Category: Self-Employment & Home-Based Businesses

Blacksmithing Basics: Working From Next to Nothing, by Richard P.

Iron work is a foundational skill, literally shaping the bones of civilizations for well over a millennium today. As such, the earliest practitioners started out with nothing but ingenuity and raw natural materials. It is possible to do the same in a survival context, but the amount of labor necessary to smelt one’s own wrought iron from ore is prohibitive unless one has no other choice. Much more reasonable in a survival setting would be the repurposing of available metals. In history, this was extremely common. Viking societies would burn longships and sift the ashes to recover nails. We can …


Update: Big Decisions — Weighing The Risks and Benefits

JWR’s Introductory Note: The following is a slightly expanded update to a post that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in September of 2005: — When doing radio interviews or giving lectures, I’m often asked where the “perfect” place is for a survival retreat. The short answer is: There is none. Granted, there are a lot of places that are much better than others, but there is no single “one size fits all” perfect place. Much ike buying a pair of boots, the decision has as much to do with the size and shape of your feet as it does the …


Consequences of 87,000 New IRS Employees, by Toby

I have read and watched a lot of commentary on the Inflation Reduction Act (ironically abbreviated IRA) recently signed into law. I was most interested in the $80 billion added to the IRS budget and the addition of 87,000 IRS employees — mostly agents — effectively doubling the number of IRS agents. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made the following statement: “Specifically, I direct that any additional resources – including any new personnel or auditors that are hired – shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to …


WIN: Whip Inflation Nonconformably

In recent months, I’ve had several consulting clients ask me about how they might protect themselves from the ravages of inflation. The official rate of inflation is now at 9.2%, but everyone knows that the real-world rate is somewhere north of 14%. I’m offering some concrete suggestions that I will relate in this essay, but first, let me digress into some history: According to the Wikipedia article about the WIN campaign: “[President Gerald] Ford had taken office in August 1974 amidst one of the worst economic crises in US history, marked by high unemployment and inflation rising to 12.3% that …


A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update

When I launched SurvivalBlog in 2005, I summarized my criteria for selecting retreat locales in a series of articles. Soon after, I evaluated 19 western states, for their retreat potential. I later put that data in a SurvivalBlog static page: Recommended Retreat Areas. This article serves as a 2022 update to that page. Some Things Don’t Change A lot has changed in the intervening 17 years, but some ground truths and some key trends haven’t changed at all: The tendencies of governments haven’t changed. They’ve only grown a bit bolder and their tools for surveillance of the citizenry have become …


Additive Manufacturing – Part 2, by M.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) As these CAD software options are 3D drafting programs, I strongly suggest purchasing a 3Dconnexion 3D mouse. It essentially provides a dedicated joystick used in conjunction with your normal mouse which you move as if you were holding onto the 3D object in real life and allows you to rotate and zoom in easily as doing so with a mouse can be frustrating without extensive practice. It is pricy at $150 (approximately the cost of a printer!), but well worth the expense. With the step file produced, it is then converted to …


Additive Manufacturing – Part 1, by M.

The community of emergency preparedness has devolved into something of a hoarder arms race. It’s not surprising why. Our threat assessment has changed from just being concerned about natural disasters that may last a few weeks, to being worried about our own government relentlessly sabotaging our way of life just for the kicks and giggles. Those with their eyes and ears open take nothing in our luxurious modern society for granted. But just because one can identify a problem doesn’t mean they have figured out an efficient solution to it. I have seen countless comments and videos by survivalists who …


Food As Currency, by SwampFox

The following is intended as an intellectual exercise. Our nation has been the victim of the slide toward globalism over the last couple of decades. We still retain our independent Dollar, but for how long? The European Union has a unified currency that is a model for the rest of the world. There have been attempts at an Asian currency as well as a North American currency, which was briefly titled the “Amero” and even heralded by a short-lived government website, back around 2007-2008. But there is one thing that unites all humans – the need to eat. My thoughts …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Repairing a device whose batteries have leaked isn’t difficult – you just have to be careful and take your time. I once cleaned up and repaired a $300 laser level that was thrown away at a construction site because the batteries leaked, and it’s proven incredibly useful over the years. Techniques for repairing other types of physical damage will obviously depend on the specific types of damage. Cracked or broken plastic cases or parts can be repaired with glue (I like to use JB Plastic Weld), hot melt glue, crazy glue, heat …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) Regarding spare parts – switches, relays, jacks, screws, battery holders and all of the other mechanical bits in electronics can be expensive to replace, and if you don’t have a decent stock you’ll almost always have to end up buying a replacement part (assuming you even can). I’ve found the best source of spare electronics parts are old discarded devices. All of my friends and family know that if they have an electronic device they’re going to dispose of that I’ll always take it. I’ve been given or found in the trash hundreds of devices over …


Basic Electronic Repair – Part 1, by J.M.

In several previous articles on SurvivalBlog.com (‘Elements of a Security System‘, ‘Surviving With Electronics’ & ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’) I discussed various ways you can utilize technology like electronics to help you prepare and survive. However, the best technology in the world won’t do you any good if it isn’t working, and you probably won’t be able to go online and order a replacement after the grid goes down. The problem is that electronics are like magic to a lot of people, and the thought of opening a device up and repairing it isn’t something they’ve ever considered. Part of …


Neo-Feudalism: Klaus Schwab, the WEF, and The Great Reset

The topic of this essay might seem a bit tangential to normal SurvivalBlog topics, but as I will explain, it falls into the category of “emerging threats.” Men have always sought to dominate and forcefully order the lives of others. This is part of human nature. It dates back to before the days of Noah. Early empires sought power and wealth, by conquest. Monarchies and feudalism dominated the Middle Ages in Europe, South Asia, and East Asia. Then, in a consolidation of monarchist power, colonialism was rampant from the 1550s to the 1950s. Only a few large and economically strong …


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 …