What did you do to prepare today?

Tactical · 16-02-2016 9:05am

thehippychippy wrote: »

So I got some solder and some heat shrink and did it myself..

Make sure the loom is supported after this repair. Soldering stranded wires makes them brittle and in an environment subject to vibration this can cause them to fail over time.

Well done on using heatshrink, you'd not believe the amount of garages and tracker installers who simply use insulating tape.
You can get Lloyds and UL approved IDC connectors to use to splice on some automotive specified wire. That's how I repair this type of damage if the loom is too short, otherwise I use butt splice crimp connectors crimped withbthr proper tool and not the typical ones supplied in DIY kits....

Also I've seen more than one case of mouse damage this winter too. The mice nibble the insulation.

Tactical · 16-02-2016 10:05am

Building a small "lean too" at the back of a shed today. It'll be about 8' x 5' enclosed on 3.5 sides (I.e. around a 4' open section)

It'll only be small but will store a few useful items (rope, tie down straps etc...) and also be useful place to put my small portable generator to run it. There will be a suitable opening for the exhaust...

All but the post sockets and masonry screws will be recycled materials (wood and corrugated iron).

my3cents · 16-02-2016 10:26am

Tactical wrote: »

Building a small "lean too" at the back of a shed today. It'll be about 8' x 5' enclosed on 3.5 sides (I.e. around a 4' open section)

It'll only be small but will store a few useful items (rope, tie down straps etc...) and also be useful place to put my small portable generator to run it. There will be a suitable opening for the exhaust...

All but the post sockets and masonry screws will be recycled materials (wood and corrugated iron).

I've made a few corrugated iron sheds. Always used new corrugated iron for the roof and old recycled stuff for the sides. Used to nail the sheets in place with the proper nails but more recently started using tech screws which do a nicer more waterproof job.

Tactical · 16-02-2016 2:51pm

Tech screws are exactly what I'm using for attaching the roof

my3cents · 16-02-2016 3:01pm

Tactical wrote: »

Tech screws are exactly what I'm using for attaching the roof

I'm sure I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but I found the tech screws worked better if I center punched where the screws were to go in first. Center punching just makes a small enough dent for the cutting part of the tech screw to get to work without sliding all over the place.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 16-02-2016 4:10pm

Don't forget the cappings for those tech screws

I think my food reserves have reached an acceptable level. Doesn't look like a whole lot in the pictures, but there enough here and in our kitchen to last about a month I would estimate. Have about 60 litres of water not in the picture.

Also made a load of fire straws today. Some went into the altoids tin and the rest into a fire pack I made for my main bag.

Tactical · 16-02-2016 4:44pm

my3cents wrote: »

I'm sure I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but I found the tech screws worked better if I center punched where the screws were to go in first.

Not a bit.

Good idea. I can see how that would be useful in the corrugated iron and will be following the advice.

The screws have the washers but will also follow the advice of putting the caps on them.

I'm turning the "good" side upwards. It was the side that would previously been turned down.

Rain stopped play thus afternoon but the entire frame is up. Timber had been pre-treated so tje rain won't have too negative an impact.

Tabnabs · 16-02-2016 4:58pm

Kimberly Red Motorbike wrote: »

That little four drawer box thing, where d'ya get it?

my3cents · 16-02-2016 5:21pm

Tactical wrote: »

Not a bit.

Good idea. I can see how that would be useful in the corrugated iron and will be following the advice.

The screws have the washers but will also follow the advice of putting the caps on them.

I'm turning the "good" side upwards. It was the side that would previously been turned down.

Rain stopped play thus afternoon but the entire frame is up. Timber had been pre-treated so tje rain won't have too negative an impact.

If you turn the sheets over then the old nail holes will be in the gulleys which may not be a good idea unless they line up with where you need to put your tech screws. Even then the holes tend to be a bit distorted after removing the old nails so always hard to patch the holes up.

You can double sheet or use massive overlaps to cover up the old nail holes if you need something totally waterproof there is the old John Seymour suggestion for old galvanized sheets. Put down a layer on the roof then put 7 layers of used silage sheeting finished off with a layer of galvanized to hold the lot down. He claims it will be waterproof.

hexosan · 16-02-2016 6:23pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

That little four drawer box thing, where d'ya get it?

If I'd go guess id say ikea

Tactical · 16-02-2016 6:35pm

Tabnabs wrote: »

That little four drawer box thing, where d'ya get it?

Ikea do some like that. Downstairs in the market hall with all the storage boxes etc...

Tactical · 16-02-2016 6:41pm

my3cents wrote: »

If you turn the sheets over then the old nail holes will be in the gulleys...

I'm putting a double layer of membrane underneath. Both will be individually stapled to the frame before the sheeting is fitted.

Its a tiny little project but will be useful to me.
The sides will be either lapped boards or felt covered ply. Whichever I can have enough of from recycling.

my3cents · 16-02-2016 7:12pm

Tactical wrote: »

I'm putting a double layer of membrane underneath. Both will be individually stapled to the frame before the sheeting is fitted.

Its a tiny little project but will be useful to me.
The sides will be either lapped boards or felt covered ply. Whichever I can have enough of from recycling.

In the immortal words from Star Trek - "SPACE the final frontier". Only they were talking about a different space.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 16-02-2016 7:15pm

Yea, got them in Ikea. I tried to search online but I couldn't find them. Got them in Germany, not sure if they have the same in Ireland. I didn't see them there before, but they might be new. Handy things. Not too expensive either if I can remember correctly.

Tactical · 19-02-2016 12:00am

Today I sharpened all the vegetable knives in the kitchen drawer.

After proving to myself that a blunt knife is a dangerous knife, I sat down and began the task.

I found for me, sharpening is a skill that gets lost with lack of use. It took me a while to get back into the swing of it and now I have all the small vegetable knives passing the paper cutting test

I'll hopefully not end up stabbing myself (very minor superficial stab to my thumb...) again cutting spuds of all things.

With the loss of skills from lack of use its got me thinking about other useful skills such as fire lighting, shelter building etc...

The fire lighting one is easy to practice so that'll be next on my list...

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 19-02-2016 11:20pm

Tactical wrote: »

Today I sharpened all the vegetable knives in the kitchen drawer.

After proving to myself that a blunt knife is a dangerous knife, I sat down and began the task.

I found for me, sharpening is a skill that gets lost with lack of use. It took me a while to get back into the swing of it and now I have all the small vegetable knives passing the paper cutting test

I'll hopefully not end up stabbing myself (very minor superficial stab to my thumb...) again cutting spuds of all things.

With the loss of skills from lack of use its got me thinking about other useful skills such as fire lighting, shelter building etc...

The fire lighting one is easy to practice so that'll be next on my list...

Often and little, a rule of sharpening I should use more often

. Sharpening at home with a nice wetstone is grand, but I don't know how I would fair if I had to sharpen a knife in the wild without the proper tools. Searched google and this came up. I am impressed

Fire starting is another "easy" one, once I have something to produce a spark. However, I haven't found myself lighting a fire in very wet conditions, without the need for some (a lot) of news paper.

Hopefully my knowledge in shelter building is adequate, I don't think that's something that I will forget soon, especially the clove hitch and square lashing I learned in the scouts about 20 years ago. This video has some better knots imo.

Tactical · 25-02-2016 6:38am

I got the roof up and finished on my lean too.

Found a local who will cut down some 4" x 2"s for me into three pieces. Plan is to "shiplap" the sides over waterproof membrane.

I must grab a bag of sawdust / wood shavings from him and make up a batch of "firelogs." I seem to remember an unused packet of wallpaper glue that you mix with water and remember reading of people making their own logs with cut up newspaper. I expect the sawdust logs will just smoulder away but prob worth a shot just to see. A couple of old oven trays for baking bread should suffice for moulds with holes drilled to allow water / glue to drain whilst the mixture is being compressed.

This is most likey more effort and mess than the results will return but in the spirit of experimentation I'll give it a whirl.

On a particularly wet day recently I tried the firelighting. I set myself two challenges. One was to light a small fire using already gathered materials in the conditions encountered. The second was to light a fire using only materials gathered at the time.

This was not done in woodland and served as a good reminder that failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

On challenge one, I soon had a small fire lighting. Hardly surprising considering that I had dry tinder and kindling. The wet conditions didn't really have any negative effect. It wasn't lashing down rain but was more of a light drizzle / very heavy mist that got everywhere and saturated everything.

Challenge two was a little more interesting. In the conditions encountered it was impossible to gather enough dry material to get a fire going. I managed to gather some potential kindling but finding dry tinder was not successful. With the wet conditions, everything was soaked, even on the leeward side of hedges. I would have had to resort to man made material for tinder to get a fire going or walk several kilometres to woodland to gather dry tinder. This for me was the end of challenge two as it had proven the point.

Lesson learned was that under these typical Irish conditions that if outside and not in woodland and in need of a fire for survival it is unlikely to be successful. Relocate to woodland or ensure dry tinder and a little kindling is packed with the fire steel.

Deise Musashi · 26-02-2016 12:22am

Often and little, a rule of sharpening I should use more often . Sharpening at home with a nice wetstone is grand, but I don't know how I would fair if I had to sharpen a knife in the wild without the proper tools. Searched google and this came up. I am impressed

I like to touch up on ceramics or car windows or coffee mugs etc.
For real sharpening in the woods, bring a little sharpener with you (not me, I'm massive!)

DMT Diafolds are excellent, EZE Lap Diamond Cards are very good (I use their stones on my Edge Pro) and the Fallkniven Ceramic/Diamond is also good stuff.
Some strips of wet and dry, mouse mat and leather are also very good for touch ups but a bit much to carry on person, more a pack/camp option.

http://eur.heinnie.com/dmt-diafold-diamond-sharpener
http://eur.heinnie.com/eze-lap-credit-card-stones-2-pack
http://eur.heinnie.com/fallkniven-whetstones

my3cents · 02-03-2016 6:52pm

Bought another rucksack

This really is my last one for a while its a like new charity shop find for a fiver, some weird brand name Mountain Ranger but its reasonably well made climbing style rucksack. I do need a slightly bigger EDC and this is 5-10 liters bigger than my current 35l rucksack that I have used continuously for over 4 years.

The extra few liters should allow me to store a light weight fleece, hat and gloves so I always have them handy. tbh I tend to load a rucksack up with a bit more than needed when I go out, to make the walk a bit more like exercise. Some people run I walk with a heavy rucksack.

Also this week some bits I needed arrived from Amazon for my 2 inch petrol pump - hope not to use it but handy if we do flood and nearly used it to reduce the water level in the septic tank this week. In 15 years we have only had the septic tank flood once and that was a complete wash out but was over in a couple of hours. This year there is so much water in the ground all it needs is a couple of hours of rain and the level in the septic tank raises to a level that starts to flood the inlet pipe. The reduced flow down the pipe means it gets blocked very easily. The plan is not to pump the tank itself out but to put in a 6 inch pipe next to it vertically 6 foot down (like a well) a few feet from it and pump that out to reduce the level of the ground water.

Also bought a little Swiss Army Classic SD, needed something to take my order over £25. tbh I'm not that impressed with the Classic SD as I think the main blade is a bit flimsy, there is room for then to have made it a bit thicker. As a result I think I prefer my old Leatherman Style but thats not a popular opinion.

Next on the list for buying is a winch. I've got it into my head that there are some large rocks in the river that need shifting. I could get a machine in but that will make a mess and for not much more I can get a decent tirfor/griphoist type winch and have a lot of fun with it. I've found a company in the UK that will do me a 1.5/2.5 tonne (lifting/pulling) winch for £200 includes 20m of 11mm cable so I'm saving up.

Deise Musashi · 03-03-2016 9:42pm

It was my Birthday, so I've added to my ESEE family (which consisted of a single Izula up to this)

I present to you the ESEE 3

A tidy little knife, decent belly and pointy end. Thinner blade stock than my Izula, and a coated 1095 blade for rust inhibition (rust never sleeps)

I bought the Techlock, it comes with a spring clip and some paracord for belt or neck carry

Both full flat ground, which is my preference, both high carbon tool steel which I have come to appreciate more than stainless (tough as old boots is properly heat treated 1095)

Techlock and Techclip on the smaller knife, handy yokes. I like horizontal carry if the knife is small enough,

Choil, which I'm not mad about, for chocking up on blade, there's a new ESEE 3 coming out, with no choil, thicker handle scales and no coating. I like these slim scales though.

Full hammer grip, "guard" could be a little deeper. like my TOPS Pathfinder School knife.
Same sort of size and purpose, TOPS is thicker stock and sabre ground 1095, will not break it (ESEE's guarantee says you won't break theirs either!), but not as slicey as the ESEE 3.
I like my knives to cut first, pry if everything has gone badly wrong (and even then...maybe).

Very handy "day out" knife if you don't want to carry a Busse, good edge from factory, very light and nimble in hand. A great guarantee!
I like this a lot, sheath isn't kydex but it's very good, coating is a bit grippy, but she cuts well.
This has a pointy swedge, not sharp, but might not be best for batoning (I prefer to bring a folding saw or bow saw).

It was a toss up between this, the Izula II (longer handle same blade) or the ESEE Camp Lore Gibson, an uncoated 3" full flat grind blade, with canvas micarta handles.

Not gutted animals or done much outdoors with it yet, it's great at terrifying sheets of paper though!

_Tombstone_ · 04-03-2016 12:18am

^^^Wooden Knives are the best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0mx_j5ihJg

drcortex1124 · 04-03-2016 12:05pm

my3cents wrote: »

Bought another rucksack This really is my last one for a while its a like new charity shop find for a fiver, some weird brand name Mountain Ranger but its reasonably well made climbing style rucksack. I do need a slightly bigger EDC and this is 5-10 liters bigger than my current 35l rucksack that I have used continuously for over 4 years.

The extra few liters should allow me to store a light weight fleece, hat and gloves so I always have them handy. tbh I tend to load a rucksack up with a bit more than needed when I go out, to make the walk a bit more like exercise. Some people run I walk with a heavy rucksack.

Also this week some bits I needed arrived from Amazon for my 2 inch petrol pump - hope not to use it but handy if we do flood and nearly used it to reduce the water level in the septic tank this week. In 15 years we have only had the septic tank flood once and that was a complete wash out but was over in a couple of hours. This year there is so much water in the ground all it needs is a couple of hours of rain and the level in the septic tank raises to a level that starts to flood the inlet pipe. The reduced flow down the pipe means it gets blocked very easily. The plan is not to pump the tank itself out but to put in a 6 inch pipe next to it vertically 6 foot down (like a well) a few feet from it and pump that out to reduce the level of the ground water.

Also bought a little Swiss Army Classic SD, needed something to take my order over £25. tbh I'm not that impressed with the Classic SD as I think the main blade is a bit flimsy, there is room for then to have made it a bit thicker. As a result I think I prefer my old Leatherman Style but thats not a popular opinion.

Next on the list for buying is a winch. I've got it into my head that there are some large rocks in the river that need shifting. I could get a machine in but that will make a mess and for not much more I can get a decent tirfor/griphoist type winch and have a lot of fun with it. I've found a company in the UK that will do me a 1.5/2.5 tonne (lifting/pulling) winch for £200 includes 20m of 11mm cable so I'm saving up.

Is the rucksack for your BOB?

my3cents · 04-03-2016 1:38pm

drcortex1124 wrote: »

Is the rucksack for your BOB?

I'm a total womble for free and cheap stuff so have far more gear than I reasonably need. I work on the principle of having an area covered with whatever I can get then upgrading.

All the BOB's are in 60l holdalls because they pack better into a car than a full rucksack. I then have an empty 60l or bigger rucksack empty with each BOB. Most people wouldn't have BOBs that size but the bulk in ours includes, sleeping bag, light weight blanket, small tarpaulin, at least one warm jacket (duvet/fleece) on top of the usual stuff that people list.

The most recent charity shop purchase is as a replacement slightly larger everyday carry EDC. Its packed so I have everything I need when out walking plus some some survival related stuff, best described as lightweight camping gear. The slightly bigger new bag which has a bottom section the old one doesn't have should make it easier to get at stuff. Bottom section will be for clothing items including waterproofs.

I hit a lucky charity shop find yesterday and found a really good The North Face duvet jacket (€8) that would have been ideal for my sons BOB but that idea is a total fail as I noticed he likes it so much he's wearing it to college today :rolleyes:

drcortex1124 · 04-03-2016 1:41pm

my3cents wrote: »

I'm a total womble for free and cheap stuff so have far more gear than I reasonably need. I work on the principle of having an area covered with whatever I can get then upgrading.

All the BOB's are in 60l holdalls because they pack better into a car than a full rucksack. I then have an empty 60l or bigger rucksack empty with each BOB. Most people wouldn't have BOBs that size but the bulk in ours includes, sleeping bag, light weight blanket, small tarpaulin, at least one warm jacket (duvet/fleece) on top of the usual stuff that people list.

The most recent charity shop purchase is as a replacement slightly larger everyday carry EDC. Its packed so I have everything I need when out walking plus some some survival related stuff, best described as lightweight camping gear. The slightly bigger new bag which has a bottom section the old one doesn't have should make it easier to get at stuff. Bottom section will be for clothing items including waterproofs.

I hit a lucky charity shop find yesterday and found a really good The North Face duvet jacket (€8) that would have been ideal for my sons BOB but that idea is a total fail as I noticed he likes it so much he's wearing it to college today :rolleyes:

You have a good eye for a bargain mate. Do you prefer charity shops to military surplus stores? I usually treat yself to little something there every few weeks, bet the bagrains you can get at charity shops are better.

my3cents · 04-03-2016 2:19pm

drcortex1124 wrote: »

You have a good eye for a bargain mate. Do you prefer charity shops to military surplus stores? I usually treat yself to little something there every few weeks, bet the bagrains you can get at charity shops are better.

You only get good bargains in surplus stores when the market is flooded with too much of the same.

A few years back the Swedish army dumped a load of gear on the market particularly their Trangia style cook sets. Everywhere had them and the stock hung around so you could get a really good Trangia style cooker and pans for €15 or less. At the other end of the scale there is a demand for ammo boxes so they go for rip off prices.

I've said this before you only get bargains in charity shops if you spend the time looking. I calculate I'd make 10 or 20 visits before buying one item. Good stuff sells quick but there isn't much of a market for some stuff like rucksacks so they often stop on the shelves a while. You don't need to spend your whole life looking just a quick look around the door and job done in most cases as you can see whats changed since previous visits. I find there is no harm in letting the staff know what you are looking for. But don't spend too much money on tat, the staff who price the stuff won't know the difference between a The North Face fleece and a Dunnes one so if Dunnes stuff is all that is on offer just wait for something better to come along.

drcortex1124 · 04-03-2016 2:33pm

my3cents wrote: »

You only get good bargains in surplus stores when the market is flooded with too much of the same.

A few years back the Swedish army dumped a load of gear on the market particularly their Trangia style cook sets. Everywhere had them and the stock hung around so you could get a really good Trangia style cooker and pans for €15 or less. At the other end of the scale there is a demand for ammo boxes so they go for rip off prices.

I've said this before you only get bargains in charity shops if you spend the time looking. I calculate I'd make 10 or 20 visits before buying one item. Good stuff sells quick but there isn't much of a market for some stuff like rucksacks so they often stop on the shelves a while. You don't need to spend your whole life looking just a quick look around the door and job done in most cases as you can see whats changed since previous visits. I find there is no harm in letting the staff know what you are looking for. But don't spend too much money on tat, the staff who price the stuff won't know the difference between a The North Face fleece and a Dunnes one so if Dunnes stuff is all that is on offer just wait for something better to come along.

Good call bro, do you get there early in the morning to snatch up the bargains? I got a little trangia set from mil-surplus a while back, didn't know it was Swedish also ordered rocket stove online.. Maybe it's best to buy up a few so you have spares for backup/trading? Well it all comesdown to money I suppose.

Maybe volunteer in a charity shop so you can buy stuff as it comes in? Is that allowed?

my3cents · 04-03-2016 3:05pm

drcortex1124 wrote: »

Good call bro, do you get there early in the morning to snatch up the bargains? I got a little trangia set from mil-surplus a while back, didn't know it was Swedish also ordered rocket stove online.. Maybe it's best to buy up a few so you have spares for backup/trading? Well it all comesdown to money I suppose.

Maybe volunteer in a charity shop so you can buy stuff as it comes in? Is that allowed?

Trading is all part of Surviving. Having two stoves when someone who has something you need has none is a good trading situation. Some people would have small stores of stuff they keep primarily for trading. The field is massive, as an example feminine hygiene products may be of no use to you but for trading they could be very valuable. Ideally you want cheap products that in dire circumstances will quickly run out but that people still want.

Early morning isn't necessarily the best for charity shops because they tend to sort stuff as it comes in, just depends on the shop. Better just tell them what you are after and go in regularly. Locally the ones I frequent know I'll take anything that looks like a camping stove (they normally give them away as they don't won't sell them for safety reasons) any camping type gear and anything with a list of particular brand names, HH, The North Face and Lowe Alpine would be the main ones.

My wife does lots of different art things and at one stage wanted lots of beads and bits of jewelry. So she asked for all the broken jewelry the shops got. Wasn't long before she had carrier bags of the stuff. It was for free but paying something always helps improve the flow.

If you want to spend your time working in a charity shop then of course you have first pick.

Tactical · 06-03-2016 3:44pm

Tactical wrote: »

Challenge two was a little more interesting. In the conditions encountered it was impossible to gather enough dry material to get a fire going. I managed to gather some potential kindling but finding dry tinder was not successful. With the wet conditions, everything was soaked, even on the leeward side of hedges. I would have had to resort to man made material for tinder to get a fire going or walk several kilometres to woodland to gather dry tinder. This for me was the end of challenge two as it had proven the point.

Lesson learned was that under these typical Irish conditions that if outside and not in woodland and in need of a fire for survival it is unlikely to be successful. Relocate to woodland or ensure dry tinder and a little kindling is packed with the fire steel.

Yesterday I harvested some Silver Birch bark from some logs for tinder.

Today myself, Mrs Tactical and the Tac'ettes headed to some woodland. Whilst there a search for dry tinder proved fruitless. The tree cover wasn't dense enough to keep the ground dry and the moss was soggy.

The Tac'ettes engaged in building a tripod or teepee shelter using only the materials around apart from some 3mm cord which was used to tie together the top of the tripod and also strung around the legs to allow the covering branches some additional support.

They had great fun (even Mrs Tactical) and the smallest Tac'ette even went on a pine cone hunt for herself.

Next trip well string some cord between trees and build various types of shelter with a tarp. Its good to practice these skills and have fun doing it. The wet weather (it was raining steadily) didn't even get noticed by the gang.

Tactical · 20-03-2016 11:42pm

Today I practiced fire lighting again with a fire steel.

Cotton wool and Vasiline were used with some of the previously harvested Birch bark.

I let one of the Tac'ettes build up the fire once the tinder had caught. He made a respectable job of it and when our small fire had burned to embers we spent a pleasant time roasting Marshmallows and chatting.

The cotton wool and Vasiline combo worked very well indeed and naturally the Birch bark was great too. I'm going to make up some small "tinder kits" of this combination and pack them with our multiple fire steels. With that done I'm confident that I won't be encountering (hopefully) any more wet tinder experiences in a hurry.

wolfeye · 04-04-2016 9:33pm

Picked up a twin pack of wind proof refillable lighters in Tesco today.

As far as I remember I paid 3.50 euro.

Like a mini blow torch,and need blow into flame fairy hard to to quench it.

http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=286068378

my3cents · 02-05-2016 8:23pm

Finally got around to replacing the battery in our battery jump start/booster box.

The unit still worked even though it was 10 years old but wasn't really keeping a charge. Its a handy unit with a good size 22 Amp Hour battery in it, couple of car 12V power outlets and a double fluorescent light which goes for 24 hours on a full charge, so handy backup unit all round.

Anyway noticed from Bargain Alerts that Halfords had 20% of motorcycle accessories and guess what sort of battery the booster box takes. Paid €48 instead of €60 and got the usual Halfords 3 year warranty on batteries. Cheapest on Amazon who won't even send batteries to Ireland was around £50 so good deal.

Fiskar · 02-05-2016 10:43pm

Last of the wood for winter 2019 cut up today. Splitting in earnest June - July. Wood split and dry for 2016,2017 and seasoning 2018.

Service chainsaw on sat and prep it for any lumber calls that may arise over the rest of the year!

Fiskar · 17-07-2016 10:54pm

Had to take a tree down that was too close to the house, pine, very messy to tidy up but junior (age 15) was brought in to assist with the branches. I hacked off the short branches to allow the stems be clear for cutting into logs.
Used the opportunity to show junior how to fill a saw with 2 stroke, oil and to start the small electric start chainsaw. Then I got him to use it after a safety lesson. He was okay with that. The saw got boggy after 30 mins (chain needed sharpening and boy was it smokey) so I stopped it and asked him to get the Stihl MS 291. Now this is one of my two beasts, so I started it and gave it to him. i fed the next branch into the saw horse and he cut it, well the smile was unexpected, he was grinning, this was the mutts nuts to him as it was so powerful, the saw flew through the rest of the lengths in no time. When it finished he looked at his hands, it must be the vibrations, he hadn't experienced anything like it.
Another one of the life skills he can chalk off. Well worth doing.

my3cents · 05-08-2016 6:29pm

Got myself one of these Ralph Martindale Crocodile G ok No.2 Genuine Military issue Machete ( GLK2-02 ). Actually paid £20 for it when I was in the bricks and mortar shop of Bobs Tool box in Liskeard Cornwall.

The Machete is a lot smaller than it looks blade is only 13inches long (~33cm) and 18inches including handle, so a nice size for slipping in a go bag or for camping. I must look into making some sort of sheath for it?

If anyone is interested in machetes then these are all available if you look hard enough http://www.ralphmartindale.co.uk/ralphmartindale/africa1.html .

Deise Musashi · 09-08-2016 9:09pm

A handy sheath for these is to heat some plastic waste pipe or down pipe (sink or gutter) with a blow torch out the back (never in the oven at home, no sirree!).

When it's floppy, smoosh it a bit flat so the blade fits in, then smoosh flat as you can between two boards and stand on them, redneck kydex!

Dangler baldric type suspension rig and you are away for slates.

If your plastic bit is too narrow for the blade, open the back side of the pipe to make a large blade slip sheath, ranger band from a ring of inner tube will keep it inside until needed.

dazza161989 · 19-10-2016 9:27pm

Sharpened all my knives, axes and hatchets. Split two tonnes of firewood for next years pile. Started on making a chicken tractor out of scrap timber.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 04-11-2016 2:45pm

It wasn't today, but on Saturday I tested out my DD tarp and hammock. The temperature dropped quite a lot once the sun went down and although I was wearing my down jacket, I found I got a little cold once I stopped moving around. My body was nice and warm in my mountain hardware down sleeping bag, but where my shoulders touched the walls of the hammock, it was cold. I will fashion something light to shield me from the walls.

I found myself waking quite a lot during the night because of this and I don't feel that I was in a deep sleep. I had to adjust the hammock a few times to get the right stretch and angle. I have another hammock for some time, but it's not for sleeping really, although it's a lot more comfy in my opinion.

Spent most of the evening/night trying to build a damn fire, as everything was damp, but I found some timber further in which burned ok. Also made a rough stool with some wood lying around. I plan on going more in the spring as I did have some fun. Some company would be nice if I plan on going for the weekend. Next time I take my bow and get some practice in

. What do you think? Any tips or suggestions for improvement? I know there's some slack on the tarp, but it's actually not that bad.

A couple of knots I learned while in the scouts came in handy, such as the square lashing. Prusik knot is just genius, it's my favorite simple knot. I need to learn a lot more though as there were half hitches all over the shop :P

04-11-2016 3:03pm

Spent most of the evening/night trying to build a damn fire, everything was damp, but I found some timber further in which burned ok

Have you a tumble dryer at home? Next time you go out, empty the fluff filter and put all the fluff into a ziplock bag and bring it with you. It'll be super dry and will act as great kindling for a fire.

Amalgam · 04-11-2016 3:11pm

If you want to separate out small items, a few of the following cups are ideal, 'PP5' (Polypropylene), so, should be food safe too.

Thick packaging, doesn't dent or mark like PTFE. Cloudy and slick to the touch.

I've been buying these on and off, from oriental food shops, for a few years. I'm only posting because I see Tesco are stocking them now, which I hadn't noticed before.

two euro coin thrown in for scale.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 04-11-2016 3:16pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Have you a tumble dryer at home? Next time you go out, empty the fluff filter and put all the fluff into a ziplock bag and bring it with you. It'll be super dry and will act as great kindling for a fire.

The kindling part was actually fine, once I started using larger sticks (about the size of your finger), the fire really struggled.

I started with cotton bud soaked in Vaseline, which catches a spark easily enough. Then I stepped it up a bit and used a cotton bud soaked in candle wax which really helped. I just had to use my lungs quite a lot to bellow the fire, along with lots and lots of kindling. I positioned the damp wood on the outside of the fire and move it inwards when needed. That worked, but took me a while to begin doing this :P You pick up things that you will not forget easily

my3cents · 04-11-2016 4:04pm

Kimberly Red Motorbike wrote: »

The kindling part was actually fine, once I started using larger sticks (about the size of your finger), the fire really struggled.

I started with cotton bud soaked in Vaseline, which catches a spark easily enough. Then I stepped it up a bit and used a cotton bud soaked in candle wax which really helped. I just had to use my lungs quite a lot to bellow the fire, along with lots and lots of kindling. I positioned the damp wood on the outside of the fire and move it inwards when needed. That worked, but took me a while to begin doing this :P You pick up things that you will not forget easily

If you have one handy a newspaper held taught makes a good fire wafter but the old boy scout stand in an enamel plate is very good and can be used one handed.

Tabnabs · 04-11-2016 4:14pm

Kimberly Red Motorbike wrote: »

Any tips or suggestions for improvement? I know there's some slack on the tarp, but it's actually not that bad.

Nice pics, thanks for that post. One thing I would say is to consider some sort of drip line.

my3cents · 04-11-2016 4:39pm

Nothing really exciting but have started working through my waterproof out door jackets washing and reproofing them. I'm using Nikwax Techwash and then followed up with reproofing them with Nikwax TX.Direct® Wash-In.

I get the sachets of the products that are the right size to use in the washing machine. One sachet of the cleaner does a decent job of cleaning 2 jackets in a low temp wool wash in the the machine, but the waterproofer only does one garment, again I use a low temp woolwash. I get the sachets in the UK when I'm over there and it works out at about £5 to do two jackets. Amazon only seem to have it by the bottle.

The washing part is excellent I was in too minds about prewashing one particularly dirty collar but it came out clean, I'll report back how well the rewaterproofing worked out.

One other thing the point of the cleaner is that it doesn't leave a wetting agent on the clothes like a normal washing machine detergent and its best to clean the washing machine of any detergent before use. I discovered our cheapo beko washing machine has a self clean function that does a really hot wash to clean it out so I cleaned the detergent drawer and ran that program first (took 2 and half hours).

my3cents · 31-12-2016 6:23pm

Spent an hour this afternoon sorting through the store cupboard supplies (I say store cupboard but these are all boxed up). Try to have at least 2 weeks food for 4 including pet food.

About 25% of the items (mainly tins) were out of date, brought a few of the worst offenders (approaching 2 years) in to use up but past experience is that there will be nothing wrong with them and I'll use most of them up for my lunches. Obviously made a list of what needs replacing which I'll get next time I go shopping.

Finally got around to parceling up a Leatherman Style to go back under the 25 year warranty. They sent the form out to me to return it 2 years ago. Originally it was just the spring off the scissors that was broken but I also managed to snap the blade so it will be interesting to see if they say I've abused it. I was leavering a plastic cover off something when it snapped and was very surprised how easily it broke.

Regards the Nikwax products in my last post I'd 100% use the Techwash again but I'm not convinced the waterproofing wash-in did much for me.

my3cents · 12-01-2017 3:50pm

my3cents wrote: »

...

Finally got around to parceling up a Leatherman Style to go back under the 25 year warranty. ...

Got an email back from Whitby&Co who deal with Leatherman warranties to say that they can't repair my Style as its an old model and they don't have the spares. Instead they gave me a choice of Style CS or a Micra as a replacement foc. I went with the Style CS so my £10 multitool is being replaced with a £25 one great service.

What did you do to prepare today?

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