2017 | Page 36 of 37 | Tennessee Gun

13 Jan 2017

New Fence as a Thief Deterrent

After having a lot of small stuff stolen from the land, the thieves graduated to taking something of real value.My dad’s commercial grade backpack blower came up missing when he left the land for the day.

Hopefully the new gate will make it harder.

Now they have to either come from the neighbor’s place or through the woods. – I am working on things to prevent those types of threats also.

Besides my new fence working as a Thief Deterrent, I also have a wireless camera on the way to help with catching them.

Also, I soon hope to have my perimeter fence started, we found all the corners, and I have most of the posts. I still need to clear the brush along the perimeter and get some more gates so that I can access areas when I need them.

Right now, everything of value is locked in the shipping containers, but there are some larger items like the sawmill that are chained up. I don’t feel comfortable with chains as any one low enough to steal would have no problem cutting a chain. I want to set the sawmill trailer back up permanently and take the wheels off.

However, I hope a gate and a camera will do a lot to tell the neighborhood crackheads that there are easier sources of pill money than my place. However, that may be wishful thinking as getting caught is not even a good thief deterrent when the scum is a druggie.

12 Jan 2017

Kitchen DIY: How to Nixtimalize Corn

This project looks deceptively simple, but it is one that I had to try a couple times to get right. I only stuck with it because Nixtamalization is a vital process for people that use corn as a staple food.

This is because the nutrient niacin is unavailable in unprocessed corn, and by cooking dried corn with a strong alkali (nixtamaling it), Niacin becomes available.

Thereby preventing nutrient deficiency diseases like pellagra.

Besides preventing the typical symptoms of pellagra (diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death) this process is how Masa (corn tortillas), hominy, grits, and posole are made.

This makes the process an essential skill for any culture that is based on corn.

Nixtimalization is simply the process of cooking corn with alkaline, which dissolves the hull and improves the nutritional content of the corn.

Ingredients:

2 cups Dried Corn
6 cups Water
2 Tablespoons Calcium Hydroxide

Equipment:

Non-reactive pot (stainless steel, borosilicate glass (pyrex), or an unbroken enameled pot) – Do NOT use aluminum.
Non-Reactive spoon (I use a wood or plastic spoon)

Procedure:

Obtain your Calcium Hydroxide – you could make lye from wood ashes, but I buy mine at the local Hispanic grocery store. It is sold as “Cal” and is normally on a rack with dried peppers and spices.

Mix the corn, water, and cal and put the pot on medim-low.

Slowly bring the mix to a boil (this should take 30-45 minutes). When it boils, remove from heat and let the pot sit overnight.

As the lime chemically alters the corn and the hulls undergo a visible change as well as loosen.

The next day, pour off the cooking liquid and rinse the corn in multiple changes of water.
In a bowl full of water, rub the corn in your hands to loosen the hull
Fill the bowl of corn with water and pour off any pieces of hull that float to the top, then drain.

The dehulled corn is now nixtamilized, it can be ground into Masa flour, or dried and broken up into grits.

Yield:

Approximately 3.5 cups of Corn

Notes:

Masa the corn is ground wet, using the retained water from the cooking as the liquid component. Add water as necessary until the dough begins to form.

Grits are made from dried nixtamilized corn, ground into small rice sized chunks

12 Jan 2017

How to Season and Dry Your Own Wood

Wood may grow on trees, but it’s still expensive, especially for fine woodworkers in the market for high-quality lumber.

Knowing how to season and dry your own wood is the answer. This is an expert’s handbook on finding, processing, seasoning, and drying your own wood.

Designed with the independent crafts-person in mind, it focuses on working with small loads. This is an approach neglected in most other books on this subject. There are tips on sources, as well as on how to select and prepare the wood to bring out the most desired grain patterns. A truly unique resource.

I have lots of trees to cut, and a mill to turn them into lumber, but drying them and preparing them for work takes time. Dry wood is necessary for lumber as it is for burning. A future project of mine is a solar kiln to dry wood. I had planned to turn a shipping container into a kiln, but I found I needed them for tool storage more.

Being able to season and dry your own wood to make lumber is vital to affordable homestead building. This book helps that process immeasurably.

In my experience, and your experience may be different, cutting the wood is much simpler than drying is and preparing it for use.

5 Jan 2017

52 Prepper’s Projects for Parents and Kids

Prepare your child for the unpredictable through 52 prepper projects. Teach them basic outdoors survival skills, first aid, how to create their own “bug-out bag,” and more.

This was a fun book to write, I love trying out DIY Projects, and this time I got to try them out thinking about which ones would be fun and still teach something to my boy.

Some of these projects are age appropriate to little kids, but many are best suited for middle school or older children.

Each project in 52 Prepper’s Projects for Parents and Kids has the reasoning for each project along with a discussion starter at the end of each project.

Its not just about doing something with your children, or even having them do something. The main idea of this book is to teach your kids how to be self reliant and think for themselves.

Unfortunately critical thinking skills and personal responsibility are things that are lacking in out society. This book is meant to help reduce that issue while still being fun and useful.

If you have projects you have done with your kids, even if they aren’t in the book, I would love to hear about them.

3 Jan 2017

Installing an AR 15 Free Float Rail

I wanted to modify my AR-15 so I shot this video as I installed a AR 15 Free Float Rail. I used a Keymod rail, which is a way to attach accessories.

The mounting holes are shaped as a keyhole, so the parts slide in and are tightened.

This allows parts to be installed and removed easily.

Installing a AR 15 Free Float Rail is not complicated. It is relatively straightforward and not a lot of special tools are needed.

It was pretty easy, even easier than building a stripped lower.

You will need a barrel wrench, an action block to hold the receiver, a vise, and a torque wrench.

Yearly Archives: 2017