Category: Self-Employment & Home-Based Businesses

A Sign For Our Times: “Not Engaged In The Business”

Bottom Line, Up Front (BLUF): It is time to print a “Not Engaged In The Business” notice to post at your gun show table. Joe Biden has signed a House and Senate-reconciled version of S. 2938, the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act”. This is the 80-page, ultra-fast-tracked, RINO “compromise” anti-gun rights legislation package. It passed with a 65 to 33 majority in the Senate, and the next day it sailed through the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives with a 234 to 193 majority, in just a few hours. The date of effectivity has not yet been announced. One of the lesser-known provisions …


Lathe-Cutting Screw Threads – Part 2, by Steve A.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Screw design must be considered. If the screw shank will go into a hole drilled to accept the nominal size of the threaded fastener then this diameter must be cut all the way to the screw head. If this is a fully custom application you can, of course, leave the shank any size you desire. In this case, the hole in the fixture was made to accept the existing blank screw shank diameter. The trick in all of this work is holding a relatively long, small diameter, and fragile part for threading …


Lathe-Cutting Screw Threads – Part 1, by Steve A.

Making, modifying, and using threaded fasteners seems to me to be a pretty basic part of repairs needed in keeping things running. I realize that the following information is not likely to be directly used by many of the readers due to the use of a metal lathe and the terminology. An amateur machinist should be able to make threaded fasteners as described. In any event there are absolutely a number of good ways to accomplish making a threaded fastener. Understanding that this just scratches the surface of the topic, I hope that it will reach a few folks and …


The Logic of Pre-1965 Silver Coin Pricing in Inflationary Times

We are living in an age of inflation. The recent wave of inflation in the United States will surely continue and may very likely become more severe than what we witnessed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Double-digit and even triple-digit consumer price inflation may be in our near future. Life in a country where 20% or more of the purchasing power of the principal currency unit erodes annually is not pleasant. When this happens, inflation inevitably breeds even more inflation. Producers, wholesalers, and retailers all get in the habit of regularly jacking up their prices, in anticipation of …


The Hornady Lock N Load AP Progressive Reloading Press – Part 1, by Wingfootjr

This is a reader’s review of The Hornady Lock N Load AP progressive reloading press. LEGAL DISCLAMER: I am not employed by, or financially reimbursed by any manufacturer I mention in this article. I am simply stating what I have found works for me. Your mileage may vary. SAFETY DISCLAIMER: Always follow all handloading safety standard protocols and checks as outlined in a bullet manufacturer’s handloading manual. Know the proper aspects of all functions you are performing and if unsure, consult the manufacturer via email or other means of communication until you clearly understand the correct and proper method of …


The Handyman’s Tool Pouch, by John M.

Over the decades, I became a seasoned (older) person having built, renovated a few homes, rebuilt a score of autos, maintained survival retreats, watercraft, motorcycles, and so forth. These all at some point require specific tools, be it just a screwdriver, or a Crescent wrench. Chances are, working at a building site, or other situation you will have most tools that you need, but there is that unplanned event that requires a special tool. When I was younger, my goal was to have tools, lots of tools, and soon discovered the need for storage and a large tool chest on …


Raising Meat Birds in a Garage, by SaraSue

I recently read that there are chicken shortages in the supply chain (specifically “chicken tenders”) and I’m not going to discuss why. I’m writing this because many people who read the blog do not have a homestead or even a large back yard and worry about supply chain shortages. I hope to give you some ideas on how you can raise your own meat birds in limited space or under restricted conditions. As I wrote this it occurred to me that I was recreating “factory farmed” chicken production. That made me sad, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The …


PEGs: The Parallel Economy for Traditionalist Americans

As our nation spirals out of control with “woke” socialist politics and normalization of perversion, there has been a natural and rational backlash by conservatives who want no part of this. Generally, the economic side of this divergence has been dubbed The Parallel Economy. Thusfar, this is a small, nascent movement. But as inflation increases, I predict that it will grow much more popular. And eventually, once a sovereign cryptocurrency is announced, the Parallel Economy may divorce itself almost entirely from The System. (Or as some call it, The Beast System.) What I propose is that informal Parallel Economy Groups …


Searching For a Qualified Retreat Caretaker Couple/Family

This post is a bit unusual for SurvivalBlog.  On behalf of one of my consulting clients, I’ve begun the search for a caretaker couple (or family) to live and work full-time at a ranch in northwestern Montana. The ranch is more than 150 mostly-timbered acres with a creek, small ponds, and a multi-acre reservoir. There are no nearby neighbors. The ranch adjoins National Forest Service land. The wildlife on the land includes deer, elk, moose, bears (both grizzly and black), turkeys, grouse, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, lynx, and birds galore. The reservoir is stocked with fish. The property has multiple …


How Amazon Destroyed American Book Publishing

Most SurvivalBlog readers are aware that I’ve been an outspoken critic of Amazon.com’s business practices, their leftist agenda, and their blatant censorship. I even went so far as to very publicly resign from the Amazon Associates program. I did so on principle, knowing that it would cost me nearly $30,000 per year in sales commissions. But I didn’t hesitate, because I knew that it was the right thing to do. In this article, I will lay out some of the ways that Amazon has destroyed American book publishing, in their quest for monopolistic dominance. The Flood of Schlock Books To …


Readying Yourself for Inflationary Times

As a boy, I can remember my grandfather, Ernest E. Rawles, saying to me: “If you consistently save ten percent of what you earn, then you’ll never go to The Poor House.” That was great advice, coming from someone who had lived through the truly traumatic deflationary Great Depression of the 1930s. But today, we can see the looming threat of another economic depression, and this one will most likely be a traumatic inflationary depression. And this one may last even longer than a decade. In an inflationary depression, even millions of dollars in “savings” in cash (that is: greenbacks …


Speed Up Your AR-15 Lower Builds, by R.F.

A Parts Organizer Helps You Several Ways I find it a bit of a challenge keeping all of the thirty-plus AR-15 lower receiver parts organized when building a lower. The lower parts kits (LPKs) arrive packaged in many different ways. It’s a treat to have them come nicely blister packed or tray packed if you’re lucky enough get it that way or were willing to pay extra. But it is far more typical to have them arrive in one or more plastic poly bags packed in a larger bag or even in a blister pack like the example shown, from …


Tangible Investments on the Farm, by Animal House

As many Survival Blog readers remember JWR, and other knowledgeable sources, have been recommending various ‘tangible’ investments for several years. While I am not an expert on anything, I study various reports which I consider applicable to my lifestyle. The Institute for Supply Management issued a report which got my attention: “Things are now out of control. Everything is a mess, and we are seeing wide-scale shortages.” Bank of America’s Chief Investment Officer, Michael Hartnett, said: “Our worldwide supply chain, and ability to provide products and services to you, is being significantly impacted by increased prices resulting from labor and …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 3, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Can you hear me now? How do you plan on communicating when your cellphone doesn’t work? There are numerous radio options available including FRS/GMRS, MURS, CB, Marine band, and ham bands. Having spare radios and accessories will be important and those spares should be stored in Faraday cages. The problem with radio communications is that they are not secure, meaning others can listen in on your conversations gathering information that might then be used against you. Some of those radios will require batteries too that may give out at some point and …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1.) Where do we Start? Like everything we do in survival we have to look at vulnerability, that is: That which can hurt us the most and quickest. In my opinion safe and plentiful potable water is the highest priority. So, what can we do now to build our own water infrastructure so that when our blue 55-gallon drum is empty we don’t die of dehydration or cholera? Depending upon your living situation (urban/suburban/rural) this may be a simple process or a major challenge. The point however is to ensure that you have the infrastructure ready to …