Month: February 2010


Note from JWR:

Today we present Part 4 of an entry for Round 27 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. …


The Home Foundry, Metal Casting – Part 4, by Dan in Oklahoma

Safety, Aluminum Sources, Melting, and Pouring We are now at the most exciting and most dangerous part of the aluminum casting process. You will be working with fire, an extremely hot fire, fed with forced air. But the biggest hazard lies in a possible spill of molten metal. Before I even start the fire I wear tall, heavy leather boots, this is no place for sandals, or plastic tennis shoes. I also wear a pair of welders suede leather leggings, and a welders suede leather apron. It is wise to wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. This is a …


Letter Re: Charcoal Making Via Wood Gasification

James, Just to note, the process and apparatus which Dan in Oklahoma described for making charcoal also goes by the name of “Gasifier.” The venting of the volatile gases in the wood can be put to several purposes, to include running carburetor engines on generators and trucks. The Russians used this system extensively for rear area operations as liquid petrol was priority for front line vehicles and aircraft. They would fire them up at breakfast time and run them all day. Me thinks that today’s breakfast was probably cooked on yesterdays driving around…the charcoal. Some examples of delivery trucks in …


Letter Re: Survival Tips for the Business Traveler

The recent SurvivalBlog piece titled “Survival Tips for the Business Traveler”, by F. Russell was well written with lots of good information. I also travel on business and didn’t see anything I disagreed with but I would add a couple of items if you care to link my comments to the article. 1) No matter how well you plan, if you travel much over the road you are going to be places where the fuel in your tank is not enough to get you home. Be that because of the distance you are from “home” or that traffic congestion or …


Product Review by Michael Z. Williamson: Choate Machine and Tool M1 Carbine Military Folding Stock

Today, we look at the Choate Machine and Tool Company M1 Carbine Military Folding Stock. This stock is designed to fit original U.S.G.I. M1 Carbines, but also fits the Plainfield brand of carbine, the Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine and some UniversalM1 Carbine clones (early 1950s models, built with military surplus parts), but will not fit the later Universal or Iver Johnson carbines. Here is a photo. Installation is drop in, though it was a snug fit, which is good. The stock has positive tension when folded but doesn’t latch. It latches in the open position very positively. The stock swings …


Economics and Investing:

Hollis wrote to mention that “John Galt” of the Shenandoah blog has completed his “The Day The Dollar Died” web novella. Adrian sent us this: Argentina Seizes Central Bank. GG flagged this one from Time magazine: How Big is the Threat from Option ARMs? Items from The Economatrix: FICO and the Credit Card Financial Prison: How a Three-Digit Credit Score Reflects Consumerism and Not Financial Independence Boeing Sends More than 1,000 Layoff Notices Citigroup Warns Customers it May Refuse to Allow Withdrawals Fastest Shrinking Restaurant Chains Stocks Waver in Early Trading on Earnings, M&A Poll: Economists See “Healthy” Expansion Underway. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

F.R. sent this news item: Shipwrecked students feared remote death at sea. F.R.’s comment: It pays to be lucky, but being prepared is better.    o o o A reminder that the folks at Medical Corps are holding another one of their excellent three-day Combat/Field Medicine School courses, April 30th through May 2nd. The class will be held near Caldwell, Ohio at the Ohio State University Extension building. Contact: Chuck Fenwick at 740-783-8009 for details.    o o o I noticed that some of the gardeners over at the LATOC Forums have organized: The Great LATOC Seed Swap of 2010. …



Note from JWR:

Today we present Part 3 of an entry for Round 27 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. It is noteworthy that some folks loosely use the terms forge/forging and foundry/foundring interchangably. Technically, however, the term foundry should be used to describe equipment for melting metal to a liquid, while “forge” should described equipment for heating metal to the point of malleabilty. But in actual practice, some of the same equipment is used in both processes–its just a question of the temperature achieved. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice …


The Home Foundry, Metal Casting – Part 3, by Dan in Oklahoma

Forge Fuel & Homemade Charcoal The aluminum melting forge is fueled by hardwood charcoal. To begin making charcoal you are going to need 2 steel barrels. One standard size 55 gallon drum will serve as your outer barrel, the second barrel is a little more difficult to acquire. The inner barrel or actual charcoal out gassing barrel needs to be small enough to fit inside the 55 gallon barrel. The smaller barrel also must have a lid that can be locked in place during the cooking and removed later to extract the charcoal. I was fortunate enough to find Military …


Letter Re: Operational Security (OPSEC) 101

Dear Mr. Rawles, The importance of operational security is well known by most of the readers of this site. It is, however, easy to assume that as long as one doesn’t blab it all to the neighbors one is doing just fine. This may not be the case. Security breaches come in more forms that loose lips. There are lots of little ways to betray what is going on behind the quiet facade of 101 Preparation Place. Do you realize what you throw away tells about what you have? An old lawnmower at the curb reveals my neighbor just purchased …


Letter Re: An Overlooked Preparedness Item: The Magnifying Hand Mirror

Hi SurvivalBloggers, Have you have ever had a foreign object in your eye, and had a hassle finding and removing it,with or without help? I recommend that you get a big, powerful enlarging bathroom type mirror,the type you see on a swivel,usually with lights around it. These are about a foot square, and have a normal mirror on a swivel with an enlarged mirror on the reverse side. As a regular mirror gives you a half size image, examining your own eye for a tiny object can be difficult. With an enlarging mirror, its lots easier. I use a mirror …


Letter Re: MZBs: Are You Prepared?

I’d just like to comment on the forum thread you linked to, titled “MZBs: Are you prepared?”, over at doomers.us The dynamic of the petulant and angry underclass rearing a rather violent head once the social controls are gone is precisely what happened in places like Yugoslavia and Russia. On the Serbian side, these types were actively armed by the nationalists. On the Croatian and Bosnian side, they came from a pre-existing underworld and before anyone knew what was happening they had almost completely hijacked power in many areas. And they took what they wanted, took out anyone who got …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson sent us this sign of the times: Frustrated Owner Bulldozes Home Ahead of Foreclosure. Robert H. and A.P. both sent us this link: South Carolina Lawmaker Seeks to Ban Federal Currency Reader H.M. e-mailed me to mention that he greatly enjoyed a recent radio interview with Jim Sinclair. Adrian recommended this commentary by John Rutledge: Banana Republics Need Compliant Central Banks. Here is an excerpt: “Wait a minute. Huge increase in government spending. Fast-rising debt. Tax the rich. Appoint political advisors to run the central bank. That’s us! “ Items from The Economatrix: …