The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
—
More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 117 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
#1 Trusted Gravity Water Purification System! Start Drinking Purified Water now with a Berkey water filtration system. Find systems, replacement filters, parts and more here.
Find your secure and sustainable home. The leading marketplace for rural, remote, and off-grid properties worldwide. Affordable ads. No commissions are charged!
I couldn’t find the command to flip the parts in the menus of Prusa Slicer, but a right-click on the object allowed me to “Mirror” it. It took a moment’s thought, to make sure I mirrored the hinge box and brace in the right dimension (X, Y, or Z). Once I figured it out and mirrored the two parts, I was able to print a right-folding brace!
The 3D Printing Process
Have the Right Tools
A small collection of tools will help you process a new print into a finished item. Power tools are seldom needed.
Eye protection, and mask or respirator – Eye protection is an absolute must-have. If sanding or grinding polymer, a mask—or better yet, a respirator—will help to protect your lungs.
Nippers – a small pair of nippers for clipping supports from the project
Knife – a utility knife is okay, but I find a small, sharp, sturdy fixed blade knife, useful for both cutting and for light prying to pop supports loose. Mine is a kiridashi neck knife that I made from an old file.
Needle nose pliers – perfect for pulling pieces of filament out of small spaces.
Narrow wood chisel – an inexpensive chisel will be fine. Use it as a scraper that can reach into tight spaces and shave away filament, so that parts can fit into place.
Metric and SAE drill bits – for cleaning up/sizing holes in your project. The instructions enclosed with the files should tell you which sizes are needed.
Non-electric drill – an old school—very old school—hand drilling tool. An old-fashioned brace and bit is a great way to gently drill holes or clean up holes in polymer, while maintaining much greater control than with a handheld electric drill. In my opinion, a brace and bit is the only tool that comes close to substituting for a drill press for making holes in polymer. I started using mine for drilling the safety/selector holes in Polymer 80 AR receivers, and it’s ideal for that task. It can grip small bits, but larger bits I modify on a sanding disk in an electric drill. I grind four flats at the butt end of the large bit, creating a square, tapering shape. Look at some old-style bits for the brace, and you’ll see what I mean. You don’t need to remove a lot of metal from the rear of the bits. Available in antique stores, yard sales, and via eBay.
Pin vise – a heavy-duty pin vise is another tool that works very well for reaming out holes in polymer. It’s basically a chuck—for holding drill bits, awls or other small tools—at the end of a short handle. Mine handles up to a 1/4-inch bit. An okay substitute is a vise-grip, which is still better than trying to control a handheld electric drill in plastic.
Caliper – a dial or digital caliper is very useful for measuring or for verifying that something is the right size. Good ones are not inexpensive, but the dial caliper I bought over 30 years ago is still serving me very well.
A bench block (optional, but useful!) – this is an object for resting parts on when tapping pins in or out and for similar operations. You don’t need to buy one, as Thingiverse has free bench block files, for 3D printing. A bench block is very helpful for gun projects. It’s much better than resting an object on top of a roll of duct tape.
1/4-20 tap and tap handle (and drill bit) – the standard AR-15 grip screw has about one inch of 1/4-28 threads. When printing a receiver that takes an AR-15 grip, why bother with the unusual threading spec that is intended for 7075 aluminum? The very common 1/4-20 tap kit is easy to find and inexpensive, and I firmly believe the more coarse thread pattern is a better choice for polymer. I use common 1/4-20 x 1” socketed screws that take a hex key.
Soldering iron (optional, depending on your project) – used to install metal heat-set inserts used in some projects. Can also be used to stipple a grip, or to gently smooth out bad rough spots on polymer and/or to close small, cosmetic gaps between layers. Practice on some scraps of the same filament type and color, before risking a project that took 40 hours to print. Best used on dark colors.
Dremel tool (optional) – used with care and caution, a Dremel can be used to cut metal with a cut-off wheel. The sanding drums are also very useful. Grasp it firmly, but use it like a paintbrush or a pen, with a light, gentle touch.
Needle files, a small, fine file, and fine sandpaper – for cleaning up surfaces roughened by support material.
Don’t Forget Parts Kits, Rails, Etc.
Each firearm project usually comes with a shopping list in the instructions. Depending on the project, this may be a few, simple items from a hardware store (or already in your workshop). It may also be a collection of firearms parts, like the complete upper receiver of a MAC-11 9mm pistol. If the instructions ask for gun parts but don’t suggest a source, do some online searches. There is a whole industry of parts suppliers who support the 3D gun parts printing community.
Be Sure to Use Correct Pin Lengths
A number of 3D firearm projects use AR-15 trigger groups (hammer, trigger and disconnnector, along with two springs and two pins). Polymer receiver walls are usually thicker than those of aluminum AR-15 receivers, so mil-spec hammer/trigger pins may not be fully supported. Ideally, the ends of the pins should be flush with the sides of the receiver. Hammer and trigger pins are under stress. A short pin places that stress on a smaller amount of filament and may cause premature receiver failure. A full-length pin spreads the stress out over a larger area.
If mil-spec pins are too short for your receiver, you can take advantage of the fact that AR-15 hammer/trigger pins are 5/32 inches in diameter. I use long 5/32 drill bits for pin material. I measure the receiver width and cut two pieces of the smooth shank from the back part of one or two drill bits. I grind and polish the ends to get the pins to their final length. For the hammer pin, I use a triangular needle file to cut a very shallow groove around the pin at its center. Look at a set of mil-spec pins for guidance as to groove depth. The trigger pin receives a similar groove, 0.3 inches from its center point. The AR-15 hammer has a spring inside that engages the groove in the center of the hammer pivot pin, and one of the legs of the hammer spring rests in the groove of the trigger pin. This is why properly-installed AR-15 hammer and trigger pins usually don’t “walk” out.
Alternatively, measure the width of your receiver and go online to look for long AR-15 hammer and trigger pins. If you find a set of pins that are a little longer than you need, you could carefully shorten them, working from both ends. KE Arms sells 1.1-inch AR-15 hammer/trigger pins (https://www.kearms.com/KP-15-HammerPin.aspx), for about $10 each. I have no experience with the company, as I made my own pins, as described above.
Don’t Hammer Pins Into Printed Receivers!
Be cautious and gentle installing pins and screws into printed gun parts. Although the polymers are surprisingly tough, you could “punch” a misaligned pin right through a receiver wall, ruining a part that might have taken many hours to print!
ARwcy PPS43 Lower With Grid Supports
When installing AR-15 hammer and trigger pins, for example, I was taught to lightly oil the pins and to press them into place. I use a piece of hardwood to press them in, rather than “tapping” or “hammering” them. The trick is to gently clamp the receiver in a padded vise to free your hands. If it’s an AR lower, there are inexpensive fixtures that go into the magazine well and can be clamped firmly in a vise. When the trigger—and then the hammer—are properly positioned in the receiver, the pins should go in with minimal pressure. I look down into the receiver, to help me position the trigger and hammer, while pressing the pins in. It takes a bit of time and patience—at least at first—but you avoid damaging a print into which you’ve already invested time and filament.
By the way, assembly of AR-15 hammer/trigger groups is a good place to mention eye protection again. If you goof during assembly, the hammer can come flying out of the receiver with surprising force from its strong spring. If you’re looking down into the receiver at that moment, then your eyes are in danger.
Make Sure You Don’t Run Out of Filament During a Print
Losing a print because you ran out of filament near the end should not happen to you. It’s easy to prevent this occurrence.
When you receive a new spool of filament, weigh it. Subtract the filament weight (most commonly 1 kilogram) from the total. You now know the approximate weight of that filament brand’s spool.
Slicers generally tell you the weight of your project as part of the slicing process. Compare that to the weight of the partial spool of filament, minus the spool weight. You want to have at least a little more on the spool—I like to have at least 10%—than the slicer says is needed.
If you’re a little bit short, you can reduce the infill and try slicing and exporting to G-code again, provided it’s a non-critical part.
Just Do It!
The best way to have successful prints is to print out projects, make mistakes, and learn from your mistakes. If you start with small projects, you can learn quite quickly.
To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
This past week was great fun. We had all four of our grandsons here for an extended visit. We did lots of hiking and some air rifle and archery practice. All of the boys got lessons on driving our electric UATV. The youngest — who is just three years old — sat in my lap, while I controlled the pedals. He is just starting to learn how to steer.
With just patchy snow remaining, we didn’t do any of our usual snow activities.
“Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.” – Proverbs 24:1-14 (KJV)
Intimidated and don’t know where to start with radio? This book is the perfect guide to what options you have i.e. GMRS, CB, to ham and basic communication topics.
Paul Émile Vernon was born on 14 March 1872 in Blois, France and died in the same town on 31 January 1920. Emile Vernon studied painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Tours and received the first drawing prize in 1888. He then studied William Bouguereau and Auguste Truphème at the School of the Fine Arts of Paris.
In 1898, he participated in the exhibition of fine arts and decorative arts of Tours and began at the Salon des Artistes Français. He exhibited there regularly until 1913, presenting in particular portraits, landscapes and floral painting
—
On March 14, 1900, US currency went on the gold standard after Congress passed the Currency Act.
“He had a car accident on January 31, 2025, when he was waiting at a stoplight and was rear-ended by another vehicle at high speed. The man who hit him, Ragnar Nickolas Kristl, has been charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, careless driving, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.“
The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
—
More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 117 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
#1 Trusted Gravity Water Purification System! Start Drinking Purified Water now with a Berkey water filtration system. Find systems, replacement filters, parts and more here.
Oct. 7 showed what SHTF really looks like—massacres, kidnappings, total collapse. No warnings, no mercy. If you think you're ready, think again. Get the book.
– Scottish Gaelic Proverb (with a hat tip to James Tarr)
Other Filaments
Nylon
Reportedly, nylon ranges from challenging to very difficult to print. It is temperature-sensitive and can warp as it cools. It requires temperatures at or close to 300° C., which many 3D printers cannot reach without modification. It also gives off fumes during printing. This and its temperature sensitivity make a printer enclosure—preferably with special ventilation—almost mandatory. The high temperatures may shorten the service life of printers not designed for those temperatues.Continue reading“3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 4 by M.B.”
“Mygenericstore” is a well-established pharmacy service that deals primarily with generic medicines produced by quality-assured manufacturers from developing countries.
SIEGE Survival Stoves: unmatched-versatility, durability & fastest boil of 10 stoves in Be Ready Survival Guide. Prepare for the outdoors / grid-down. USA-Made.
Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the nascent Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. (See the Forex & Cryptos section.)
Precious Metals:
The spot and futures prices of silver and gold gained during the recent $4 trillion stock market rout. Typically, gold has been liquidated for short covering by some traders, during sharp stock market declines. But this time, it appears that it was Bitcoin that was liquidated. BTC fell from roughly $92,000 USD to $82,000 USD from March 5th to March 11th, 2025. And it was down further to $80,893 on Thursday afternoon. (May 13, 2025.)
After news that a Ukraine war ceasefire had been rejected, spot gold set another all-time high of $3,006 USD per Troy ounce, on Thursday. (May 13, 2025.) Meanwhile, spot silver was up to a quite respectable $34.18 USD per Troy ounce. I expect to see some profit-taking on Monday, but the Precious Metals Bull seems to be going Full Pamplona, this year.
Take heed: The price of platinum is now at $1,012 per Troy ounce. Think about it: That is just shy of one-third of the price of gold! Ratio trading, anyone? This is another good opportunity to make the swap into platinum, with some of your physical gold holdings. I don’t recommend buying gold at present, folks. You should mostly be stacking silver, and a bit of platinum. – JWR
China keeps its economic growth target at ‘around 5%’ for 2025. JWR’s Comments: Mainland China’s economy is still delusionally command-driven by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They will almost certainly use artificial stimulus to prop up stocks and housing, in 2025. But the underlying real economy there is in tatters.
“But, we also see in this chapter a recurring, universally human theme across time and space.
The doomed, at the brink of civilizational destruction, have an attitude partly born of hubris
and partly of naivete, perhaps best summed up as ‘It cannot happen to us.’ ”
and,
“Epilogue: HOW THE UNIMAGINABLE BECOMES THE INEVITABLE
1. As a general rule, the besieged vainly counted on help that rarely appeared — especially if they were seen as likely to lose.
2. Those surrounded looked to their own bastions and their past impregnability, rather than assessing realistically the unique and existential danger below the wall.
3. Prior discord often explained the vulnerability of the besieged, and its contribution to defeat.
4. The defenders rarely equate their present existential peril with the enemy military genius who reduced them to such straits. Nor can they accurately assess in comparison the mediocrity of their own leadership.
5. The targeted never fully grasped that the antebellum negotiations and diplomacy that had allowed a final and brief respite no longer applied, either because politics had changed in the powerful party, or the technological and organizational capabilities of the enemy had evolved.
6. The effort to destroy rather than merely defeat a trapped enemy ensures unprecedented savagery. And the zeal necessary to resist overwhelming odds eventually ensures a level of counter-violence that seals the fate of the defeated.
7. Once the victors are unleashed — and they always are — their commanders post facto express regret over their nihilistic cruelty, without any sense that they would do anything differently in the future. Education and pretenses of high culture empowered rather than limited the retribution of the conquerors.” – Victor Davis Hanson, from The End of Everything: How Wars Descend Into Annihilation (2024)
On March 13, 1881, Tsar Alexander II of Russia was assassinated by members of the revolutionary socialist terror group Narodnaya Volya (Наро́дная во́ля, literally ‘People’s Will’) who threw a bomb at him in the city of St. Petersburg.
—
Today is the birthday of Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810.) He was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy, and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, including the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery and the Royal Collection, as well as institutions in continental Europe, India, the United States, and Australia. His name is sometimes spelled Zoffani or Zauffelij. (On his gravestone, it is spelled Zoffanij).
—
And today is the anniversary of The Great Quebec Blackout. On March 13, 1989, the Hydro-Québec power grid failed after a solar storm — a coronal mass ejection (CME) — struck the Earth’s magnetosphere. The blackout lasted nine hours.
The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
—
More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 117 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
These projects generally use a 3D-printed frame or receiver, which is combined with firearm parts to create a finished firearm. Some of these designs can fire over 1,000 rounds without the frame or receiver failing. Projects in this category include a variety of AR-15 lower receivers, such as the UBAR2 and the Hoffman Tactical SL-15, a vast array of Glock frames, like the FMDA DD19.2, Ruger 10-22 receivers, and a variety of MAC11/9 lower receivers. There are also projects based on Smith & Wesson M&P pistols, Ruger pistols, Beretta pistols, CETME rifles, the Kalashnikov (“AK-47”), and much, much more.
For many builders, the biggest challenge in a project using a lot of firearm parts is the sourcing of those parts, especially if it’s for a firearm that’s out of production. The media may rant about the availability of “parts kits” or “builder’s kits,” but the truth is that for many firearm projects, the builder must order each part needed and may have trouble finding some parts.Continue reading“3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 3 by M.B.”
SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, another look at lethal ground drones.
The Killer Ground Drones Hunting Russians in Ukraine
On March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam in San Francisquito Canyon in northern Los Angeles County, California failed. The resulting flood killed more than 600 people.
—
Today is the birthday of science fiction author Harry Harrison, who is best known for his Deathworld trilogy. (He was born in 1920 and died in 2012.)
—
On March 12, 1850 the first US $20 gold piece was issued.
—
We are pleased to welcome our latest affiliate advertiser: Scheels, an outdoors outfitter online store that is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. For a limited time, you can get free shipping on orders $75+ at Scheels.
By the way, you can see links to all of our affiliate advertisers at our Affiliates Page. If you place any orders starting with any of those links, we’ll earn a little piece of the action.
Note: Because of Amazon’s censorship, we quit the Amazon Associates program in January of 2021. This blog piece explains why. Please order books through your local bookstore. If that isn’t practical, then please use an online bookstore OTHER THAN Amazon.
Again, by shopping with any of our affiliate advertisers, you’ll help support SurvivalBlog. Thanks! – JWR
The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
—
More than $950,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 117 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
“The price of freedom is everyone gets it, but some people will misuse it.
…is that a reason to prohibit everyone from having it?” – Ian McCollum
GETTING STARTED WITHOUT A PRINTER!
If you’re not sure if 3D printing is for you, then you may be able to try it without owning a printer! Start by finding a fairly small and simple object you’d like to print in a database like Thingiverse. Download it, along with a free slicer program, like Cura, or Prusa Slicer.
Now contact your local public library. Some libraries offer 3D printing—often at no charge—to their customers. If your library doesn’t offer this service, they may know someone who does. You could also try asking around your circle of friends, to see if any of them has a 3D printer and would work with you to show you the process and to print a small item. A lot of us would be happy to help someone else get started in this activity.
In any case, however, the library or the printer owner will probably want to do the slicing and create the G-code with you, either on your laptop or on their computer. This is because: [a] printer settings make a big difference in how much filament is used and how long the printer will be tied up, [b] the settings and object orientation and position can make a big difference in successful printing, and [c] some settings (nozzle height in particular) can cause damage to the print bed.Continue reading“3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 2 by M.B.”
Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
—
An Important Safety Note: As are approaching Spring slash-burning season, I assume that some of your slash piles are still fairly wet. Please don’t be tempted to use anything more flammable than diesel fuel, as “woof” for fire-starting. DO NOT EVER use gasoline! – JWR
