Day: January 4, 2009

Letter Re: Building a Very Inexpensive 10-in-1 Machine Tool for Every Retreat

Dear Mr. Rawles The [home-made] MultiMachine is an accurate all-purpose machine tool that can be used as a metal or wood lathe, end mill, horizontal mill, drill press, wood or metal saw or sander, surface grinder and sheet metal “spinner”. It can be built by a semi-skilled mechanic using just common hand tools. For machine construction, electricity can be replaced with “elbow grease” and all the necessary material can come from discarded vehicle parts. If the MultiMachine builder adds just three easily-learned skills: Making small welds with a welder made from three vehicle batteries hooked in series. Using a flower …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Survival On a Shoestring Budget

I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is “only for wealthy people”–that working class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and cable television) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year’s worth of storage food in fairly short order. It is amazing what can be done with hard work, ingenuity, and very little money. While I do not endorse interloping on public lands nor do I suggest that you live like a hermit, the …


Letter Re: Feed Sacks as Sandbag Substitutes

Mr. Rawles; We came across a small discovery here on our ranch. We feed many animals and four dogs. So we go through a good deal of dog food in bags. I noticed the similarity in dog food bags to the construction of sandbags. So, I have been using , dog food bags as low cost/no cost sandbags. They work well and if you keep the weight close to the amount that came in the bag. They don’t rip. We have been using them for a year and they hold up well in our tests thus far. They have been …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The Releveller wrote to suggest that America’s architectural future may lie in China’s past: Fujian Tulou.    o o o In the “Why am I not surprised?” Department: NASA’s Hansen to Obama: Use Global Warming to Redistribute Wealth    o o o Chris K. sent a linked to a Wired magazine article with lots of rookie survival comments. Chris noted: “A few sound like they may survive the first couple weeks and [then] become armed and dangerous — a good reason to move another 100 miles away from the ‘blast zone’.”    o o o More economic cheer from Cheryl: …