Survival Gear is the most unused product until a natural disaster happens, then it’s the most desired products, but usually too late to help those that really need the help.
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Tarps are very useful survival tools and a lot of preppers suggest you have at least one in your supplies. Tarps can be used to collect rainwater and build shelters making them extremely valuable to preppers.
In this article, we’ll focus on the shelter aspect of a tarp. When it comes to surviving a prolonged wilderness related disaster, one of your primary concerns is going to be finding or building a shelter. After finding a source of water, making a shelter should be next. That’s why preppers often carry some sort of shelter equipment in their vehicle survival kits or as a part of their bug-out bags. Should something go wrong, having the ability to quickly set up a shelter can mean the difference between life and death!
Most tents, even the smallest ones, are bulky and take some time to set up. A tarp, on the other hand, can be fashioned into a shelter fairly quickly. With little more than a bit of paracord and a tarp, you can quickly set up an improvised shelter that will keep you warm and dry.
*For all of those beginner preppers: paracord is an essential. It’s probably one of the first things you should consider buying and adding to your supplies. Right up there with food storage and water collection, having paracord is one of the most important survival items you can purchase.
Off Grid Survivalput together a great image showing the different types of shelters you can easily make using a tarp and some paracord. Practicing these is probably the best way to learn to put these shelters up, as you probably won’t be able to get to this image if you’re in a SHTF situation.
It also won’t hurt to be able to make several of these quickly and know which ones will work the best for your area. If you take these hiking or hunting it would be beneficial to be able to make the shelters that will be the best for the location you plan to be at. Practice makes perfect, so again, practice, practice, practice. Go in the woods and see if you can figure out how to put up a shelter. Practice in your backyard.
Do what you need to do to learn this skill. It’s often not one too many consider and with all the new preppers out there, we wanted to make it clear that knowing this could be a life-saving skill.
I know, I’ve been on a victory garden blog post kick of late. There are a few reasons I’ve been writing about growing victory garden vegetables: first, victory gardens are the type of garden preppers should maintain; two, I love history, and victory gardens have a big place in American history; and third, victory gardens are on everyone’s mind right now with COVID-19, as evidenced by recent articles in Berkeleyside, CBS News, New York Times, and even Realtor.com.
by Derrick James
I’m no professional gardener, but I have dug into the dirt more than once. I even built my own concrete block raised bed garden for vegetables. I’m not relying on my amateur experience for this post, however. I’m not making up this list of the best victory garden vegetables. The list comes from the WWII-era ABC of Victory Gardens pamphlet (linked to at the end of this post).
The vegetables listed below, I believe, were chosen at the time because they’re forgiving, meaning easy to grow, hearty. They are also – for the most part – vegetables that grow in abundance and come with a high nutrient and calorie count. These are also the reasons the following vegetables are great choices for a prepper’s survival garden.
24 Must-Have Victory Garden Vegetables
Beans (BUSH) – A “must” for every garden. Great producer and easy to grow. Likes sandy loam. Sow early in May or when the soil is warm. Plant every two weeks up to August 1st for continuous supply. Rows 18″ apart. Seeds two to three inches apart and two inches deep. One packet for 25′ row. Organic Blue Lake Bush Bean Seeds
BEANS (POLE) – Very productive! Matures later than bush beans but bear longer. Plant second week in May; not later than June 15th. Place rough 7′ poles at least 1′ in the ground about 3′ apart. Sow seeds around each pole. Thin to 3 or 4 of the strongest plants. One packet for 15 poles. Organic Kentucky Pole Bean Seeds
BEANS (BUSH LIMAS) – One of the most succulent of all garden favorites! Likes rich sandy soil. Plant about May 15th with the eyes down in rows 2.5′ apart and seeds 5″ apart. Thin to 10″. Never cultivate or touch plants when wet. A 25′ row requires 1.5 packets. Henderson Baby Lima Bean Seeds
BEETS – An old time favorite that requires little attention. A good storage crop for winter use. Likes a rich well-loosened sandy loam. Sow every three weeks to end of July for continuous supply. Sow seeds 1″ apart and 1″ deep in rows 18″ apart. Thin to 3″. Use tops for greens. One packet for a 25′ row. Organic Gaea’s Blessing Beets Seeds
BROCCOLI – Start seed in a cold frame on March 15. Transplant about April 30th. For later crop, sow seeds May 30th in rows 2′ apart. Thin to 18″. Plants will continue to bear after first cutting. One packet for a 25′ row. Waltham Broccoli Seeds
CELTUCE – Delicious as salad or cooked. Grows easily and quickly. Has four times more Vitamin C than lettuce. Use the leaves and inside meat of the stalk. Plant about April 30th in rows 2′ apart. Thin to 6″. One packet for a 25′ row. 100 Celtuce Seeds
CARROTS – Soil must be deeply worked and loose. Sow April 15th in rows 1′ apart and 1″ deep. Thin to 3″. Sow every two weeks to July 1st for continuous supply. One packet for a 25′ row. Rainbow Blend Carrot Seeds
CABBAGE (EARLY) – Sow seeds indoors late in February and transplant early in April, or buy plants at that time. Plant in rows 18″ apart with 18″ between plants. They like a light dry soil. Will mature in about 90 days. Cultivate lightly as roots are near surface. Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage Seeds
CABBAGE (LATE) – Sow this variety outdoors in May or June. Transplant in July, or buy plants at that time. This type likes heavier richer soil. Will mature in October or November. Plant in rows 2′ apart with 18″ between plants. Beware of the cabbage moth! Late Flat Dutch Cabbage Seeds
CHARD (SWISS) – Very tasty. You can cut and it comes again and again. Many people prefer it to spinach. Plant rows 18″ apart. Thin plants to 6″. Sow in April or May. One packet for a 25′ row. David’s Garden Swiss Chard Seeds
CORN (SWEET) – Be sure to have some if your garden is big enough. Plant May 1st to May 15th when soil is thoroughly warm. For a continuous supply, sow every two weeks until end of July. Plant in rows 3′ apart with seeds every 4″. Thin to 12″. Alternatively, plant in hills 3′ apart each way, allowing 2 or 3 plants to remain in each hill. Plant in a number of short rows instead of a few long ones, as an aid to pollination. One packet for 4 twenty-five foot rows. Peaches and Cream Sweet Corn Seeds
KALE – It is full of vitamins and delicious when cooked. Sow seeds from April 15th to August 15th. Frost improves its flavor. Plant in rows 3′ apart. Thin or transplant the seedlings 12″ apart. One packet for a 25′ row. Curly Kale Seeds
LETTUCE – America’s favorite salad! It’s crisp, tender, and high in vitamins and minerals. For a head start, plant seeds indoors or in a cold frame about March 1st. Transplant or sow seeds outdoors as soon as soil can be worked. Sow every two weeks until August for continuous supply. Plant in rows 12″ apart; thin to 6″. One packet will so two 50′ rows. Lettuce Lovers Seed Collection
OKRA – A vigorous grower not found in enough gardens. Easy to grow. Young pods are delicious as cooked vegetable or for use in soups and dishes. Plant May 15th in rows 2′ apart. Thin plants to 18″. Two packets for a 25′ row. Texas Longhorn Okra Seeds
ONIONS (SEED) – They like a well-tilled, well-drained soil. Plant as soon as ground can be worked in rows 1′ apart and 1/2″ deep. Thin to 3″ (or more if larger types are grown). Bend tops down (but don’t break off) when bulbs are full grown to hasten ripening a good crop for storage. One packet for a 25′ row. Civilys Giant Onion Seeds
ONIONS (SETS) – These will mature much more quickly than seeds. Can be thinned out and used as scallions in about 6 weeks. Plant April 15th 2 or 3″ apart in rows 1′ apart about 1/2″ deep. One pints will do two 25′ rows. Hill Creek Evergreen Bunching Onion Seeds
PARSNIPS – If you ever tasted tender parsnips, you would grow some most certainly. Requires a deeply worked soil. Sow about May 1st in rows 2′ apart and 1/2″ deep. Thin to 4″. Frost improves their flavor. A good crop for winter storage. One packet for a 25′ row. Organic All American Heirloom Parsnip Seeds
PEAS – No other vegetables is so universally popular and with good reason. A freshly picked garden grown pea is unsurpassed for flavor and tenderness. Plant early in March as soon as ground can be worked. Plant in rows 2′ apart and 2″ deep. Place seeds 2″ apart. Do not thin out. Use trellis netting when seed is planted. Repeat plantings every two weeks until last May. Use 1/8 pound of seed for a 25′ row. Little Marvel Pea Seeds
POTATOES – The gardener’s bread and butter. They like a rich sandy loam with plenty of humus. Buy good seed potatoes. Cut them nito pieces with 1 or 2 eyes. Plant April 15th in rows 30″ apart, 12″ apart, and 4″ deep. You will need about 2 lbs. for a 25′ row. White Kennebec Seed Potatoes 5 lbs
RADISHES – They like a sandy loam but will grow well in any type. They grow quickly especially if a quick-acting fertilizer is applied. You should sow them every 2 weeks from April 15th to August 15th. Plant in rows 1′ apart 1/2″ deep. Thin to 2″. One packet for a 25′ row. Early Scarlet Globe Radish Seeds
SPINACH – An easy crop to grow with good soil and cool weather. Plant your first crop April 15th in rows 1.5′ apart, 1/2″ deep. Thin to 5″ apart. Sow every two weeks until June 15th. Plant your seeds for a fall supply from August 15th to September 15th. One packet for a 25′ row. Gaea’s Blessing Organic Spinach Seeds
SQUASH (BUSH) – Easy to grow and prolific. Delicious when fried, baked, or stewed. Plant in hills 3′ apart each way. Sow seeds in each hill 1″ deep. Thin to 4 of the strongest plants. One packet will do for 10 hills. Bush Baby Zucchini Summer Squash Seeds
TOMATOES – A crop that seldom fails. It likes almost any kind of soil. You can sow seed indoors about March 15th, but most gardeners prefer to buy plants and set them out around May 15th. Plant them singly in hills at least 3′ apart each way. The tomatoes will ripen better if you tie the plants as they grow, to sturdy tomato cages. Pinch off side shoots as they appear, to make the fruit larger. Burpee Fourth of July Hybrid Seeds
TURNIPS – A good substantial tasty dish. Hardy and easy to grow. Plant April 15th in rows 1′ apart. Thin to 4″. A grand winter storage crop. Make a 2nd planting in July or August. 1/2 packet for a 25′ row. David’s Garden Turnip Seeds
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Finally, we have begun to hear solutions that don’t require the government to enslave the population and people to give up their basic human rights in order to fight COVID-19. One epidemiologist has now said that if we want to “exterminate” the coronavirus, lockdowns will need to be lifted immediately.
Knut Wittkowski, previously the longtime head of the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design at the Rockefeller University in New York City, said in an interviewwith the Press and the Public Project that the coronavirus could be “exterminated” people were allowed to lead normal lives, free from the shackles of house arrest politicians have placed on them. We need to shelter only the most vulnerable parts of society until the danger had passed, not lockdown everyone.
When asked about Anthony Fauci, the White House “medical expert” who for weeks has been propagating fear in the public and predicting significant numbers of COVID-19 deaths in America as well as major ongoing disruptions to daily life possibly for years, Wittkowski replied: “Well, I’m not paid by the government, so I’m entitled to actually do science.”
The veteran scholar of epidemiology has warned that the ongoing lockdowns throughout the United States and the rest of the world are almost certainly just prolonging the coronavirus outbreak rather than doing anything to truly mitigate it. On top of that, the government has destroyed the most financially vulnerable people by prohibiting them from making a living. “Going outdoors is what stops every respiratory disease,” Wittkowski said.
And he isn’t the only doctor who says people need to go outside to get their vitamin D in order to fight off the virus. “[W]hat people are trying to do is flatten the curve. I don’t really know why. But, what happens is if you flatten the curve, you also prolong, to widen it, and it takes more time. And I don’t see a good reason for a respiratory disease to stay in the population longer than necessary,” he said according to a report by The College Fix.
Many politicians claim flattening the curve prevents hospitals from being overrun. But few hospitals have had problems keeping up with COVID-19 patients.
“With all respiratory diseases, the only thing that stops the disease is herd immunity. About 80% of the people need to have had contact with the virus, and the majority of them won’t even have recognized that they were infected, or they had very, very mild symptoms, especially if they are children. So, it’s very important to keep the schools open and kids mingling to spread the virus to get herd immunity as fast as possible, and then the elderly people, who should be separated, and the nursing homes should be closed during that time, can come back and meet their children and grandchildren after about 4 weeks when the virus has been exterminated,” he added.
Instead, the mainstream media took to fear-mongering and the government has instituted martial law in parts of the country to lock people in their homes to try and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As we have all seen going into a month worth of lockdowns, the only thing we have achieved is a guarantee this virus will come back and millions of people won’t be able to make ends meet for months or possibly even years. The damage done to society and some people’s livelihoods is irreparable. This lockdown experiment has been an abject failure and one that should never be repeated again. If people cared about their basic rights as human beings, they would have never allowed any government official to get away with closing their business and placing them on weeks of house arrest.
Wittkowski stated that the standard cycle of respiratory diseases is a two-week outbreak, including a peak, after which “it’s gone.” He pointed out that even in a regime of “social distancing,” the virus will still find ways to spread, just more slowly:
You cannot stop the spread of a respiratory disease within a family, and you cannot stop it from spreading with neighbors, with people who are delivering, who are physicians—anybody. People are social, and even in times of social distancing, they have contacts, and any of those contacts could spread the disease. It will go slowly, and so it will not build up herd immunity, but it will happen. And it will go on forever unless we let it go. -Dr. Knut Wittkowski
But if the lockdowns are lifted, and the chains removed from humanity, governments will be seen for what they really are: masters willing to use tyranny and destroy lives for profit. Don’t expect any government to relinquish power so willingly.
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It is during times of great crisis that we find out who we really are. Now that strict “shelter-in-place” orders have been instituted all over the world, most people have a lot more free time than usual. Of course some are using all of this extra free time for constructive purposes, but many others have decided that “self-medicating” is the best way to “cope” with this coronavirus pandemic. When under great pressure, people tend to gravitate to whatever is most important to them, and that is why what we are witnessing during this pandemic is so alarming. Just check out these new numbers…
The virtual-sex trade has got a lift: Pornhub, the leading adult entertainment website, saw a near-12% increase in global traffic from Feb. 24 to March 17. British lingerie chain Ann Summers said sex toy sales were up 27% in the last week of March compared to the same period a year ago, with its quietest vibrator fast becoming its best seller.
Self-medicating is all the rage. U.S. states including California, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska where cannabis is legal have reported 50% sales increases from March 16 and March 22, according to Flowhub. Online booze sales in the United States rose 243% in the week ending March 21, according to market research firm Nielsen. Binge buying drove British alcohol sales up 22% in March, according to Kantar.
Of course some of the sales increases can be explained by the fact that people have been stocking up on just about everything in recent days.
At this point, most Americans have suddenly become “preppers”, and online grocery delivery services have been absolutely overwhelmed…
As the crisis hit, delivery orders surged as millions of Americans stayed home. During the week of March 2, even before some cities and states imposed “stay at home” orders, Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart grocery delivery sales all jumped by at least two-thirds from the year before, according to Earnest Research. Instacart, a platform that partners with more than 25,000 stores in North America, says orders in more recent weeks have surged 150%.
As a result, customers in hard-hit New York City are waiting days to schedule deliveries that usually take just hours.
Needless to say, the law of supply and demand tells us that as demand for basic essentials goes up it is inevitable that prices will rise as well.
And we are already starting to see this. In fact, it is being reported that the wholesale price of eggs has shot up 180 percent…
If you’re used to starting your day with coffee, orange juice, bacon, toast and some eggs, brace yourself – the price of wholesale eggs in the U.S. has skyrocketed to a shocking 180 percent from its regular price. And reports reveal that increased buying due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is to blame.
As long as fear of the coronavirus persists there will continue to be more “panic buying”, and shortages will begin to emerge.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, acknowledged the shortage and said the company is working to overcome it.
“We are experiencing record high demand for Tylenol, and despite our producing and shipping product at historic highs, we are experiencing a temporary shortage in some regions in the US,” said Kim Montagnino, Global Corporate Media Relations Senior Director. “We are committed to maintaining our increased production, including running lines up to 24/7 to maximize supply.”
And this may come as a surprise to many of you, but according to USA Today we are also facing a very serious shortage of webcams as well…
Logitech, the company that dominates webcam sales, is sold out of every one it makes. Amazon and Best Buy are out of stock. And price gougers on eBay are selling used models for as high as $420, or more than twice as much as the most expensive Logitech model, the $199 Brio.
“Global demand for webcams is needed from all remote workers, students and in the health care space,” notes analyst Jeremiah Owyang, who himself was able to snag a unit in early March, before they sold out.
With so many people working from home now, demand for webcams has spiked like never before, and it is unclear when they will be widely available again.
Now that most of the country has been locked down, economic activity has come to a standstill, and many Americans are starting to become very desperate for things to return to “normal”.
But even though most Americans are staying home, this virus continues to spread.
In New York City, nearly 20 percent of the entire police force was out sick on Monday…
On Monday, April 6, 2020, 6,974 uniformed members of the NYPD were on the department’s sick report which accounts for 19.3% of the uniformed workforce.
1,935 uniformed members and 293 civilian members of the NYPD have tested positive for the coronavirus.
And on Tuesday the death toll in New York City surged to the highest level yet even though a “shelter-in-place” order has been in place for quite some time now.
That is not good at all.
What makes this even more frightening is that the number of deaths in New York is actually being substantially undercounted because the only coronavirus victims that are included in the official death toll are those that were tested before they died…
Only those tested before they die are counted as COVID-19 victims, a New York City councilman said Monday, sparking fears the actual death toll could be far higher than the 3,400 already recorded.
Mark Levine tweeted: ‘Now only those few who had a test confirmation *before* dying are marked as victims of coronavirus on their death certificate. This almost certainly means we are undercounting the total number of victims of this pandemic.’
So what is the true death toll?
We don’t really know, but what we do know is that the number of people “dying at home” in New York City is now close to 10 times higher than normal…
But another 200 city residents are now dying at home each day, compared to 20 to 25 such deaths before the pandemic, said Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office. And an untold number of them are unconfirmed.
Overall, the number of confirmed deaths continues to rise all over the country at a very disturbing pace.
The very first confirmed death from the coronavirus in the United States was announced at the very end of February, and now just over a month later the numbers are really getting crazy…
The number of Americans who have died from coronavirus has nearly doubled in the first week of April alone compared to last month’s entire death toll.
The death toll from the pandemic now stands at 11,000 with more than 368,000 confirmed infections across the United States.
Figures show the number of fatalities has increased drastically by 7,000 in the first six days of April.
Of course most people are assuming that this pandemic will eventually fade (true) and that life in America will soon return to normal (definitely not true at all).
We have entered a time when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and our world will never be the same again.
Some will respond to adversity by becoming the best people that they can possibly become, while others will “cope” by wallowing in depression, despair and very self-destructive addictions.
You can’t control global events as they spin out of control, but you can control how you respond to them.
You were born for such a time as this, and I encourage all of you to embrace the great challenges that have now been put in front of us.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
Editor’s Note: The following review was written and submitted by Prepper Journal associate Hans Brix. Images courtesy of the author.
For AR-15 lovers, we live in a golden age of price and availability. You can buy good quality, fully assembled lowers for $130, and stripped receivers in the $40 range. Given the multitude of manufacturers of $200 parts kits and $500 complete rifles AR-15s, why would anyone go to the trouble of ordering and milling an 80% lower?
Because you can.
The handyman can
I am one of the first to admit that when God was handing out the Handyman gene, I was skipped. The only things I’ve been successful at working on have been firearms and guitars. I’ve assembled several AR-15 rifles from parts kits and a stripped receiver. I’ve added or polished up safeties and sears in several handguns, installed and sighted-in rifle scopes and installed aftermarket triggers and sights on Glocks and 1911 handguns.
But a gunsmith I am not. In fact, I have an old “Lemon-squeezer” style revolver I took apart and can’t get it back together right. There’s a limit to my skills.
Drilling the pilot hole
I’d read about the whole 80% lower ‘market’, but never really investigated it since AR receivers are affordable and trepidation with my aforementioned lack of skills. So, when 5D Tactical asked if I’d like to review their new router jig, I thought it would be a fun and interesting project.
The jig is up!
Nevertheless, finishing an 80% AR lower couldn’t have been easier with 5D Tactical’s new AR15 Router Jig Pro. It was so straightforward, I’d say that if you can follow instructions and wind up with a receiver that doesn’t work, you didn’t actually follow the instructions.
When the package from 5D Tactical arrived, it contained the jig, several drill bits, and two specially designed end-mills for the included Rigid router and an 80% lower blank. The instruction manual straight forward and has images to demonstrate how to use the jig.
Adjusting the bit depth
Nevertheless, I was still worried. I didn’t do well in my junior high school woodworking class and had never run a mill or router before. The closest I’d gotten was Dremel tool I used for smoothing the finger grooves of my Glock Gen 3 frame. I didn’t want to mess up the project.
The folks at 5D Tactical were able to talk me off the ledge and assure me I could do it. “Just go slow, pay attention to what you’re doing, and make sure you use sufficient WD-40 or thread cutting oil. You should be able to get 4-5 receivers completed per end-mill.”
Milling the 80% receiver blank
Armed with that knowledge, I headed to a friend’s shop; the prospect of having aluminum chips all over my garage meant doing at home wasn’t likely, even though it was way more convenient. This wound up being a good decision, because it wound up way messier than I expected.
RTFM!
After laying out the part on the bench, I read the instructions and assembled the jig around my receiver. It’s very straightforward and intuitive, especially if you’re familiar with AR receivers. Once assembled, I went to install the end mill and router base plate to the router.
Here was where I stumbled.
Due to the variety of routers available, the instructions didn’t contain any information on HOW to install the endmill and baseplate, and since I’d never used a router before, I had no frame of reference from which to draw. I went to 5D’s website on my phone, since I had no computer and a sketchy LTE connection.
Milling the 80% receiver blank
Their website shows several different end mills available based on the router you have. It’s possible, therefore, to purchase the wrong mill for your router if you don’t pay attention or, like me, know what you’re doing. Since 5D had supplied both the router and endmill, that possible error was eliminated, but it’s something to pay attention to before ordering.
Thankfully, my friend had experience using routers, so he watched to make sure I was installing things correctly. In looking things over, I guessed I needed to remove the plastic router base plate then install the 5D baseplate, using the supplied screws. I almost installed the baseplate incorrectly; the cutout should face the opening in the router closest to you, as you can view the milling process in that gap. This was the biggest issue I faced during setup.
Since sitting down to write this article, I discovered a whole page of instructions, including assembly video and router endmill installation guide, at 5D’s website. I just wish I’d looked over the website sooner, as it would have saved me some grief.
Taking care of business
Once everything was put together, I clamped the jig into the vise. Using the supplied 5/32” drill bit, I took the cordless drill to it after a few drops of thread cutting oil. The drill powered through it easily, just make sure to use an oil/lube. Once that was done, it was time to mill.
Drilling the hammer & trigger pin holes
Making sure I used the shortest pins, I adjusted the depth to match the guidelines on the jig depth adjustment guides. There is a total of 21 passes you’ll need to make, from the very first cut after drilling the pilot hole, to the 21st that cuts the trigger hole.
Adjustments are in small increments (I don’t know the spacing/depth) for a reason. I didn’t have reading glasses handy, so it was difficult to see if I was lined up with the depth markings, meaning a few times I went over…maybe 1.5-2 lines instead of one line.
That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was VERY noticeable when milling, as the bit cut more slowly and started to chatter. I was able to get through those cuts by going more slowly than I had when I made correct adjustment. After a couple of times having that happen, I made sure to err on the side of slightly less adjustment. While it might have taken longer overall by needing to make more cuts, each cutting step was much easier and eliminated all chatter when I went shallower.
After the milling was finished, I got the cordless drill and the other two drill bits and, using some cutting oil and the bushed guide holes in the jig, drilled the safety selector hole and the hammer and trigger pin holes. The drill bit for the safety selector is long enough to go through both sides, but the trigger and hammer pins needed to be drilled from each side.
Finishing touches
After about an hour, I was finished. We blew away the excess chips, wiped off the cutting oil and admired my handiwork. Then we pulled out the parts bin and completed my lower assembly. All the internals fit great, and the holes for the safety and trigger assembly pins lined up perfectly. We then grabbed some ammo and a couple of uppers and went shooting. My new lower worked flawlessly.
Finished & assembled receiver
My friend had several 80% lowers he wanted to finish, so I left the jig with him after I went home. He reported an issue with drilling the plunge hole. Either I had used too much pressure or..something…he said the bit I left looked warped and wouldn’t cut at all. He used one of his own bits and said it worked fine and cannot explain what happened. But on subsequent receivers, he had the same issue with his bit.
For the next two receivers he wound up NOT drilling the plunge hole, and said he got through the process fine. He told me he held router tilted back at an angle, and once the mill was up to speed, would slowly lower it to create the first cut for that depth. When he got to the third step, he made sure to be extra careful so he didn’t mess up the trigger hole. He assembled the three receivers and they worked fine.
Something borrowed, something blue
Router Jig Pro (L) and original (r)
Interestingly, he has the original 5D Tactical jig and likes new jig much better:
The bushings for the safety selector and trigger/hammer pins in the Pro jig made drilling those holes much easier, since he didn’t have to worry as much about damaging the base blocks when drilling them.
The larger and heavier support bases were easier to clamp and more secure.
The support for the receiver extension tube ‘ring’ is much easier to attach, is more secure, and has the vacuum attachment.
Overall, I learned a lot doing this project. Given how affordable complete receivers are, I’m not sure it makes sense from a cost-saving standpoint. But that’s not why a lot of people do this. I asked my friend why he likes doing his 80% receivers so much, when finished lowers are so affordable.
Router Jig Pro mounting blocks (R) vs Original (L)
“First, because I can, and I like building things. Also, there may come a day when AR15 rifles are harder to own,” he said. “Having a pile of these finished, or waiting to be finished, is my way of making sure they’ll be available to me. So, paying a little more for an 80% receiver that isn’t in any database is, if you will, a Freedom Tax.”
I can support that.
Lessons learned
Make sure the end-mill is in the pilot hole and has spun up completely to full speed before starting cuts. It’s less likely to jump or walk (I only did this once).
Take your time. When I tried to go faster than I probably should have, the mill would start chattering, even on ‘shallow’ cuts. You don’t have to go at a snail’s pace, but don’t try and do a complete pass in 10 seconds.
Wear long sleeves – even though they’re aluminum chips, they’re hot when they come off the mill.
Wear a shop apron – this saved me from getting completely covered in chips.
The shop vacuum attachment mostly works – I used the vacuum attachment, and while it mitigated some of the chip flying, especially for the first few passes in guide #1, the mill still tossed ships all over the place, and there were piles of chips on the vise and bench. As the cuts deepened, a lot of chips stayed in the receiver.
Finally, I’d like to thank the folks at 5D Tactical for reaching out and supplying the equipment needed to make this work, without any preconditions. All they asked for was an honest review.
As a courtesy, I provided them a copy of this review beforehand in order to ensure I hadn’t made any missteps during the process but was clear I wouldn’t change my opinion. I questioned the increased number of depth-adjustment hashmarks in the jig I got versus the jig in the video, and they told me they increased the number in order to make shallower passes and extend the life of the endmill, meaning more lowers per bit.
If you’ve ever had a thought about finishing 80% AR-15 receivers, let me assure you, if I can do it, anyone can. And you can’t go wrong with 5D Tactical’s AR-15 jig.
The mysteries surrounding this COVID-19 pandemic just keep getting deeper and deeper. When you catch a virus, you are not supposed to test positive, fully recover and test negative, and then some time later start testing positive again. But this is actually happening in an alarming number of cases, and scientists are absolutely baffled by this. The information that I am about to share with you is quite disturbing, and hopefully scientists will eventually be able to explain to us precisely why this is taking place.
On Monday, headlines all over the globe breathlessly declared that 51 coronavirus patients in the South Korean city of Daegu had “tested positive again” after supposedly fully recovering…
FEARS have been raised that the coronavirus may be able to remain in the body and “reactivate” later after 51 recovered patients tested positive again.
The patients, from the city of Daegu, South Korea, had all spent time in quarantine while recovering from the virus, but were diagnosed again within days of being released.
At this point, nobody knows how to explain this.
Could it be possible that the tests were faulty?
Could it be possible that these patients became infected a second time?
The researchers that studied these patients are rejecting both of those explanations and instead are floating the theory that the virus “reactivated” in these particular victims…
The 51 cases were identified as part of a study conducted in Daegu, the epicentre of the outbreak in South Korea, by a team of epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The center said it did not believe the patients had been reinfected, but that the virus had remained at undetectable levels in their cells and later “reactivated”.
But of course the truth is that they don’t really know why this is happening.
And similar cases have been popping up all over China for quite some time. In fact, “second-time infections” have been documented “in many regions”…
As China releases more patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, there are an increasing number who are testing positive for the second time. The State Council ’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism said last Saturday that second-time infections have been reported in many regions, including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital city.
Needless to say, it is likely to have a tremendous impact on public policy if scientists are able to confirm that “second-time infections” can happen very rapidly following a full recovery, and so it is absolutely imperative that scientists get to the bottom of this mystery as rapidly at possible.
So far, researchers in China are reporting that “between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected” shortly after fully recovering from the virus. The following comes from Fox News…
As many as 10% of recovered coronavirus patients in China tested positive again after being discharged from the hospital, according to a report.
Doctors on the front lines of the outbreak in Wuhan, China — where the virus emerged — reported that between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected with the illness, though it’s unclear whether they were contagious the second time, the South China Morning Post reported.
In the western world, there has been a lot of talk about how it will be “safe” for those that have had the virus to go back to work once they recover because of the immunity that they will have supposedly acquired.
But that may not be a safe assumption to make.
This virus appears to behave very unusually, and making a wrong choice can be the difference between life and death.
In one very alarming case in Wuhan, China, a 36-year-old man that became a confirmed coronavirus case was admitted to the hospital on February 12th. Two weeks later he was released after he was deemed to have “fully recovered”, but that was not the end of the story…
A 36-year-old man has died of respiratory failure in Wuhan, five days after being discharged from one of the makeshift hospitals built to contain the outbreak, according to a report by Shanghai-based news portal The Paper.
The report, which was later removed, said Li Liang had been admitted to the hospital – built to treat patients with mild and moderate symptoms – on February 12, according to his wife, surnamed Mei. He was discharged two weeks later with instructions to stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days.
On March 2nd, Li Liang died, and the death certificate clearly stated that COVID-19 was the cause.
But that wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to have made a complete recovery.
Something isn’t adding up.
Hopefully our scientists will be able to unravel this mystery very soon, because the death toll is rapidly rising.
The very first coronavirus death in the United States happened on February 29th, and now here we are just over a month later and more than 10,000 Americans have perished…
There were 10,335 deaths as of Monday afternoon, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard, which tracks the numbers.
That total surpasses the number of battle deaths from six U.S. wars combined, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA data says a total of 9,961 soldiers died on the battlefield during these six wars: The American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
This pandemic has escalated so dramatically in the U.S. that nearly the entire nation is currently shut down and creepy drones that are barking orders to “maintain social distancing” are hovering over parks in New York City…
Our society has been fundamentally transformed in just a matter of weeks by this pandemic, and many believe that our problems have just begun.
But at this moment there is a lot of optimism in America because the numbers are not growing quite as rapidly as they were last month.
That is definitely a promising sign, but it is only happening because most people are confined to their homes right now.
Once people start resuming their normal activities, that will give the virus a lot more opportunities to spread, and we shall see what happens at that point.
Hopefully these mysteries surrounding COVID-19 can quickly be resolved, because it looks like we will be fighting this virus for a long time to come, and we need the best information that we can possibly get.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
There’s no doubt that the Coronavirus and COVID-19 are having an affect on what used to be a normal life. Hopefully, it’ll soon return to that. For some, anyway.
I happen to fall into one of the high-risk categories due to age and some related health issues, so for the moment I’m holed up with very minimal (physical) contact with the outside world. I honestly don’t know how this will play out.
As you might expect, we’re pretty well stocked on supplies to get us through the near term. As long as I treat everyone on the outside as a “zombie” I need to avoid, I should be OK for awhile.
I just thought I would check in to see how you are all weathering this.
I don’t care if you think it’s “just the flu” or if this is a conspiracy by the Illuminati to impose martial law. That’s not my question.
How are you doing? Comment below.
(Note: unfortunately, the ‘reply’ feature in the comments isn’t working for readers…I can still reply in comments using the site’s admin section. You’ll have to start new replies. We’re still trying to figure this out.)
Approximately ten million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits over the past two weeks. To put that in perspective, the all-time record for a single week before this coronavirus pandemic hit was just 695,000. So needless to say, 6.6 million claims in a single week puts us in uncharted territory. Just check out this chart. We have never seen a week like this before, and we may never see a week quite this bad again. Of course millions more jobs will be lost in the months ahead as this pandemic stretches on, but it is hard to imagine another spike like we just had. When you add the last two weeks together, somewhere around 10 million Americans have filed new unemployment claims during that time period…
The torrent of Americans filing for unemployment insurance skyrocketed last week as more than 6.6 million new claims were filed, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That brings to 10 million the total Americans who filed over the past two weeks.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 3.1 million for last week, one week after 3.3 million filings in the first wave of what has been a record-shattering swelling of the jobless ranks. The previous week’s total was revised higher by 24,000.
As I have documented repeatedly in my articles, survey after survey has shown that most Americans were living paycheck to paycheck even during the “good times”.
Now that those paychecks aren’t coming in anymore for millions of Americans, a lot of bills aren’t going to get paid.
Just like we witnessed in 2008, mortgage defaults are about to skyrocket, and Wall Street is bracing for the worst…
Borrowers who lost income from the coronavirus, which is already a skyrocketing number as the 10 million new jobless claims in the past two weeks attests, can ask to skip payments for as many as 180 days at a time on federally backed mortgages, and avoid penalties and a hit to their credit scores. But as Bloomberg notes, it’s not a payment holiday and eventually homeowners they’ll have to make it all up.
According to estimates by Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi, as many as 30% of Americans with home loans – about 15 million households – could stop paying if the U.S. economy remains closed through the summer or beyond.
As I noted yesterday, the St. Louis Fed expects the unemployment rate to eventually hit 32 percent. That won’t happen immediately, but if we do get there it will be worse than anything that we witnessed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Because of all the shutdowns that have been instituted nationwide, economic activity has already dropped to levels that we have never seen before in our entire history.
The Domestic Box office (movie theaters) brought in a whopping $5,179 for the week of Mar 20-26. Down 100% from $204,193,406 the same week a year ago… These numbers are just incredible.
And even once all the “shelter-in-place” orders have finally been lifted, a substantial portion of the population will not want to go to movie theaters anymore due to fear of catching the virus.
Many movie theaters that have closed down will simply never open up again.
Another thing that has really surprised me is how rapidly many Americans have run out of food. A Daily Mail article that documented a line of vehicles a half mile long at a church in Orlando that was giving out food received a lot of attention today…
Today, the hundreds of families flocking to a church parking lot across town from Orlando’s iconic resorts and theme parks are here for a starkly different reason: survival.
‘In the amusement parks, the purpose or the outcome is about having joy or a thrill,’ says mom-of-three Glenda Hernandez, winding down her window to speak with a DailyMail.com reporter.
‘This is about having a child’s belly full for the night or the next couple of nights on whatever they give us.’
How is it possible that so many families are out of food already?
And apparently charities and food banks all over the country are seeing similar surges in demand. Here are just a few examples that were shared by the Guardian…
In Amherst, home to the University of Massachusetts’ largest campus, the pantry distributed 849% more food in March compared with the previous year. The second-largest increase in western Massachusetts was 748% at the Pittsfield Salvation Army pantry.
The Grace Klein community food pantry in Jefferson county, which has the largest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Alabama, provided 5,076 individuals with food boxes last week – a 90% increase on the previous week.
In southern Arizona, demand has doubled, with pantries supplying groceries to 4,000 households every day – double the number supplied in March 2019. “We saw an increase during the federal government shutdown but nothing as rapid, massive or overwhelming as this,” said Michael McDonald, CEO of the Community Food Bank of South Arizona.
If things are this bad already, how much worse will the suffering be a month or two down the road?
Meanwhile, U.S. farmers are facing problems of their own.
Because of all the shutdowns, it has been difficult for farmers to get enough workers into their fields. The following comes from CNN…
April and May are critical planting and harvesting times for many US farmers. They need skilled laborers to work their fields, and a reliable supply chain to deliver their goods. And they don’t have any time to waste.
If farmers can’t find enough workers or if their farming practices are disrupted because of the pandemic, Americans could have less or pricier food this summer. And because international farmers and their supply chains face similar problems, we could receive fewer food imports, potentially limiting supply and driving up prices.
Of course the main thing that is going to drive up prices is the fact that the system is being absolutely flooded with new money. Many Americans have applauded the recent moves by the Federal Reserve, and just about everyone seems thrilled that big government checks are coming, but they won’t be so thrilled when a loaf of bread costs five dollars and a gallon of milk costs ten dollars.
As the virus spreads, many are concerned that it will sweep through low wage communities particularly hard, and that is a huge problem because low wage workers are absolutely vital all along the food chain…
By law, food manufacturers must prevent anyone who is sick or has a communicable disease from handling, processing or preparing food for human consumption. But much of the food supply chain is staffed by low-wage workers, many of them undocumented immigrants with limited ties to health services.
So what are we going to do if there are not enough healthy workers to get our food from the farms to our dinner tables?
The first case of a worker at a major U.S. meat producer testing positive for the virus was reported last week at poultry giant Sanderson Farms Inc. Since then, infections have cropped up everywhere from JBS SA plants in Iowa to Harmony Beef in Alberta.
While scattered factories have closed temporarily or cut output, generally companies are keeping plants running when workers get sick. Rather than shutting entire plants, they’ve focused on identifying areas where infected people have had direct contact.
Fear of the coronavirus is going to paralyze even “essential” industries such as food production.
We are now being told that authorities hope that cases peak in April and that this crisis will hopefully be behind us by June. Let us pray that is true, but what most Americans don’t realize is that this pandemic is just the beginning.
Even before any of us ever heard of “COVID-19”, our world was already descending into madness, but now this pandemic has certainly accelerated things.
Millions of Americans have already lost their jobs, and the days ahead are going to be exceedingly challenging.
This is what an economic collapse looks like, and it is just getting started.
About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.
It figures that the first thing to go in a SHTF situation is the toilet paper. With COVID-19 snaking its way across America—and news stations breathlessly reporting on empty shelves—TP is at the top of most shoppers’ lists. If you’re limiting your grocery runs to reduce the likelihood of exposure, you run the real risk of missing out on this basic staple. You can go to off-the-beaten-path stores, but they might not have it either. So what do you do if your monthly shopping expedition comes after the village hoarder has ransacked the hygiene aisle? For that, we turn to one of the bougiest of concepts: The bidet. Well, a DIY bidet.
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Creating a DIY Bidet
No, I’m not talking about that sink next to toilets in Europe, or one of those multi-button motion-sensor, heated-seat porcelain thrones that you see in luxury penthouses. (Although if you DO have one of those installed in your home already, excellent foresight.) No, what I’m talking about is the backcountry bidet—a simple solution to all your No. 2 needs.
The classic backcountry bidet is a type of squeeze bottle with a long, bent-neck nozzle (such as the BioBidet). However, if you don’t have one of these lying around, it’s easy enough to jerry rig a DIY version. These range from the VERY low-tech (a cup of warm water and your left hand) to more complex prototypes that require a trip to the hardware store (yeah …). But an easier version uses common household materials.
Make Your Bidet
Step 1) Find your bottle. A quick search of my fridge and backpacking pantry resulted in a variety of options. Select your bottle for “squeezability”—Gatorades are probably not the best choice here)—and size. You’ll just have to use your judgement when it comes to size. If you have smaller hands and are relatively, er, efficient, you’d want to select a smaller bottle than someone with quarterback-sized mitts. Some trial and error may be involved.
Step 2) Mark your bottle in a way that is impossible to miss. Duct tape, stickers, whatever you have at hand. The last thing you want is to mistake this bottle for a regular water bottle in the middle of the night.
Step 3) Grab a drill and drill bit; something in the 1/8 to 7/32 range works best. Test to see if your hole is already the correct size. If not, remove the cap, place it on a firm surface, and get drilling.
Step 4) Fill your bottle with water and screw the top back on.
Using Your Bidet
Step 1) After you’ve done the deed (taking your time—a pandemic is no time for a hernia), grab your bottle.
Step 2) Reach underneath and spray front to back (especially important for women and girls). Depending on the size of the bottle you selected, you may need to elevate your carriage some off the throne to get the right angle. Be mindful of the back of the toilet; this was designed for outdoor use, after all. Try to keep your hand out of the way of any splashback, but don’t worry too much about it. We’ve all had lots of practice with the proper technique for washing hands these days.
Step 3) Depending on how much you are trying to conserve toilet paper, you can either grab a square or two of TP to dry off, or let things air out au naturel.
Programming note: Do NOT get fancy and start thinking that you can conserve your home water supply by using urine in your DIY bidet. The uric acid will give you diaper rash.
