Winter Driving Safety Tips

Winter Driving Safety Tips

Winter Driving
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Winter Driving is more than having a 4 wheeled drive or experience in the frozen north.  It is about preparedness, common sense, and looking out for other drivers.  I have seen all manner of accidents caused by winter driving conditions, and know the damage vehicles can do.

When driving in wintry weather:  slow down, stretch the two-second rule to four seconds or more, never use cruise control and know how to use the type of brakes your vehicle has to their maximum safe effect.

9 Winter Driving Safety Tips:

  • Since your battery works harder than ever in the cold, have it professionally checked before winter sets in.
  • Have a professional check your antifreeze for both quantity and quality, but don’t stop there.  Do the same with the rest of your car’s fluids:  oil, transmission, brake, battery, power steering and windshield washer.
  • As for gasoline, keep your tank at least half-full throughout the winter.  Adding gasoline antifreeze directly into the tank may prevent a fuel-line freeze-up.
  • Take a good look at your wiper blades.  A summer’s baking may have left them streaking or otherwise not up to the winter freeze-thaw cycle.
  • One more thing to have done while your car is in a professional’s hands is, of course, have the brakes and exhaust system checked.  Brakes are your last line of defense against becoming stranded; a faulty exhaust system adds to the danger if you do become stranded.
  • Make sure all tires including the spare meet the penny test:  insert a penny into the tread in several places (don’t cheat, either – go for the most worn places!); if you see the top of Lincoln’s head, replace the tire.  You should do this often, but worn tires are especially dangerous in winter driving conditions.
  • Make sure your jack is working and accessible.
  • Speaking of tires, check their pressure often.  When the temperature drops 30 degrees, your tires may lose as much as five pounds of their air pressure – and tires that don’t have enough pressure lose traction.
  • If you have a pick-up or similar vehicle with less rear-end weight, carry a sandbag or other artificial weight – especially important if the vehicle is rear-wheel drive.

 

 

Preparing for Winter

How to Prepare for Winter Weather

Preparing for Winter
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Preparing for winter weather involves more than just buying salt and hot chocolate.

Stock up on non-perishables, like canned goods, and make sure you have adequate medical supplies and prescriptions.

I have worked winter storms that have wrecked havoc on the unprepared – cold weather can kill – and it can cause accidents that kill and maim.  Just because you have a 4 wheeled drive does not mean you can stop on ice.

Use the Common Sense Steps Below:

  • Know the difference between a weather WATCH and a weather WARNING:  a watch means conditions are right for the event the advisory names and you should be ready to take protective action; a warning means that event is imminent and you should take protective action now.
  • Fill several large containers with water and store them appropriately.
  • Keep flashlights, batteries, candles and matches on hand.
  • Trim trees around the service line(s) entering your home. Keep areas surrounding electrical service equipment clear.
  • If you decide to use a generator or space heater, carefully review and follow all safety procedures in the owners’ manual.  If you’ve lost the owners’ manual, get it replaced.
  • Close off unused rooms to conserve heat. Open curtains and shades to let sunlight in; close them at night.
  • Keep your car’s gasoline tank at least half-full.
  • Tune often to local weather forecasts.
  • If you have special needs, such as life support equipment, be prepared in advance in the event you lose power.

 

How to Build a Homemade Kydex Press

 

Kydex Press
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Being a carry permit holder I have a thing for gun holsters, being a big guy, I spend a lot of time baking sure that my holsters are comfortable and work well with the clothing I wear. Something I have noticed “gun guys” is that we all have a box of old holsters. The majority of holsters I use on a daily basis are either Kydex or combination’s of both leather and Kydex.

That is no surprise when you look at the benefits of Kydex. Its cheap, rugged, non-marring of your gun’s finish, moldable for good retention, smooth for a consistent draw, and does not react to normal temperatures or gun solvents or oils.

You Need a Press to Work with Kydex

If you want to experiment with kydex you need a kydex press – like all my projects, I wanted something cheap and simple to test out before I invested in quality tools – this post’s kydex press is just such a tool.

Being a DIY enthusiast, it did not take me long to want to try my hand at molding Kydex. For those of you that do not know, Kydex is the trade name for a propriety thermoplastic sheet. It’s rigid and strong, but when heated it becomes pliable. Kydex does not have a memory, so that once it has cooled; it retains the shape it was molded to fit. Kydex is not the only plastic compound that has this property.  However, what makes Kydex so useful is that unlike plastics, Kydex doesn’t off gas toxic fumes at forming temperatures.

Tools to Form Kydex

Most people use either an oven or a heat gun. Often I use a goodwill toaster oven.  It really depends on the thickness of the Kydex your working with.  Also the size of the piece your molding will impact on your heat source. Normally I find the oven works best to begin the project, and I use a heat gun to spot heat for adjustments.

Besides a heat source, gloves, and trimming tools, one of the most basic tools to mold Kydex is a press. A Kydex press normally costs from $80 to $180 depending on size, but it is a simple tool that I decided to make one myself.

Simple Homemade Kydex Press

At its simplest a Kydex press is a rigid board with a thick piece of foam glued to it as a base, with top made the same way. The heated Kydex is wrapped around whatever it will sheathe, and then sandwiched between the two pieces and then clamped or weighted heavily until the plastic cools.

I went a little more complicated, as I put a set of hinges to connect the top and bottom pieces. I connected them this way because I plan on making knife sheaths.  At least until I got enough skill to try more complicated gun holsters.  Also, by being connected, it gives me more leverage for clamping.

If I was making a press for larger items like gun holsters I would make modifications.  Either I would not add a hinge, or I would make the hinge adjustable.