Doh! 😯 😮

BTW, I saved my beard with my cat-like reflexes, but lost all the hair off my left hand and arm.

MUST open the door slower and stand to the side next time.... 😯

Glad to hear you were not hurt!

I did lost wax casting and sand casting in university. I'd love to learn how to make a forge. Will 2140F melt bronze?

Antsy

1900 - 1950 °F (1038 - 1066 °C), and best brought to about 2100 °F (1149 °C) before pouring. Bronze is an alloy, so the melting point can be moved around a bit by changing its constituents.

CryBaby,

LOL, at least you saved your beard. Glad to hear you will recover from your other injuries.

Note-to-self, always, always wear the long gauntlet leather gloves when working around the forge!!!

Now that you have fire to make metal better, any projects on the anvil, so's to speak???

Cheers,

Mountainman.

In response to the topic:
What: Right now, I am prepping to keep myself and my family warm through the winter (I heat with wood) and fed in my home in the countryside. I plan now for next summer's garden by saving seeds, potatoes, etc. I also have a Plan B and C - recent discussions with my grown children indicated that they believe in a BOL too. So now we have a BOL in Eastern Ontario (40 acres) and are planning one on the west coast in B.C. (presently in the planning stages). Why? My family is in one place or the other.....
Plan is to create a sustainable community of family members with small shelters/large gardens/firewood available in these two locations.
What: I've also been working on paying down my mortgage and this should finally be accomplished at the end of this year. I have no other personal debt. Why? Freedom to choose. 😉

What we're doing right now: getting ready to list our house in the inner core of Calgary! WE WANT OUT!!!! This is our baby. We've literally taken this house down to the concrete and back up but the middle of a major city is not where we want to be if SHTF and to raise our little one as well. That's where the major focus is right now: painting, cleaning, new decks. Ugh. SO much fun. In prepping-land, we're getting our 72 hour kits ready and we've been gathering food for storage for the last few months as well. Skills? Mad skills. Working on (for me) spinning and weaving, I'm already good with the gardening thing, I'm learning how to make a lot of the common stuff we use everyday and I've already got a medic/first aid background. I'm also breaking into my old chemistry/A&P/engineering/physics texts to refresh the noggin. The hubs is going to be getting his firearm license (if we can find a class that works with our very insane schedule right now.) ASAP and he's getting trained in wilderness first aid as well. The little one's skills are all about climbing and drawing on the walls at this point but we feel she'll be great at alerting us to any danger because she always seems to run straight for it.
Side note: any suggestions for obscure items to include in a BOB that I wouldn't have thought of?

What we're doing right now: getting ready to list our house in the inner core of Calgary! WE WANT OUT!!!! This is our baby. We've literally taken this house down to the concrete and back up but the middle of a major city is not where we want to be if SHTF and to raise our little one as well. That's where the major focus is right now: painting, cleaning, new decks. Ugh. SO much fun. In prepping-land, we're getting our 72 hour kits ready and we've been gathering food for storage for the last few months as well. Skills? Mad skills. Working on (for me) spinning and weaving, I'm already good with the gardening thing, I'm learning how to make a lot of the common stuff we use everyday and I've already got a medic/first aid background. I'm also breaking into my old chemistry/A&P/engineering/physics texts to refresh the noggin. The hubs is going to be getting his firearm license (if we can find a class that works with our very insane schedule right now.) ASAP and he's getting trained in wilderness first aid as well. The little one's skills are all about climbing and drawing on the walls at this point but we feel she'll be great at alerting us to any danger because she always seems to run straight for it.
Side note: any suggestions for obscure items to include in a BOB that I wouldn't have thought of?

BOB Idea: We took those containers (sold at walmart) that hold a medications-one for each day (week supply) and filled each days container with a spice we like to use when cooking.

CryBaby,

LOL, at least you saved your beard. Glad to hear you will recover from your other injuries.

Note-to-self, always, always wear the long gauntlet leather gloves when working around the forge!!!

Now that you have fire to make metal better, any projects on the anvil, so's to speak???

Cheers,

Mountainman.

I think I may try my hand on a Twisted Dragon.....

http://www.primalconnection.com/FlintandSteelStrikers.html

Tomorrow I will service the skid steer to ready for winter, then get down to making pork belly/Yak sausages.

Gonna eat some, smoke some and freeze some.

Gonna eat some, smoke some and freeze some.

and bring left overs to the meetings 😀

Buggies current progress:

1) waiting for PAL in the mail. Fire arms and ammo ordered and will be picked up upon license arrival.
2) Starting to organize short term food/water preps (3 months worth of food, some water storage and ability to purify larger quantities of water
3) begining to assemble componants of my BOB.
4) establishing short term BOL within the city of calgary (incase my area becomes unsafe, but the S hasnt quite HTF yet)
5) learning to can and store food items properly. This will be followed by my own canning operation. unfortunatley I will only be able to can foods that I purchase or recieve from friends as I currently do not have the means of growing my own
6) completing Hunters Education course, so that by november (or next season if my PAL doesnt arrive in time) I can begin going on hunting trips with experienced Hunters for upland birds, water fowl, and large game.
7) begun stockpiling over the counter medications and some antibiotics
8) Looking to purchase property within 1 hour of the city (upwards of 20 acres treed/pasture would be ideal. I would like to use it as a working modern homestead eventually) within the next year.
9) Partaking in self defence courses, both armed and unarmed
10) maintaining high physical fitness
11) working to change diet from processed to whole foods, as well as experimenting with other cooking and preparing techniques that would be available post SHTF
12) researching outdoor survival techniques in both text and online
13) planning a 3 day mock bugout once my BOB has been assembled to test the usefulness of its contents, as well as my survival knowledge and skills
14) developing connections within this prepper community, as well as with some close friends and family
15) out of debt completley by december (almost there!)
16) establishing several BOL outside of the city, practicing alternate driving routes to arrive there safely, within a half tank of gas.
17) always maintaining my vehicles fuel levels at at least 1/2 tank
18) keeping up with proper vehicle maintenance, as well as continuing to develop my mechanical knowledge of vehicles
19) collecting tools. currently starting with smaller household tools, I will begin collecting larger tools and equipment once out of the city for good
20) continuing with my personal firearm training, which not only includes shooting, but firearm maintenance, construction, and safety.
21) Always learning about everything I can think of. I read these boards, i search youtube and google for ideas I come up with, I copy most of everything I find useful down in hardcopy, or print it off for future reference
22) I try to put any knowledge I find to practical use whenever I can. For example (i know this is something small) but I saw a video on using paracord to make a bracelet. So i bought paracord and made one. now I have 6+ feet of paracord on me at all times. never know when it could come in handy.
23) I absorb the information on these boards from more experienced preppers, and store it in my mind for later use when I have the means to try some of the things they have come up with
24) I have made a list of what I need to survive for 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 1 year, and permanantly after SHTF. I will continue to work my way through the list as I can. THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I HAVE DONE TO DATE!!! This list will keep me organized and will keep my priorities straight. I may come across a great deal on a truckload of wheatberries, but without the means to store it whats the point. Prioritize, and avoid impulse purchases.
25) In the meantime I maintain a social life, a full time job, and try to make people aware of whats going on in the world whenever I can, without coming across as a bowl of nuts.

This is what I am up to these days. I feel like it is a slow start but it is a start none the less. I have made leaps and bounds since discovering this forum a few months ago. As I said the most important thing I have done is organize my list. The second mose important is getting out of debt. With the financial freedom that comes with being debt free, I will be able to move through my list faster, and hopefully I will be prepared if and when anything happens.

Your doing a great job Buggie, keep it up. You remind me of myself... never letting dust settle under the feet.

The only problem I have is #22 ....

I find to practical use whenever I can. For example (i know this is something small) but I saw a video on using paracord to make a bracelet. So i bought paracord and made one. now I have 6+ feet of paracord on me at all times. never know when it could come in handy.

A bracelet? A BRACELET? They are for chicks.

My wife thinks they look gay too. 😀

At least take 50' of cord and make a man belt or something.

i tried a rifle strap. ran out of cord.

tried a belt. Made it too small (damn you processed food!!!!)

so I took it appart and made a dozen of these things. now they sit in my tool box collecting dust. Eventually ill take them apart and use them as zipper pulls or something haha.

At a prepper meeting this summer I purchased a really good paracord "wristlet" from a fellow prepper. When I got home I promptly made a present of it to my wife. She wears it all the time so I always have it handy if I need it. Solved any perceptual problems I might have.

my list is split into sections and mostly consists of stuff to purchase:

1. Security/Hunting
2. Food/ Water
3. Shelter/Transportation
4. Health/hygiene
5. Clothes
6. Power/ Communication
7. personal/entertainment

Each section has a list of stuff and it also has two sections, basic and extended. For some items I have a budget option and an ideal option. The idea is to prioritize and start cheap (better to have something cheap than nothing) and with the basics and then keep on adding. When the basics are covered on all sections I will start moving to extended and replace some of the cheap stuff with better quality stuff.
So far I think I covered the basics on number 1. On number 2 I have about 3 month of cereals and beans (bought canned from LDS store) but I want to upgrade to 6 months and want to add freeze dried fruits and vegetables, powdered milk, honey etc, For water I need to buy a filter. I will go with Sawyer point 02. For cooking I have a propane grill/stove for bugging in and will need to improvise a small wood camping stove for bugging out. Number 3 is a major project and probably the most expensive. I had to chose between a. a 4x4 truck and a truck camper, b. SUV/camper trailer and c. motorhome. I opted for a. I like this setup for a few reasons You can still tow something behind the truck if it's strong enough, which you can't do with b, you can go wherever a 4x4 truck will take you which you can't do with either b or c, you can leave the trailer somewhere and use the truck for short trips which you can't do with c. The camper should be winterized and adapted to take a wood stove chimney. For bugging out on foot I talked a bit on the BOB stove thread. for backpacks I don't like the idea of classic backpack, a big bag with a few pockets hanging on your shoulders. I wanted something modular where you have a frame where you attach bags and pouches you can customize for different purposes. For instance if you go on a 3-4 hrs trip you just take small E&E with some basic stuff, if you go hunting you get the frame and your hunting/ammo and the E&E and leave the fishing gear , bulk of clothes at the base. etc. So far kifaru meets the requirements but they are very expensive. My latest acquisition is on number 8, a GMRS 2 way radio: http://www.uniden.com/two-way-radios/two-submersiblefloating-50-mile-range-frsgmrs-radios-with-2-vox-headsets-and-2-carabiners/invt/gmr50892ckhsg/ I bought them for 77$ from Cabelas in US. Chose them cause they have the longest range I could find, and they float (good for fishing on a boat) . It's a pretty cool toy and I can use them for communication with family if phones go down and on long trips to talk between cars. They have a range of 2-3 kms in the city and a bit more outside depending on the landscape.

I won't cover all sections as it's too much and you've got the idea.

Now one big problem with the list is that is mostly based on theory, info got from all mighty net. Tried to filter information but still .... The next and biggest step will be to put it to trial. The list is a living organism 🙂 It changed a lot and it grew up but it's still in early childhood.

The main challenges for my prepping career are budget constraints , the fact that I live inner city in a small apartment and prepping for multiple scenarios.

I should also come up with an action list soon. On top of the list will be to lose the belly fat and get fit. That's gonna be hard.

That's it for now, so much to talk about/do so little time.

happy eotwawki dreams