There have been occasional posts on modifications and manufacturing of various survival gear. Most recently, over the campfire, the manufacture of alcohol stoves was roasted. (tasty stuff!) I was wondering if there were any out there with experience with manufacturing / field improvising items required for survival? <br><br>Anyone made <br><br>A pack?<br><br>A knife?<br><br>A compass?<br><br>A poncho / tarp?<br>I got these cheap "fox-hole cover" tarps for around $3.00 from Major's surplus and with a little sewing I put sleeves around the edges and grommets in the corners and now I have a nice tarp that would have cost around $20 to buy They are medium wieght nylon with a waterproofing coating. <br><br>A shelter?<br><br>A trap / snare?<br><br>A stove?<br>I made a small version of a hobo stove from a large can of peaches. Doesn't burn too well yet but I continue to work on the air-flow problems. Still starting a fire with spark-lite and spark-lite tinder and fueling it with twigs and punk from the backyard on the day after a rainstorm I was able to boil 16 oz cold water in about 20 min from the time I sparked the tinder. Not great but free. For comparison, trioxane in one of those folding stoves boiled the same water in about 1/3 the time.<br><br>Fire-starters?<br><br>Iodine Containers?<br>I carry my iodine tablets in a half-length polypropylene tube from a Bic Stick pen. Seems to work so far. <br><br>Making stuff is the old-fashioned way of getting stuff cheap. Worked for my Grandfather, father and me so-far.

I made a knife of sorts once. It was no protean hero Rambo forging with finnish maids reciting the Kalevala ! I found a railroad spike and managed to heat and bang it into a semblence of a knife and then file a "edge" of sorts. The spike head made for a nice hammer and I split a billet of wood. I later learned the spikes are indeed made into knives. They have a high manganese content and seem to actually "work harden" under the stress of passing trains.

If you mean expedient and/or in lieu of "store bought" ...yes to all except for the iodine tab container. Still use some of the stuff regularly. Some of the expedient stuff, like using my rain pants for a day pack, are just adaptations for a temporary use.<br><br>I seem to recall seeing those fighting position covers - how did it work out for you?

Tom. major is selling 3 British units@ $13.95 ( 8-4416 catalog #) these are NEW 9'x5' and very nice.

That's where I saw them! Thanks for reminding me!

Brad, Toms query about Kodiak reminded me ( almost regrettably) of one creation. During the winter I scrounged a discarded piece of aircraft duraluminum skin. We fabricated a packing crate framed sled with pull ropes and a cargo net of - what else paracord ( something else I failed to "borrow" in quantity.) We intended to use it for hauling gear over a then rough section of the base, inaccessable to all but foot traffic. My chief ( imagine Spencer Tracey) decided we needed to test it. We dragged it up "OLD WOMAN", the low mountain overlooking the runway. The "test" was an excuse to go tobboganning ;O) It worked! so well, we flew down the slope and in front of our open mouthed C/O preflighting his C-130. My chief thought fast, and we popped proper buttonline salutes as we zoomed past and into the unyielding alders. They were both new englanders and I was soon relegated to being lookout as they reclimbed the mountain.

Here is a homemade stove site you might find useful.

There are to this day many legends told of Coasties who used improvised toboggans on Old Woman. I personally heard some the first time in ~spring of '76. As for myself, I'm one of the thousands who can honestly say that I've almost been flown INTO Old Woman - more than a few times. I think the only thing I never flew to Kodiak in was a USCG egg beater... and Chris, flying there in a single engine Huey wearing inflatable floats is... a memorable experience <grin>... dang, you're getting some of my memories dusted off...<br><br>Like, being an Infantryman wearing a uniform in town... one gets attacked, dragged into bars, and forced to consume "mass quantities" of alcoholic beverages, steak, and crab... I think... it's all kind of hazy... something to do with WWII...

The Photon stoves types work well. Not patient enough to wait 15 hours for the JB Weld to cure? Preheat oven to 200 degrees. When ready, pop various epoxied parts into oven and turn off heat. Make the rest of the parts. Remove epoxied parts from oven - they are "done".

I won the admiration of the pilots, and disgust of my shipmates over one of those old HH-52s. We had one come back in with no hydraulics in the landing gear. My chief literally was yanking on it as the pilot hovered off the deck. They were considering a water landing as the fuel was getting low. I came tearing down in the duty truck with all the mattress' stripped from our barracks on the other side of the Billikin club. The skipper took one look and directed everybody to started grabbing mattresses and sending me to the ready room for more. We built a cradle around the amphibious hull and SLOWLY set her down. We saved the ship, and everybody slept on the floors that night.My next paycheck went into potable redemtion ;O)

The position covers worked well after being hemmed and grommeted they are indestinguishable from the $50 tarps sold by Campmor. The waterproofing used on them is very heavy-duty and makes them somewhat stiff and difficult to work with when sewing. I found that ironing them with a very cool iron (make sure the wife is out of the building and that you use a scouring pad to clean it up when your done) softened this up well with no damage to the waterproofness. They weigh in around 2 lbs when done so they aren't like a siltarp which for the same size sells around $110 and weighs around 9 oz. but then again these will support 18" of dirt piled ontop which I think might be too much for a sil-tarp. For $3 and an enjoyable afternoon improvising with the wives tools (sewing machine, and iron) I managed to get a really durable shelter tarp. If cashflow restrictions are the driving concern then this is a good alternative. <br><br> I did buy these from Majors surplus on the net and I have two more to modify still. Even without the sewing and grommeting they are quite usable and come with stakes and cordage. You could use them as the instructions specify or with some simple veggie-balls you could improvise cord attachment points and make a tent. <br><br>These tarps are carried in my Vehicles and Vest kits. Much better than the tube-tent that they replaced for versatility and durability and a little cheaper actually.<br><br>minime is my alter-ego. Something to do with a failure in the user registration process in the forum software. Chris can explain. In any case I am minime and minime is mebrad. Sorry for the confusion. <br><br>Brad.