Tools For Survival

Time to Start Thinking About Growing Food

2017-11-11T14:17:00.003-08:00

Good article and discussion about solar greenhouses.

May be Just What You Need.

2017-10-26T22:01:00.002-07:00

The Ultimate Plan Collection

2017-10-26T21:47:00.003-07:00

These plans have saved me a lot of time and money over the years.

Excellent Advice about Survival Strategies

2017-10-26T14:36:00.003-07:00

I think this is right on.

Time to become totally self sufficient

2017-10-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Very scary times. We need to be able to do everything without electricity and gasoline. Going to take some doing.

Building a Deer Sanctuary

2017-10-03T10:13:00.003-07:00

I'll be posting updates on my own deer sanctuary efforts here.

Canning Season Upon Us

2017-09-27T20:28:00.003-07:00

Lots of good canning and preserving tips here:

A Good living to be Made Working with Wood

2017-09-25T20:27:00.001-07:00

I do a lot of salvage work and a good deal of that involves reclaimed lumber. Some I sell as lumber, but other choice items - old growth and the like - become material for some amazing projects.

Hundreds of Building Plans

2017-09-20T19:33:00.002-07:00

Using these plans have cut my time in half.

For Those of You into Salvaged and Recycled Items

2016-09-23T21:41:00.001-07:00

Check this out. Value of selling reusable items rather than selling same as scrap metal. Recycling Secrets Blog

Good Info on Recycling, Scrapping, Computers and Parts

2015-05-29T13:05:00.001-07:00

Hello - Thought some of you may be into salvage and recycling. I just posted some information about getting the best deal on e-scrap/e-waste. If this interests you, check it out at the Recycling Secrets Blog.

Mike

Reviews - Safe, Healthy Products

2015-05-25T14:58:00.002-07:00

Find safe, healthy, green, & ethical product reviews based on scientific ratings. Check out the GoodGuide.

Several Free Items Available

2015-05-24T21:30:00.001-07:00

Several freebies listed at bottom of left column on each page. Go through the pages and collect all 3 including a free credit card knife, free waterproof match and a survival bracelet.

Mike

Bootstrapping a Recycling, Salvage and Reuse Business

2014-09-02T13:47:00.001-07:00

Good afternoon - As you may have gathered, I've been in the salvage and recycling business, to varying degrees, for the past 30+ years. Bootstrapping the business to the point where it provided a real income took a lot of hard work (and it was a lot of fun!), but this may not be the path others may wish to follow.

Today I posted a couple of paragraphs on my other blog about junk hauling for pay as a way to bootstrap your recycling, salvage and reuse business.

Check out ways to bootstrap here.

Mike

Climate Change, Drought and Wildfire

2014-05-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

Hey - I am very concerned about climate change, drought and wildfire here where I live in Northeastern California. I've collected resources and news and will chronicle what I am doing to deal with the effects of climate change at toolsforsurvival.com.

If you have ideas, plans, resources, news or how-to information, I'd love to hear about it. Please share it here.

Cheers,

Mike

California Drought Forum - Free and Open to Public

2014-05-07T13:59:00.002-07:00

California Drought Forum May 15th and 16th. This event is free and open to the public. It is being held in Sacramento, CA. I'll be attending and reporting back here. If you are in California, I hope you attend as well. Registration is limited, so if interested, register as soon as possible here.

Having the Right Plans Makes All the Difference - Save Material, Save Time, Build it Right

2014-05-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

Since moving to our mini-homestead a few years ago, I've wanted to expand existing outbuildings and build new ones. Like many others, I've just wanted to forge ahead, draw up my own minimal plans (well really meager sketches) and get the thing built. Doing it this way led to one headache after another. Things didn't fit, constant measuring, trimming and re-measuring, wasted material, etc. etc...

Looking back at it I realized the biggest stumbling-block for me was making good and exacting plans. I enjoyed salvaging the material, measuring, cutting and building, but I had little patients for planning.

Finally, I got these great shed plans and it made all the difference. Not only am I adding on to existing sheds and building new ones for myself, I've also been contacted by neighbors who would like me to build sheds for them as well. A new and very profitable little cottage industry for us.

The word "SHED" is a bit of a misnomer so don't take it too narrow or literally. With a little creativity these plans can be used to build all sorts of buildings including, of course, sheds, but also small barns, greenhouses, tiny homes, wood sheds, storage buildings, garden tool storage buildings, pump houses - just about any structure you can think of that you will need at your place. So, give these plans a try - you cannot go wrong. If you like, you can download a free sample here.

Free Tractor + Free Snowblower = One Great Tractor and Spares

2013-12-23T00:33:00.000-08:00

Hello - The last winters I've really gotten tired of snow removal by hand. My drive is about 100 feet long and steep so we've been just leaving the car at the top until spring and parking the 4x4 truck at the bottom and walking and hauling back and forth in the snow from the house to the truck. Even with the truck next to the road it's still quite a chore clearing what the snowplow leaves and keeping a walkway open down the drive.

So, last summer I thought it would be a good time to look for a good used Honda snowblower. I needed one with tracks too due to the steep terrain. I talked it around to my friends and clients (note that I find the things I need for my home and land and make some money in the salvage and recycling business) and one called saying he found a Honda tracked snowblower for $400. Coincidentally, another client who has been giving me tons of salvage over the years called and wondered if I wanted a non-running Honda tracked snowblower - it had problems but it was free. Mind you, Honda tracked snowblowers sell for for several thousand $$ new. I called them both and arranged to see both on the same day.

My first stop was the one for $400. It was like brand new so I bought it - too good to pass up. I went for the free one and it turned out to be the same exact Honda model, tracks and all. It's only problem was a broken v-belt. Motor runs great. Both fit just right in the back of my old Nissan pickup.

For the past several months I've left the free one sit not sure if I'd keep it for a spare, keep it for spare parts, or fix and sell. Recently I ran into a free Sears Suburban 19.9 hp tractor. It runs, but barely. It has a big 2 cylinder motor that sucks gas and pollutes like crazy.

I did a little measuring and guess what, the Honda motor off the free snowblower fits right in. More efficient and reliable, no more battery, no starter to worry about. 4 new bolt holes, bolt it down, pull the rope and go. The tractor has a real nice blade on it too so now I'll have to decide whether to use the snowblower or the tractor for clearing the snow this year. Decisions, decisions.

Turns out too that there's a horde of collectors of these old Suburban tractors. The 19.9 hp Onan engine off the tractor will sell for more than I spent on the snowblower and the gas to go get it.

I'm very happy to have the little tractor to get around my land. At my age, using a wheelbarrow for everything gets a bit too tough and I don't want to tear up the land by creating roads with my pickup. The little tractor and a trailer fits the bill perfectly.

BTW - if you want to learn more about my salvage and recycling work, check here and be sure to check out the tools for survival website.

Mike

Active Fire Maps, Fire Details, Drought Information

2013-06-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

Hi - All of a sudden fire season is upon us - WAY early. Red flag warnings over most of Northern California. I've taken the last 3 days to service my fire truck and get it ready to go.

USFS provides active fire maps. You can get more info about wildfires on Inciweb and on the same page there are also links to drought monitor.

Still hard to believe it was below freezing at nights and a bit of snow just a couple of weeks ago.

Access the active fire maps, wildfire info and drought monitor

Home Based Woodworking and Why I'm Inspired to Succeed

2013-03-23T17:28:00.001-07:00

Hi - Years ago I trade to make it in the woodworking business but failed several times. I had good products, people wanted to carry them in their stores and customers wanted to buy them, but somehow I just couldn't make it.

I tried planters, furniture, smaller items like redwood trivets, clocks, lamps and wine racks with inlaid brass detail - truly beautiful things, but I failed time after time.

Well... I just read a manual that has inspired me to try once again. If I had the knowledge back then that I've gained from this manual, I know I would have made it.

So, if you are having trouble with economic survival and are into woodworking at all, check it out. Click here to learn more about my experience and how you might profit in this business too.

Precious Metal Recovery from Computer Scrap - One of My Survival Skills

2013-02-20T03:22:00.001-08:00

Hi - So sorry for taking to long to post again. I've been under the weather for quite awhile, but I'm recovering now and will be posting more in the future.

I thought I'd pass this on to you. If you've been to my website Tools for Survival you have read that one of my major economic survival endeavors is electronic and computer scrap recycling for precious metals.

For those of you interested in this, I just found a new free resource about recovering gold, silver, platinum and palladium from computer scrap, dental scrap, scrap gold filled items and more.

You can learn more about precious metal recovery from computer and electronic scrap here.

Mike

Chips Fire in Plumas County and Being Fire Safe

2012-08-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

We live in Plumas County in Northern California near Lake Almanor and Mt. Lassen. The Chips fire has been burning for over 3 weeks and has grown to over 64,000 acres. It began 17 or so miles from us and is now only a few miles away. So far no homes have been burned but communities near us have been evacuated.

We have been on our land just over two years and we've worked hard to make it as fire safe and defensible as possible. But with this fire, we realized that there is much more that we should do so we have been hard at work clearing more debris, doing more limbing and thinning our forest even more. We hate to cut down trees, but given the fire potential and drought conditions, it's better for us and the forest.

Our only water source up here is a well. So far it has been okay, but we do worry about the effects of the drought. Along with our limbing and thinning we've been watering areas, balancing the health of the aquifer we depend on with the health of the forest. Unfortunately we have no way of knowing how close we are or if we are near the "edge" of our water supply.

A few months ago my wife's mother heard about an older fire truck going up for bid. She got it for us and we now have our own 1,000 gallon pumper fire truck. Here are a couple of photos.

My mother-in-law paid $1,000 for it and it's in great condition for its 43 years. The fire truck came with hundreds of feet of good hose and nozzles. It also has two onboard water pumps that allow for water delivery as well as sucking water into the tank from streams, hydrants, rivers and ponds. We weighed this against the cost of having a 1,000 gallon tank, gas pump, fittings and hose and realized that this option would be much more expensive than the firetruck.

Since the firetruck can be filled from most any source, we will still have fire protection even if the well runs dry or if the power goes out (we still don't have enough backup power to run our pump if the power goes out). And the firetruck is mobile - we can move it around as needed.

So, if you live in a rural area, I'd suggest checking with your local fire departments. They often have surplus vehicles that they just haven't gotten around to selling yet. If you ask, you just may be at the right place at the right time.

Resources

Wildfire - Are You Prepared?

Operating and maintenance manual for a Hale pump based firetruck (6mb).

Mike

P.S. Sorry it has been awhile since I've posted. It's been a busy several months. I intend to post more in the future.

Best Wood Splitter Ever

2012-03-07T04:32:00.000-08:00

I've been dreaming about getting a wood splitter for some time now. I don't like the noise or exhaust fumes of the gas ones so I was considering one of the smaller electric models.

A friend told me about an old black oak that had blown down in a storm. I checked it out and ended up bringing home about 3-1/2 cords of it over a 3 day period. I experimented with my splitting maul and found it easier to split green than some of the dry rounds I already had.

I can't remember why, but somehow I ran into a review of Fiskars new long handle x27 splitting axe. I was very tired of dealing with an 8 pound maul, bouncing off the wood all the time, handle breaking, head flying off and the muscle aches (I'm 66), but the new Fiskars intrigued me.

It's not cheap for a maul at $58 plus tax, but I thought it was worth a try since I really wasn't looking forward to lifting these 12" to 20" green oak rounds up and onto a splitter.

Well, I'm amazed. The blurb say it's a one-strike-split axe and it is! One thing I did have to learn is to not swing so hard except on the very toughest narly pieces. And, it's faster than a splitter - much faster except for maybe the new flywheel type that cycling in a couple of seconds.

Most splitters cycle somewhere between 12 and 16 seconds. In 16 seconds I can easily have a 16" to 20" round split into 8 or 10 nice woodstove sized chunks. I've found that I can easily stay at it for at least an hour at a time.

Bottom line is that it does work and it is much easier than using the old heavy mauls. It splits fast and accurate, takes no gas or electricity. Keep it sharp and it will split most anything. Added benefit is that it's really good exercise!

I bought mine from my local Ace hardware store. I ordered it and 3 days later I had it - as quick as buying online from a big box store with the added benefit of buying local - something that is very important to me.

I don't get any commission or anything like that. You can check it out at the Fiskars site and there are several videos of the Fiskars X27 on Youtube. I'll be doing my own video soon.

Salvage and Recycling - A home based business, a way of life

2011-04-02T02:51:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to tell you a bit about myself. I bootstrapped my way into the salvage and recycling business in the early 1980s. I began with building deconstruction and scrap metals and then moved into electronics, computer and telecommunications scrap where I learned to recover gold and other precious metal, reuse items for alternative energy systems and more. After more than 20 years I finally got around to writing a book about my experience in the business. Home based salvage and recycling has been very good to me, but it is not only a business, it can be a way of life. A way to get the things you need to survive that you otherwise may not be able to obtain. So check out the ebook, How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business and see how salvage and recycling might help make your life a bit better.

Financial Crisis Inquiry Report Downloads Now Available

2011-01-28T00:33:00.001-08:00

This should be of interest:

We're all impacted by recent economic events and the recession that we're now in. January 27, 2011 the FCIC released the Financial Crisis Inquiry Report to the public. I have made it available in Acrobat PDF format for you to download. In the ensuing days and weeks I will be adding many more reports, hearings, testimonies, videos, maps, regional impacts and related materials.

Download the Financial Crisis Inquiry Report