Greetings,
As the British would say, it was one of those rare moments of ‘serendipity,’ but I was watching “The Postman” the other night on cable [television], and decided to field strip and clean a couple of rifles while doing so. As I was reassembling my CAR-15 in particular, I told my wife, as I charged the bolt – and felt everything moving as it should in a rightly reassembled firearm – that, “guns are a lot like computers these days – either you put them (back) together the right way, or they simply won’t work at all.”
The very next day, I was attempting to mount a brand new MTI lo-mount scope base on my PTR-91, and sure enough, I stripped the threads on one of the tiny little hex-head bolts that clamped it to the rifle. In mid-panic, over possibly ruining a $155 mount, I suddenly remembered my own comment about “guns & computers,” and went downstairs to check my cabinet o’ spare computer parts. Sure enough, I found a tiny Phillips head bolt, that was long enough, and threaded perfectly, to work on my mount! Problem solved – expensive mount, saved!
In a worst-case scenario – nuke strike with massive EMP – most computers will be nothing more than over-sized paperweights anyway. But, since all of them are held together with a plethora of tiny, finely threaded bolts, nuts, and screws, they can be a treasure trove of spare parts for mounting optics, rails, and other rifle accessories, not to mention all the other uses you might find, or even dream up, while scrounging out an existence post-SHTF. As I also wear eyeglasses, computers just might be the difference between being terribly near-sighted, and of little use to anyone, and being able to put my eyeglasses frames and arms back together!
In my “can’t do without” bag, I have now added an empty medicine bottle full of assorted computer bolts, nuts, and screws, from my ample supply of spare parts, to go alongside the jeweler’s screwdriver set I also have in there. No guarantee that Lenscrafters will survive the apocalypse any better than any other business. Extra pairs of glasses are nice; extra screws and screwdrivers to go along with them, are even better. – Bob McC.
JWR Replies: Thanks for that tip. BTW, as The Memsahib can attest, I am famous for scrounging hardware. Whenever any appliance here at the ranch is beyond repair, I always strip it of any usable fastener hardware, cooling fans, lamps, lamp sockets, motors, batteries, battery holders, switches, wire, ribbon cables, fuses, fuse holders, annunciators (“beepers” and bells), and power cords. I’ve ve even bought “dead” appliances at garage sales for 50 cents or a dollar, just to strip them for hardware and scrap sheet metal. As I often say: “These things may come in handy someday”. I keep most of the parts in two large sets of well-labelled military surplus metal divider drawers, down in the JASBORR. OBTW, if you plan to do likewise, show great caution when working around capacitors or power supply modules that could still be holding a charge!