Post Apocalypse Resoursces

Mahatma coat

Right, like the Thread title says, things you will need post apocalypse.

This isnt a thread for weapons or how to structure your society,

This is a thread for us to share and pool our resource knowledge.

Imagine if you will thqt you are sitting down after Dinner 10 - 15 months after Zday, someone asks you,

Hey, do you think you could get that Tractor Running?
and you think Sure All I need is my Trusty, :eek: Oh Sh!t I forgot to bring <insert useful but oft overlooked item>

So this is for more left field things, lots of people will tell you to bring a copy of some bat**** intense SAS Survival manual, not many will mention also having a copy of the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy for moments when you need some humorous relief from the insanity.

So I'll start with one or two of the Books that I would recomend makin a bit of space for

Viv Moons Travel Cook Book
http://www.guidebooks.com.au/cookbook%20travellers.htm

excellent book, I have a copy of the first one, it really lays things out in a simple and clear manner, and seriously the recipies are tasty.

Also Get one of these
http://www.haynes.com/repairmanuals/toyota/land%20cruiser%20fj60

Obviously thats for my Landcruiser, so When I say 'get one of These' I mean one specific to whatever vehicle you intend to drive.

Then its First aid manuals and any books you can find about what you can and cant eat in the Countryside

Bringing along scientific and techincal books might seem smart but if no one understands what they say then they're just pointess, I would recomend some secondary school science books as a beginning, form that you should be able to work most things.

So what am I missing, what essential tomes would the rest of ye add to that list??

ScumLord

I've been told rapeseed cooking oil can be used as diesel but I have my doubts I think it would need further refinement.

If Ireland infrastructure is gone, drinking water may be hard to come by. There are a lot of spring throughout Ireland but do you know where they are? River water could be dodgy.

RiderOnTheStorm

Information may be the most important resource down the line. You will need to know some basic engineering (building stuff, wells, pullys, etc), mechanics (repairing tractors, generators, etc) electrical (lights, radio, laptops, etc) medicine (first aid, childbirth (hopefully), etc) general science (water purification, vegetable-oil-in-diesel-engine, etc) and the list goes on. Prob the best thing to have is a library, and / or a laptop and encyclopedia on a cd. You will also need a generator or solar panels to power it.

Specifically, I think you will also need:
=Generators - a few of them, big & small to suit different jobs (big one for the house, small portable to bring with you in truck to power items 'in the field') and you can cannabalise one to fix others down the line
=Tools - you need a good tool set. The whole works..... mechanics tools (from a garrage) and welding tools, carpenter, electrician, etc
=Chemcials - needed for everything from water purification to diy
=Medicine - antibiotics are prob most important
=A bike - for getting around, quickly (over short distances) and quietly, and fuel free (remember, all fuel has to be made / scavanged / stored / etc)
=Big fuel tank and one of those hand pumps to get it out. Also, petrol will loose its kick over time as the ehtanol evaporates. Stick to diesel initially (and machines that use it!) but diesel will become useless too (but this will take much longer .... years? cold will turn it to sludge, and there is a diesel bug (bacteria) that will destroy it too)
=Fabric / clothes / blankets / canvas - dont forget a good sewing kit (large needles / scissors / etc)
=Fishing gear
=Solar panels
=Seeds
=Water containers (collect water from roof, melting snow, etc)
=toilet roll !!! you need a bit of comfort in post-Z world!
=Maps and brochures - you will be surprised how quickly folk forget where things are, and what towns might have a train station, hospital, army barricks, etc. You will prob know the local ones, but after a year or two you will need to go further & further to get the stuff that you just cant make yourself.

.....more to follow

ScumLord

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

=Fabric / clothes / blankets / canvas - dont forget a good sewing kit (large needles / scissors / etc)

I don't think we'll have access to fabrics for long, while there's bound to be loads of cheap clothing around it won't be as useful in a world where you can't get your hands on replacements easily like you can in today's disposable society. Quality clothing will be rare and practical clothing even rarer. It may become necessary to learn how to make clothes using sheeps wool and fibres like hemp, we should all have hemp seeds in stock, not smoking grade cannabis mind you (although I'd be looking to grow that too) but hemp, hemp is a different calibre of plant and smoking cannabis just won't cut the mustard when it comes to getting good hemp.

Hemp seeds are legal as long as you don't attempt to grow them (before the apocalypse). The advantages of hemp in such a society would be massive.

Sticky_Fingers

ScumLord wrote: »

I've been told rapeseed cooking oil can be used as diesel but I have my doubts I think it would need further refinement.

If Ireland infrastructure is gone, drinking water may be hard to come by. There are a lot of spring throughout Ireland but do you know where they are? River water could be dodgy.

You can use straight vegetable oil in a diesel engine but you really shouldn't because it has a habit of eating away any rubber pipes or seals inside it. Since it is thicker than regular diesel it will also gunk up your fuel pump unless it is preheated before it is sent to the engine and some of the byproducts(think its the glycerol) that are produced during combustion can coat the cylinders with residue which can cause it to blow a piston. It can be done but you'd be better off taking the time now to convert your car/truck to run on veggie oil then risk it in an unmodified engine after Z-day.
It is pretty easy to make bio diesel from veggie oil, I think all you need to do is add some lye to the oil and wait abit and hey presto, you got fuel and as an added bonus you have glycerol which can be used to make nitroglycerin.

Mahatma coat

OK, some Good responses there.

I was kinda hoping that we could keep this thread more specific, like one person enquired about Diesel and another person inquired about Fabrics, What I was hoping was that we could try and be definitive on each individualy as opposed to creating monsorous wish lists.

So for Example Bio diesel is made through a process called
Transesterification

which I have outlined before, but I will try and find a simple printable diagram ( Resource);) and post it up here so everyone can see

Cork boy 55

One big problem is the quality of human population left after the Z-wars
and the male-female ratio will be skewed 90-10 at least.

All the nerds and geeks and sciencly people will die they lack the
upper body strength for close-quater Zed combat
The woman, most of them will be gone and all the good looking ones.
All the brave and sound people will be gone too, they will be too busy being do-gooders and helping out(zed meat) "the good die young" as they say.

The surviver population will largely consist of boxers, runners, weightlifters, cowards and cute hoors and will be about 90% male.

Dating in the land of the undead will be a blood sport.

humans are your best resoursce

Mahatma coat

OK So the diagrams look a bit complicated but its not that hard

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=447609751&f=719605551&m=857600061

Tilly's DR Pepper Methiod wrote:

World Famous DR Pepper Technique (Pat Pend)
The idea for the Dr Pepper Technique came about one day many years ago (it seems) when I was trying to figure out an inexpensive way of making my first few test batches of biodiesel.

I will assume that if you are reading this for the information then you are new to Biodiesel making, so just a few words of caution:

THESE ARE DANGEROUS/POISONOUS CHEMICALS.
COMMON SENSE MUST BE USED.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND THE SAFETY OF YOURSELF AND EVERYONE/EVERYTHING AROUND YOU.

METHANOL IS A POISON WHICH CAN BE ABSORBED THROUGH YOUR SKIN, BY INHILATION, OR CONSUMPTION.
METHANOL CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS AND DEATH.
METHANOL IS AS FLAMMABLE AS GASOLINE/PETROL.
CARTRIDGE RESPIRATORS DO NOT WORK WITH METHANOL.

SODIUM HYDROXIDE (Caustic soda, NaOH, lye) can cause severe burns and death. wash off with water.

Long-sleve shirt, full shoes and trousers are recommended, no shorts or sandals.
Wear chemical proof gloves, apron, and eye protection such as goggles and a full face shield are mandatory.
Always have running water available to wash off any splashes.
DO NOT INHALE ANY VAPOURS!.


Now that I have managed to scare you, just realize that Methanol is the fuel used in most Model airplanes. In the USA methanol is available in small quantities as HEET brand fuel line antifreeze (Yellow bottle)
Lye is an every-day drain cleaner.
Both are freely available in most large shopping centres.

Now find an area where it is safe to make the biodiesel away from children and other distractions. Outside is best. If you are inside it should be well ventelated. The Kitchen is not a recommended work area.


MATERIALS REQUIRED
1 litre oil- new or used
NaOH (lye/ caustic soda), at least 6g. Used as a drain cleaner and can often be found next to the Drano.
Methanol at least 250ml. HEET® Gas- Line Antifreeze in the yellow bottle is methanol and readly available in most auto supply stores in the USA.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
1- 2 litre (1.9 in US) Dr Pepper Bottle in sound condition with tight fitting top and dry inside. As NaOH/KOH will degrade the plastic used to make soft drink bottles over time, these bottles should never be used to make more than one batch of biodiesel.

1-measuring cup to measure out 250ml methanol
1-scales to measure 6- 7g NaOH
OR
1 teaspoon measure metric or imperial.

1- container to mix the methanol and NaOH in which makes methoxide.

1- Funnel

THE TECHNIQUE:

OIL PREPERATION
If using waste oil, take one litre and heat to at least 120 deg c to remove all water. If water is present the oil will spit and pop and carry on. If there is a lot of water this could get very violent, so be careful.
Once the water is gone (Oil becomes calm and there is no more spitting and popping) let the oil cool.

If you are using new oil from the bottle it should have no water in it, so in this case just heat to 55deg c when you are ready to mix.

MAKING THE METHOXIDE
WARNING: METHOXIDE IS A POISON!
DO NOT BREATH VAPORS.
WASH OFF ANY SPLASHES.
DO NOT MIX THE METHOXIDE IN A PLASTIC SOFT DRINK BOTTLE AS THE NaOH ATTACKS THE PLASTIC AND YOU WILL QUICKLY BE SHAKING A BOTTLE FULL OF HOLES WITH METHOXIDE GOING EVERYWHERE.

While the oil is cooling mix your methanol and NaOH(lye) to form the methoxide.
Use 250ml of methanol.
This is more methanol than most people use but will help insure a successful first batch.
If you are using new oil this will require 5g (about one level Teaspoon) NaOH.
For used oil, you should do a titration to determine the correct amount of NaOH to use.
However, if you do not have the materials to do a titration, just use the imperical quantity of about 7g NaOH as this amount almost always achieves seperation. If you do not have a scales, this is about 1 slightly rounded teaspoon measure (metric or imperial).

NaOH and Methanol do not readily mix, so if you are doing it by hand a bit of time and patience is required. Don't sniff the fumes. CARTRIDGE RESPIRATORS DO NOT WORK WITH METHANOL
For quickest mixing, start with the methanol at JUST body temp (not warm). As you mix, the temp will increase substantially. This is normal. Make sure ALL the NaOH (lye) is disolved. This may take 10 minutes or more.
Hand mixing can be accomplished using the back of a spoon to stir/crush the NaOH granules ina coffee cup or glass; OR placing methanol/NaOH in a glass bottle with a tight fitting top and shaking/ swirling until ALL NaOH is disolved.
After ALL the NaOH has disolved, top up to 250ml with fresh methanol, as there may be some evaporation during mixing.

MAKING THE BIODIESEL!
When the Oil's temp has dropped to 55 deg c or a bit less, using a funnel, pour the litre of oil into a DRY 2 litre Dr Pepper bottle (in a pinch any other brand of bottle will do).
Take the mixture of methanol/NaOH (commonly called methoxide on this forum) and pour on top of the oil using the same funnel.
Remove funnel.
Screw the top down TIGHT onto the bottle.
Shake vigerously for about ten seconds/ 40 good shakes.
NO appreciable pressure is generated during this mixing.

Now place the bottle on a table.
If you were using WVO you will probably observe the oil change colour from a "Light Chocolate milk to a rich, darker brown."
Then, as if by magic, within 10 minutes the by-product (commonly refered to as glycerine on this forum) starts to settle out and form an increasing layer on the bottom of the bottle.
Be sure to notice that you can see a very definate, slowly sinking line towards the top of the Biodiesel as the glycerine slowly settles.
Within an hour, most of the glycerine will be settled out.
This is referred to as seperation.
NOTE: Neutral has shown through GC tests that although one 10 second shake produces very useable Biodiesel it is in fact not ASTM conversion standard.
To produce ASTM conversion biodiesel requires titration and a further four- 5 second shakes over the space of an hour.


If you used New Oil, the colour change is not nearly as great and you may have problems seeing much of a colour change at all.

You should now have a bottle containing lighter coloured biodiesel on top of a layer of darker glycerine.
If you reacted New Oil the glycerine layer on the bottom will not be much darker than the oil you started with and the biodiesel will usually be very light in colour.
The biodiesel will be very cloudy, and it will take a day or two more for it to clear.

If it does not work out come onto the forum and see if anyone can figure out what went wrong.

And that is all there is to it. Only a little magic is involved.

Remember, after producing in excess of 53,459 litres of biodiesel in any calander year using this process, please make royality check out to Tilly From Paradise and send it to me through your favourite Numbered Swiss bank account.

CARTRIDGE RESPIRATORS DO NOT WORK WITH METHANOL

A few cautions: DON'T mix the methanol and NaOH (lye) in a plastic bottle as NaOH attacks some types of plastic. Once mixed it is quite acceptable to mix your biodiesel in a Dr Pepper plastic bottle.
Do NOT store unused methoxide in plastic bottles. Some plastic will degrade over time when in contact with methoxide.

DO NOT allow any WATER into any steps of this procedure.

Methanol boils at about 65 deg c. DO NOT mix until the oil is below 60 deg c.

Again, these are dangerous chemicals and care is necessary, especially if there are children in your home.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF EVERYONE AROUND YOU.

I have Up-Sized the Dr Pepper technique by using a 20 litre plastic drum (longish and skinny) and make 14 litre batches. I simply lay the drum on a wooden "cradle" and place the center of the cradle on a pipe and rock back and forth for 3 or 4 minutes.
I then decant the mixture into a "finishing" container and so am ready to process another 14 litres straight away.


Now that you have a Litre of Finest biodiesel you will probably wish to wash it and this is quite easily accomplished using the World Famous Dr Pepper Wash Technique (Pat Pend)

Mahatma coat

OK More useful Resoursces

As the other enquiry was Fabric, heres some Resoursces that may help with that.


Flax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzTMH5NdwWY

Spinning Wheel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY5YWre-op0

Spinning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5i8KRcccDw

Loom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ljenY8A-U

Weaving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbtKnvc_9No

Knitting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hv44QwQ-A

This one is in many parts



and obviously Leather is another option
Tanning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYNI5ES_C1E

this ones in 3 parts

geecee

Presuming that there is a huge population loss eg. 99.9%...

Surely the sheer amout of clothes shops in the world will ensure that the survivors will have clothing for generations to come without having to resort to making their own?

ScumLord

geecee wrote: »

Presuming that there is a huge population loss eg. 99.9%...

Surely the sheer amout of clothes shops in the world will ensure that the survivors will have clothing for generations to come without having to resort to making their own?

You'll only have access to the clothes shops in Ireland really as travelling over seas would be extremely dangerous without our complex navigation systems. Most the clothes on sale are cheap clothes too. How long do you think the clothes out of penneys would last in the rough and tumble apocalyptic world? If you try working in any of these cheap clothes you'll find they're completely worthless.

Mahatma coat

OK, this is an important one

Water Purification Systems

First off there are a lot of systems on the Market at the moment, the main disadvantage of these Store bought systems is that there probably wont be a shop around to get spares from post Zday.
So here are a few simple methods of collecting filtering and Distilling (if Nescessary) Drinking Water

Collection

Seriously folks do I have to explain what a Bucket is ???????


1 Cokebottle Filter


Easily transportable and good for particles down to the microscopic

Larger system


Good for a Campsite

Distilation
Realisticly the only way to be confident in the quality of the Water

thats a Sciencebook Version of the Diagram

Heres a simplified version


Boiling your water is effective, but still may leave some particulates in the water, especially if you are boiling larger amounts

Mahatma coat

those with an interest to learn more about distilation would be well served to learn how Moonshine/Poitin are distilled, as thats the sort oF Still you are most likely to be able to find post Zday.

Obviously I cant link directly to that sort of thing

Mahatma coat

Right, heres a Diagram of a thing I saw on australian TV on a show called

The New Inventors
on ABC

Its a smallscale Desal plant.
Basicly

1) Place Cone in Sunlight
2) Fill pan with Seawater
3 Wait

The Seawater will evaporate under the sunlight, the Two way mirror exagerates this natural effect
The condensation Catches on the Drip tray (in the diagram there are four strings in Practice there would be many)
This cools, it runs to the centre and falls into the inverted cone, This is Fresh Desalinated Drinking water

Simples

Mahatma coat

OK

one of the BIG problems will be

POWER

Small engines are what I recomend

A Reasonably light and portable power unit that can be Swapped bbetweeen devices depending on what needs to be done

here are a few examples of the what I'm talking about

Transport Solution




Pump


Outboard motor


it would also serve to drive one of these



AND

you can put a Chainsaw attachment on it

:D:D:D:D:D:D

RiderOnTheStorm

I dont think we will be sent back to the dark ages after Z-day, but I do think we need to know how to feed ourselves. So breeding & killing animals is a must.


How to slaughter a pig.

BEWARE - the pics are bit graphic.

www.leafpile.com

Grizzly 45

Get a copy of Henleys formulas.It covers everything from making toothpaste to explosives.Printed around the turn of the 20th century,it was a mainstay for many farms and small town chemists on how to mix up patent formulas.
Where there is no doctor,where there is no dentist.
Two seperate books dealing with doctoring and dentistry under primitive conditions away from civilisation.Mainstay of expedition books for years.
Ditch medicine, US special forces medical handbook.If being a doc is your thing and having some somwhat medical training and understanding.Well worth having in the libary.Available to download online too.

Blacks vetinary dictionary after all you might need to figure out whats wrong with any critters you might be keeping as food,transport or gaurding system.

There is alot of fretting about things that there will be plenty of lying around post Z day.Be slightly different if it were a nuke holocaust.But even then there would be still stuff available.
Water,Belive it or not ,we have plenty of it here.Called Rain!!:p
Even with the current pollution,it can be cleaner than the muck that comes out of our taps!:eek:.Average rainfall has betimes 23PPM of polutant compared to 150 plus PPM oftap water in Ireland.As the pandemic spreads,the pollution will decrease as mankind starts to die off anyway.You will know this because apprently if we stopped creating pollution on a global scale within 31days,we should be able to see more stars in the sky at night that we cant see now on an average clear night.
Fuel.
If you want to run an engine,we had better figure out how to produce Methanol[wood alochol] and caustic soda[lye] on a home steader basis for the diesel gennys or trucks and maybe how to convert older petrol carb engines on how to run on alcohol/petrol or pure alcohol.So better get a few chemistry books on that too?BTW there are small scale diesel triserfication plants available for sale .Cost about 1000STG,or with the plans to build one about 300 quid from the junkpiles.

While we are about it.How about engine oil for two and petrol/diesel engines??Fuel to run them can be cobbled together in some form.Keeping them lubed properlywithout specific SAE multi grades or synthetic oils will shut them down very quickly.A stockpile of two stroke engine oil could be the value of a kings ransom. a few cannisters of multi grade could open a kingdom to you too.:D


Clothes,etc.There will be plenty of them around.What mightnt be around is somone who will be able to shoe or resole your boots.So maybe a worthwhile skill to develop in later years??

Junkpile mechanic.
A fellow who can make or repair your transport/genny/water pump,etc from ,literally the junkpile.He/she will be able to see how to make a vital part or fix it by some alternative means.Generally a farming backround is very helpful in this line of work.

Reloading manuals,and the knowledge how to gureilla reload ammo ,if you havent the revelant tools and dies.Reckon there will be a good market for armourers and ammo reloaders the way some people intend to blaze away on full auto at everyand anything post Z day.:D

Wooden handles for tools.Ever try to hand carve an axe handle??It is a very long job!!!There will be plenty of metal tool heads about[IE axe heads,shovel heads,etc,but I'd say mass produced handles for them will be definately a rare commodity after awhile.

Worthless SHte!
Paper money...Unless you need bog paper.
Hi tech electronic entertainment toys. Forget about the ol Xbox and 50 in flatscreen,they will be as useful as a screen door on a submarine!
Computors,
proably worthwhile until they die,as info storage banks,and by then I'd hope you have got all revelant info out and onto paper by then.
BTW a good supply of A4 paper would be quite helpful for writing on.
unless somone knows how to make paper?Otherwise we are going back to illustrated vellum manuscripts!:D
Junk jewellery aka Bling.Need I say more?

Mahatma coat

Paper is fairly straightforward to make: Pulp, water, Screed, Patience.

Lye

# Start a rain barrel to catch soft water. This is a key step. Depending upon how much lye you want to leach, make sure that you have 2 or 3 gallons of soft water before you proceed.(water from dehumidifier works as well)

#
2
Find a local brewer's supply house and pick up a wooden barrel and a cork about 3" long. You can use a cask-sized or waist-high barrel.
#
3
Take the barrel home and drill a hole in it approx. 2" above the bottom. Make sure that the cork will fit snugly into the hole.
#
4
Find a place that the barrel will be undisturbed. Lye is caustic. Take the necessary precautions. Put some bricks down and place the barrel on top of them. The brick base must be stable. It raises the barrel up so that you can easily drain off the lye into a container when it is ready. Give yourself room to work.
#
5
Cover the bottom of the barrel with some palm-sized clean rocks (e.g. river rock). Cover the rocks with approximately 6" of straw (this can be hay or grass). This will filter the ashes and help your lye drain cleanly.
#
6
Gather branches and/or logs of oak, ash, or fruitwoods. Remember that the best lye is made from hardwoods. Avoid pine, fir, and other evergreens. Palm leaves work well if they are completely dried and brown.
#
7
Burn it outside in a pile, or better yet, use it in your fireplace or woodstove.
#
8
Scoop the ashes out and put them in the prepped barrel. (Make sure that the ash is completely cold, or you could set your barrel and anything around it on fire.) You can fill the barrel with ash, but it is not necessary; you can make smaller amounts with less ash.
#
9
Put a pan under the hole and remove the cork. Pour the soft water in until you see it start to drain into the pan, then put the cork back in tightly. The water level should be about 6" from the top. After a day, the first ash should settle and you can add more ash.
#
10
Let it sit for at least 3 days. You can add ash all week and drain it regularly on a specific day of the week.
#
11
Check to see if your lye is ready. For what purpose are you leaching this lye? Body soap or heavy cleaning? Lye concentration gets stronger with each leaching. For average soap making, you can use these measures: Drop a fist-sized potato or a raw egg into the barrel. If it floats enough for a quarter-size piece to rise above the water, it is ready. If it doesn't, you need to add more ashes or drain all the water and re-leach it (pour it back into the cask and let it set one more cycle).
#
12
Make sure that you have a wooden crock or glass container to catch your lye when it's ready. Put it under the tap, gently pull the cork, and fill your containers. Leave enough head room so that they will be safe and easy to pour. Make sure that you have tight, fitting lids.
#
13
Store your lye in a cool dark place until use. (The sooner the better.)

Some of the Heavier Vegetable oils WILL work as engine lubricants, you just have to change the oil more often

ChaseThisLight

Love this thread, Mahatma. Don't have anything to contribute as of yet, but I do want to say, I love that you put 'patience' in your list of things for making paper, because honestly that's going to be so important for everything. In this day and age, people are used to getting things so easily. Just reading the diagrams and all that have been posted, I can already imagine all the people who won't want to bother because it will take too long - and they will be the ones who don't last.

Grizzly 45

Mahatma coat wrote: »

Paper is fairly straightforward to make: Pulp, water, Screed, Patience.

Lye


Some of the Heavier Vegetable oils WILL work as engine lubricants, you just have to change the oil more often

Somone has been reading their John Seymor guide to self suffiency homesteading then??;)

Hmmm,I'm sure any oil is better than NO oil at all!!But I wonder how long it would be before some sort of super high tech engine chokes on this diet??After all if CRD engines cant handle bio diesel,which any ol 1980 onwards lunker has no problem with.Maybe worth shoving a few crates of the stuff away somplace?
Dunno about Veg oil in two stroke mixes???Anyone tried it?As we will be depending alot on 2stroke machines and tools after The Sht Hits The Fan.[TSHTF]

RiderOnTheStorm

I found a few book names on a survivalist site that might be worthwhile owning in advance . I wonder if folk have read these, or know anything about them . All I know about them are the reviews on Amazon ....

Good?
Where there is no doctor - David Werner - a book for 3rd world villages where resources are scant and help is far way , and there seems to be good bit on how to diagnose problems, stich wound, set bones, etc
When All Hell Breaks Loose - Cody Lundin - all round survivalist guide for the end of the world as we know it , not just when you are cut off by a storm / earthquake
The Poor Mans James Bond - Kurt Saxon - lots of tips / tricks on survival, chemical compisition, etc. This pitches itself as the good-guy version of the Anarchists Cookbook

Middle?
Ditch Medicine - Hugh Coffee - This seems to be a sort of military / in-the-field medicine & basic operations. Seems good, but reviews say you have to be a trained medico with (good) resources to hand.

Poor?
Henleys Formulas - disapointed by comments on this, as it seemed to be perfect. 10,000 formulas for common substances (soap, explosives, medicine, etc) but its 100 years old, and all the ingredients are in 'ye olde' names and are hard / impossible to get (even if you know the current name for them)

so .... what would you reccomend to have in your library? I guess a few books would be good (no point in having 1, and buying dozens might not go down well on the finance front)

Grizzly 45

RiderOnTheStorm wrote: »

I found a few book names on a survivalist site that might be worthwhile owning in advance . I wonder if folk have read these, or know anything about them . All I know about them are the reviews on Amazon ....

Good?
Where there is no doctor - David Werner - a book for 3rd world villages where resources are scant and help is far way , and there seems to be good bit on how to diagnose problems, stich wound, set bones, etc

A must have!!It is pretty much the bible along with where there is no dentist. Of 3rd world medicine and such.

When All Hell Breaks Loose - Cody Lundin - all round survivalist guide for the end of the world as we know it , not just when you are cut off by a storm / earthquake

No idea

The Poor Mans James Bond - Kurt Saxon - lots of tips / tricks on survival, chemical compisition, etc. This pitches itself as the good-guy version of the Anarchists Cookbook

Good for a read,but dont try any of the forumlas in it.Kurt Saxon managed to blow four fingers off his left hand and mutilate his right hand while trying one of his own experiments.:eek: If that isnt a good warning for mucking around with improvised explosives ,I dont know what is!

Middle?
Ditch Medicine - Hugh Coffee - This seems to be a sort of military / in-the-field medicine & basic operations. Seems good, but reviews say you have to be a trained medico with (good) resources to hand.

Written for somone with aspirations to para medic or EMT technican level.You would need to know more than basic 1st aid to get the benefit out of this.But still is worth reading or having.Would say SF medical handbook is somwhat easier to use.But still needs some qualified instruction.

Poor?
Henleys Formulas - disapointed by comments on this, as it seemed to be perfect. 10,000 formulas for common substances (soap, explosives, medicine, etc) but its 100 years old, and all the ingredients are in 'ye olde' names and are hard / impossible to get (even if you know the current name for them)

Thats what puts people off it the Ye olde lingo.However anyone with a bit of gumption can get a translation of 100 of the most common used chemical names.Only rated bad by those too lazy to go and do a bit of research on the net to find the names.
Actually Kurt Saxons book the PMJB has got Henlys formulas in it with I belive all the modern chemical names.

Mahatma coat

Bumpage to add this

http://www.teagasc.ie/

the teagasc website, its a starting point for Agriculture in Ireland