have been inerted/fired If still not sure carefully unscrew the lower part that the cap screws onto , this is the part that holds the PC the PC is copper and if fired will have an indent from the plunger if you can look right thru it there is no PC and quite safe unless you release the spring and those little buggers disappear under the bench somewhere

I can't unscrew the body, it's too tight. When I look inside I see a ring that kinda looks like a grommet with a slim strip of metal laying flat across the grommet. Pulling back on the plunger indicates a stiff spring is inside.

[Infanteer]

Don't step on this fuze as someone else suggested as this fuze (ZZ35) is pull activated. A drop of oil in the opening of the fuze will deaden the chemical composition of the percussion cap. If you pull the plunger and activate it then it will not return to it's original position unless you disassemble it and reset the mechanism... which is rather tricky. I just did this to one of my ZZ35 fuzes a couple of days ago to examine the mechanism and there are two extremely small retainer pins that retain the striker which are very easy to lose. I was able to get it back together but only after I lost one of the retainer pins and had to make a new one out of a tiny piece of a #51 (.065") drill bit. I used a couple of pieces of rubber to wrap around the body of the fuze and then clamped it in a vice and used a pair of pliers to unscrew the body sections without doing any damage at all.

PS: I just noticed that your fuze has already been activated so the percussion cap should already have been struck if it functioned properly.

[p-59a]

Don't step on this fuze as someone else suggested as this fuze (ZZ35) is pull activated. A drop of oil in the opening of the fuze will deaden the chemical composition of the percussion cap. If you pull the plunger and activate it then it will not return to it's original position unless you disassemble it and reset the mechanism... which is rather tricky. I just did this to one of my ZZ35 fuzes a couple of days ago to examine the mechanism and there are two extremely small retainer pins that retain the striker which are very easy to lose. I was able to get it back together but only after I lost one of the retainer pins and had to make a new one out of a tiny piece of a #51 (.065") drill bit. I used a couple of pieces of rubber to wrap around the body of the fuze and then clamped it in a vice and used a pair of pliers to unscrew the body sections without doing any damage at all.

PS: I just noticed that your fuze has already been activated so the percussion cap should already have been struck if it functioned properly.

OK, I think you are correct about the fuse having been activated. I can smell something like that of a .22 after it has been shot. If I remember correctly WD40 will kill a primer, so I will do that just to be sure. I thank all of you for your suggestions. Yours David

[25thapril]

OK, I think you are correct about the fuse having been activated. I can smell something like that of a .22 after it has been shot. If I remember correctly WD40 will kill a primer, so I will do that just to be sure. I thank all of you for your suggestions. Yours David

Oil/WD40 inerting a primer is not 100% certain so please be careful

[juoneen]

Boom ?

[Infanteer]

Oil/WD40 inerting a primer is not 100% certain so please be careful

Correct, it's not 100% but it's a start if you are worried. Regardless, it's already been fired as evidenced by the position of the plunger. When the fuze is in the unfired state the safety pin will pass through the sleeve at the top and the plunger to prevent it from being pulled. You can see that those holes no longer align.

[p-59a]

Correct, it's not 100% but it's a start if you are worried. Regardless, it's already been fired as evidenced by the position of the plunger. When the fuze is in the unfired state the safety pin will pass through the sleeve at the top and the plunger to prevent it from being pulled. You can see that those holes no longer align.

LOL! Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

[Infanteer]

LOL! Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

It can be reset, but you have to unscrew the three body sections and getting it back together takes a bit of finesse...

[p-59a]

Thanks to all...this is not a live item.