Prepper: Surviving the Tough Times Ahead: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Chapter Six: Food (Additional Resources)

Distribution of Cooked Soup,
after the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake
in Niigata, Japan (ca 2004)
photograph by
Tubbi

Articles:

Backwoods Home Magazine: Vicki Tate - 7 Mistakes of food storage
https://www.backwoodshome.com/7-mistakes-of-food-storage/

Wikipedia - Dutch Oven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven

Cowboy Showcase - Dutch Oven Cooking
https://www.cowboyshowcase.com/dutch-ovens.html

Boy Scout Trail - Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/recipes.asp

North Daykota State University - Food Storage Guide Answers the Question ...
https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/food-nutrition/food-storage-guide-answers-the-question/fn579.pdf

Utah State University -Food Storage in the Home
https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/fn502.pdf

Utah State University - A Management Plan for Home Food Storage
https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/fn500.pdf

Utah State University - Home Storage of Wheat
https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/fn371.pdf

Utah State University - Whole Kernal and Bulgur Wheat
https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/fn356.pdf

Utah State University - Buying a Home Freeze-Dryer: What to Know Before You Go
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2999&context=extension_curall

Members of the Navy Delayed Entry Program,
Recruiters assigned to the Ohio Navy Recruiting District,
members of the Navy parachute team,
and Volunteers and Staff of the Mid-Ohio food
fill boxes at the food bank (ca 2009)
photograph by
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michelle Kapica

Links:

Archive.org - Survival Poaching

'The Dump' - The Scout's Cook Book

Community Resilience, Education, and Training - Prudent Food Storage: Questions and Answers, version 4.0
http://www.ccrettraining.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Food-Storage-FAQ-v4.pdf

Utah State University - Cooking with Food Storage Ingredients: Dry Beans

Utah State University - A Guide to Food Storage for Emergencies

Utah State University - How Old is Too Old?

WHO - Basic Principles for the Preparation of Safe Food for Infants and Young Children
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/67833/WHO_FNU_FOS_96.6.pdf

Whole Grains Council - Cooking Whole Grains
https://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/cooking-whole-grains

Utah State University - Food Storage Cooking School: Use It or Lose It (Jan '99)
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1641&context=extension_histall

Utah State University - Food Storage Cooking School: Use It or Lose It (Jan '00)
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2569&context=extension_histall

Utah State University - Storage of Dry Milk
https://extension.usu.edu/boxelder/ou-files/fn177.pdf

Utah State University - Cooking with Food Storage: Dry Milk
https://extension.usu.edu/duchesne/EZPlug/Uploads/FSC/Cooking_With_Food_Storage/dry_milk.pdf

Cooking on a DIY Wood-Burning Hobo Stove (ca 2015)
photographed by
Frank Behnsen

Videos:

YouTube: Bison Risk Management - Tutorial: Long-term food storage in mylar bags and food grade buckets

YouTube: HORIZONS - How to use a P38 Can Opener

YouTube: Joshua Farnsworth - #1 Best Food Storage Seminar! Wendy DeWitt

YouTube: Guildbrook Farm - How to Start a Prepper Food Pantry

Table of Contents Chapter Seven: Medical

Monday, July 30, 2012

Food Storage Recipes

Dear Preppers and Survivalist,

The Gipson Family saying a prayer before dinner (ca 1974)
photograph by
Jack Corn
Environmental Protection Agency

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2011/06/11/shelf-stable-saturday-swedish-beef-and-rice/

Additional Articles Chapter Six: Food

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Developing Nations

Farmer plowing in Fahrenwalde,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany (ca 2004)
photograph by
Ralf Roletschek/Roletschek.at

Developing Nations
There are certain events, where you and your family might need to get back to basics, so you are going to need resources that you and your family can use with little or no technology, just like the Developing World.

One of these resources is the ...

Better Farming Series
Several decades ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published a series of pamphlets covering a wide range of subjects for developing nations. These manuals were designed to teach the topics basic principals, like raising rabbits.

Links:
The Soil - Better Farming Series 06
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp051e.pdf

The Soil - Better Farming Series 07
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp051e.pdf

Crop Farming - Better Farming Series 07
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp053e.pdf

Animal Husbandry - Better Farming Series 08
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp054e.pdf

Animal Husbandry: Animal Diseases; How Animals Reproduce -- Better Farming Series 09
Removed

The Farm Business Survey -- Better Farming Series 10
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp055e.pdf

Cattle Breeding - Better Farming Series 11
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp056e.pdf

Sheep and Goat Breeding -- Better Farming Series 12
Removed

Keeping Chickens -- Better Farming Series 13
Removed

Farming with Animal Power - Better Farming Series 14
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp057e.pdf

Cereals - Better Farming Series 15
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp058e.pdf

Roots and Tubers - Better Farming Series 16
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp059e.pdf

Groundnuts -- Better Farming Series 17
Removed

Bananas - Better Farming Series 18
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp060e.pdf

Market Gardening -- Better Farming Series 19
Removed

Upland Rice -- Better Farming Series 20
Removed

Wet Paddy or Swamp Rice -- Better Farming Series 21
https://nature-and-farming.blogspot.com/2017/09/better-farming-series-21-wet-paddy-or.html

Cocoa -- Better Farming Series 22
Removed

Coffee -- Better Farming Series 23
Removed

The Oil Palm -- Better Farming Series 24
http://www.fao.org/3/T0309E/T0309E00.htm

The Rubber Tree -- Better Farming Series 25
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp061e.pdf

The Modern Farm Business - Better Farming Series 26
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp062e.pdf

FreshWater Fish Farming - Better Farming Series 27
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp063e.pdf

Water - Better Farming Series 28
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp064e.pdf

Freshwater Fish Farming - Better Farming Series 29
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp065e.pdf

Better Freshwater Fish Farming - Better Farming Series 30
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp066e.pdf

Biogas - Better Farming Series 31
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp067e.pdf

Biogas 2 - Better Farming Series 32
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp068e.pdf

Farming Snails 1 - Better Farming Series 33 - Farming Snails 1
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp069e.pdf

Farming Snails 2 - Better Farming Series 34 -
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp070e.pdf

Better Freshwater Fish Farming - Better Farming Series 35 -
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp071e.pdf
Raising Rabbits 1 - Better Farming Series 36 -
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp072e.pdf

Raising Rabbits 2 - Better Farming Series 37
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp073e.pdf

Better Freshwater Fish Farming - Better Farming Series 38
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp074e.pdf

Raising Ducks 1 - Better Farming Series 39
http://ftpmirror.your.org/pub/misc/cd3wd/1004/_ag_better_farming_39_ducks_1_unfao_en_lp_104480_.pdf

Using Fodder from Trees and Shrubs to Feed Livestock in the Tropics - Better Farming Series 42
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp075e.pdf

Feeding Animals on Straw -- Better Farming Series 43
Removed

Processing of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes for Animal Feeding - Better Farming Series 44
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp076e.pdf

Multinutrient Block Handbook -- Better Farming Series 45
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp077e.pdf

Use of Cassava and Sweet Potatoes in Animal Feeding -- Better Farming Series 46
http://www.fao.org/3/a-bp078e.pdf

Becoming a Food Producer

Picking Apples in the Old Orchard at Kfar Masaryk (ca 1950)
source
Kfar Masaryk Archive

Lastly or firstly, you and your family (if you decide to) want to become food producers. You don't have to produce all your food, just some of it. The more food that you and your family produce; the more independent you may be during an emergency.

One way of of producing some of your own food is to plant fruit trees in your yard. My family and I are lucky; we live on an over-sized lot in the suburbs. We have five fruit trees (three pears and two cherries) in a very small orchard in the backyard. Most folks won't have room for this; however, they will have room for two or three fruit trees spread around the yard.

Instead of the two oak trees in the front yard, you can plant two apples trees, instead.

Another way is to plant a fence-row fruit like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or ... alone the fence you share with your neighbor. This will create a visual barrier between you and your neighbor's yard.

Check with your neighbor first because these fence-row fruits spread by the branches rooting if they hit soil. Your neighbor may not want this on 'their' fence.

Another way is building a small chicken coop or rabbit hutch. Four rabbits or four chickens (hens only) can easily be kept in an average suburban yard. Make sure to check local ordinances or community covenants before starting because it may be against the local code.

The one method we have all heard about is starting a traditional garden.

There are many resources, local and on the internet, to assist you. Some states have "Master Gardner" programs. These folks have a lot of useful knowledge, they are willing to share.

Plus, don't forget the local library. They have many useful books, too.

Next, you need to process your produce. In other words, can your food. Once again there are many resources on the internet and in your local library on canning.

Yeah, I know this post seem to be very short with little information, but how do I tell you to plant something if ...

* I live in Florida and you live in Alaska of vis-a-verse-a

* You live on a 1000 acre farm and I live on an over-sized lot in suburbia or ...

You get the point. You have to learn the answers for your area of the world

Friday, July 27, 2012

Really Long Emergencies

A Warehouse Full of Wheat (ca unk)
source
Oregon State University
Special Collections and Archives

For really long emergencies (many, many months maybe years) you and your family are going to need to store whole foods. Whole food are foods that haven't or barely been processed.

An example is wheat.

For short emergencies (a few weeks) storing flour is o.k. For a year-long emergency, flour will go bad before the end of the year, so you want to store wheat berries. Wheat berries will store for 30 years, if they are packaged correctly. Flour will not.

So how much?

Before I answer that question for my family, I have to tell you that I was born a survivalists. My mother and father were storing water, food, guns/ammo, modifying our family home before my brothers and sisters were born.

So, for my family, we started out with the Mormon Basic Four

365 pounds of Wheat per person
(Some folks say to store less for women and kids. I disagree because my wife works as hard as I do and the kids are going to grow-up within that 30-year shelf life)

140 pounds of Sugar per person

25 pounds of Salt per person

Boxes and Boxes of Rice and Soy Milk
(Only enough for a few months because we aren't big milk drinkers)

and

One multivitamin per family member per day for two years
(The kids get a kid's chewable and my wife and I get a generic-brand)

Next, we added to that food

150 pounds of Enriched Long Grain White Rice per person
(This is the only food, that I know of, that last longer after your process it. Brown rice will only last a few week or months before going rancid)

150 pounds of Various Dried Beans (Black, Chickpea, Small Red, and Red and Brown Lentils, so far)

We are adding more beans and rice as money allows. We will stop buying beans and rice when we have 350 pounds per person in our family.

Next, we are adding to this food.

We are buying freeze dried and dehydrated veggies. We plan to have enough to serve everyone four servings a day for one year when we are finished.

Next, we plan to add to this food.

By buying, storing, and using freeze-dried/dehydrated eggs, textured vegetable protein (TVP), and other long-term food from food storage companies like;

Walton Feed

Honeyville

Safe Castle
(I suggest paying the one-time membership fee to join Safecastle Royal)

Ready-Made Resources

and many others

Lastly, you will have to wait for the next post ; - )

Link:
Family Survivors - LDS Food Storage: Mormon Food Storage
http://familysurvivors.com/lds-food-storage.htm

P.S.
If I link to someone, I usually don't get anything from them unless they're family and these folks aren't family.

Longer Emergencies and Rotating Your Food

Family Having Lunch (ca 2007)
photograph by
Bill Branson

For longer emergencies (more than two-week), you and your family will want a little more variety in your meals. Just like before, all you do is prepare the meal, record the quantity of food needed for the meal, and buy the food at the local market. Lastly, you place this extra food with your other stored food.

Now, you and your family are going to have to rotate this food. If you eat the meals you have stored, you can easily rotate the food.

To rotate the stored food:

First, choose the meal you're planning to eat. Go to the local grocery, buy the food, and bring it home. Next, take this food, you just bought, and take it to your food storage area. (For me and my family, it is in the basement)

Place this new food in the back of the shelf, then take the ingredients (the older food) off the front of the shelf. Take the food from your food storage area (mine is the basement) to the kitchen and make the meal.

This method insures you and your family have fresh food and that you are eating that food.

When my wife decided to become a vegetarian, we had to re-plan our food storage. We redid our menus (taking out the meat and adding new meals) Next, we went to the store and bought the "new" types of food and started using the "new" food in our "new" meals.

Most folks ask if this was/is a big deal because the kids and I still eat meat. It isn't. I add canned meat to our plates after we have cooked the main course. I also do this when the family has eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the last three days.

I like PB & J for about three days straight. On the fourth day, I have to have something different, so we plan for this in our menus. For me, we have a very small canned ham in our food storage. I slice it up and have ham sandwiches for lunch as the kids and my wife eat PB & J, again! Any extra ham is used in the next dinner, so we don't have to refrigerate it.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

It's Not That Easy (Food Storage), Part Two

Todd's Apple Upside-Down Cake
didn't turn out quite as he'd hoped (ca 2009)
photograph by
daryl_mitchell
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

From the last article, you will notice that I stored the dried beans differently then I did the sugar. There is a reason for that. We are having a problem with finishing an entire 5-gallon bucket of food, in a timely manner.

Normally, I'll open a 5-gallon bucket of rice, and we'll cook with the rice. Well, the last time I did that; it took us about one year to eat all that rice. We are also having a problem finishing a 35-pound (5-gallon bucket) of sugar. My wife isn't making as many cookies as she has in the past.

So,

We decided to start packaging some of our long-term food storage in smaller five-pound mylar bags. The smaller bags will allow us to eat our food storage and still keep most of it properly packaged.

But,

There is a down side to this. A five-gallon plastic bucket will hold less food when packed with small bags. Normally, a five-gallon bucket will hold 35 pounds of food, in a big mylar bag. Using the smaller five-pound bags, a five gallon bucket will only hold 25-pounds, a reduction of 10 pounds.

This reduction will increase the storage costs of your food. Instead of ten buckets for 350 pounds of wheat, you will need fourteen buckets. If you're paying $10 for a plastic bucket and lid, your food storage cost will go up $40.

Ouch!

But, there is an advantage to using smaller bags. Food in a smaller bag is easily carried by a child. Plus, it is easier to divey up for trade.

Note:
I disagree with Mr. Rawles about charity. I believe in trade.

I also made a mistake in my last article "It's Not That Easy (Food Storage)" I forgot to mention that I labeled each bag with the type of beans the mylar bag contains.

More later.

Links:
GSIEP - Storing Sugar Using Plastic Buckets
https://prepperstta.blogspot.com/2012/07/storing-sugar-using-plastic-buckets.html

GSIEP - Technical Tuesday: 20 September 2011
http://gsiep.blogspot.com/2011/09/technical-tuesday-20-september-2011.html

Sunday, July 15, 2012

It's Not That Easy (Food Storage)

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

First, I have been working on getting more pictures, and writing a little bit more, for the series of articles titled "It's Not That Easy (Shelter)" but I'm getting a little bit burnt out.

So, I am going to write a couple of articles about food storage.

Before we begin, I need to ask a question.

Are we in the beginning stages of a crisis?

If we are, I want you to get all your food first. Remember, food first. Once you have your food, I want you to buy the mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and plastic buckets to properly store your long-term food storage.

With that said, let's begin.

Gather Your Supplies

For this project, you will need ...

1 - Plastic Bucket or Cardboard Box
2 - Mylar bags
5 - Oxygen Absorbers
1 - pair of Scissors
1 - clothes Iron
25 pounds of dried beans

Time to Think

Next, as always on prepping, you are going to have to make some decisions.

What kind of dried beans are you going to store? Chickpea (Garbanzo), Black (Turtle), Small Red, Green Lentils (Split Pea), Lima, Great Northern, Pinto, Brown Lentil, or ...

What size bag are you going to use? I suggest cutting two big bags into eight smaller bags. Each smaller bag will hold about five pounds of beans.

Lastly, are you going to store your food in plastic buckets or cardboard boxes? Plastic buckets are rugged, but they cost more, up to $10. A cardboard box is easy to find, but mice can chew through it.

Getting to Work

One Plastic Bucket with Lid,
Five Mylar Bags recently cut down,
and
25 pounds of beans

This picture shows the 25 pounds of beans with five small mylar bags (I cut down from two larger bags), and the plastic bucket with lid that will be used to store the bags of dried beans.

At the time of this picture, I did not have any fresh oxygen absorbers, but I sealed the bags anyway then waited for my order of oxygen absorbers to arrive.

Remember, get your food first then the storage material.

Five Pounds of Beans
and One Mylar Bag

The first thing I did was to take five one-pound bags of beans and one smaller mylar bag. I opened each plastic bag and poured the beans into the mylar bag.

Because I wanted to make sure I had 5-pounds in each mylar bag, I kept the plastic bags until the mylar bag was full. Once I checked the number of plastic bags, I filled the next mylar bag.

I'm crazy like that.

After the mylar bags are filled, I add 1 to 2 oxygen absorber then seal the mylar bags using a household iron, set on medium heat.

To seal the bags, I take a bath towel and place it on a hard surface, then place the mylar bag on the towel and iron a 1-inch seam at the very top of the bag.

Once all the bags are sealed, I placed them in a 5-gallon plastic bucket.

Using this method, allows you and your family to store 25-pounds of beans in a plastic bucket.

Update: 12 Nov 2011
I forgot to mention that I write the type of bean, that's in the mylar bag, on the 1-inch seam. This helps identify what's in the mylar bag without opening the bag.

Where to Get Your Supplies
I bought my beans at a local grocery store. The beans were on sell for about 75¢ per pound. My buckets, I buy from a secret source. (They have asked me not to reveal the company's name) Lowe's has food grade plastic buckets for about five dollars. If you can't stand logos on your buckets, US Plastic has appropriate buckets for sale. You can also find food grade buckets for free to cheap at local restaurants and bakeries. The mylar bags and oxygen absorbers I used were purchased from Walton Feed, and/or Nitro-Pak.

Options
The first option is to store your long-term food storage without oxygen absorbers. You can do this, but the shelf life of your food will decrease. Instead of 30 years, the food's shelf life will be reduced to, say, 5 to 8 years.

The next option is to store your food without mylar bags, but the food's shelf life will be reduced even greater, say, 1 to 3 years.

Why so much shorter?

The mylar bags protect the food from moisture and oxygen. Moisture and oxygen will easily go through a plastic bucket. The oxygen absorbers remove the oxygen that oxidizes the food. The absorbers also kills the bugs and microorganisms that destroy your food, in storage.

The third option is to store your food in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers in a cardboard box, (The Latter-day Saints do it this way) but you will have to protect the boxes of food from mice and other varmints.

Lastly, you and your family can place your food in mylar bags and add oxygen absorbers, later, like I did. Just seal a very small seam (about an 1/8 of an inch) at the top of the mylar bag. Once you get your oxygen absorbers, cut the small seam off, add the absorbers, and reseal an 1-inch seam with an iron set on medium heat.

Link:
GSIEP - Technical Tuesday: 20 September 2011
http://gsiep.blogspot.com/2011/09/technical-tuesday-20-september-2011.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Storing Sugar Using Plastic Buckets

Increase in Sugar
and Tea Prices (ca 1905 - 1910)
siurce
London School of Economics
and Political Science

For some reason or another, I can not think of a good opening to this article. At first, I was going to start with: "According to the Latter-day Saints, a year supply of sugar for one person ranges from 35 to 100 pounds," but that opening didn't work very well. So I changed it to: "Sugar in the last few years has doubled in price. Plus, sugar can be stored indefinitely (forever)," but, that didn't work either, so I started writing the article and as you can tell, I still don't have a decent opening.

Materials Needed:
1 - 5-gallon Plastic Bucket with Lid
1 - Mylar Bag
1 - 25 pound bag of Sugar
1 - 10 pound bag of Sugar

Tools Needed:
Clothes Iron
Rubber Mallet
2X4 wrapped with a Bath Towel

Safety Equipment:
Your Brain

First, you will need to gather your supplies and material. In this picture, I have a 25-pound bag and a 10-pound bag of sugar, a 5-gallon plastic bucket with a lid, and a mylar bag.

Next, I take the mylar bag and fold it into a "S" shape before placing it into the bucket. The "S" shape allows the bag to expand to fit the bucket as the mylar bag fills with sugar.

Next, I pour the sugar into the mylar bag.

I pour the 10-pound bag of sugar into the mylar bag then the 25-pound bag of sugar. I do it this way because it is easier to control a 10-pound bag (Imagine juggling to hold the bag open as you pour the sugar into the bag without spilling any) Plus, this allows me to shake the bucket to shift the sugar, so it spreads the mylar bag open to make pouring the 25-pound bag of sugar a whole lot easier.

Once, all of the sugar has been poured into the bag; I shake and roll the bucket to compact the sugar. Next, I take a clean dry towel and wipe the top inside edge of the mylar bag. (Both of these steps are important)

Next, I take a short piece of wood wrapped in a towel and place it on the edge of the bucket. I fold the edge over, and with an iron set on medium-high, I iron the edge of the mylar bag.

I leave a small opening, at one of the corners, to suck some of the air out of the bag. (another important step)

Once I remove the excess air, I seal the bag and iron a 2-inch seam. Now, I make sure that I seal the mylar bag at the very top because I can reseal the bag if I have to open it for some reason.

Next, I use a permanent marker and print on the seam "Sugar." Next, I fold the bag over making sure all of the bag is inside the bucket (This is real easy, if you remembered to suck most of the air out of the bag) and put the lid on using a rubber mallet. After the lid goes on, I print the contents of the bucket and how much is in the bucket.

Next, I place a label on the bucket's side. The label has the contents, weight, the date it was packaged, and the best used by date.

Yep, this picture shows a bucket that was packed back in 2007.

Lastly, this method can be used for any long-term storage of basic food such wheat, rice, and/or beans, but you will need oxygen absorbers to insure a long shelf-life.

OK. Really lastly. I store the filled bucket in a cool dry place, on pallets.

As always, there are pictures and things I wanted to say that don't fit into the article.

To the right is a picture of the mylar bag with the edge folder over the towel with the seam ironed almost to the corner, and the excess air sucked out of the bag, just before I sealed the bag completely.

Yeah, for some reason the picture didn't upload the way I wanted it to, but you get the idea.

This is a close-up of the 2-inch seal with the corner still unsealed.

To suck the air out of the bag, I stick my finger in the bag and make a opening (like a tube) all the way to the sugar then I put my mouth on the opening and suck the air out.

Now, don't suck too hard because you'll suck-up some sugar. Plus, don't slobber because you want the sugar to stay clean/dry.

Here is a side view with the towel wrapped 2X4 laying on the top of the bucket and the just sealed mylar bag.

Lastly, this picture illustrates how tall the mylar bag is compared to the 5-gallon plastic bucket before filling with sugar. Trust me, you will need all of that excess length once you start filling the mylar bag with your long-term food.

Finally, instead of buying a 50-pound bag of sugar, I buy a 25-pound and a 10-pound bag of sugar because a 5-gallon bucket will only hold 35-pounds of sugar. Trust me, again. I tried to fit more sugar in the bucket; It didn't end well. Plus, it's easier to track how much sugar you have put in the bucket.

My suppliers are:
* mylar bags and oxygen absorbers - Walton Feed. A good company with competitive prices

* sugar - Costco, and/or a local grocery store

* plastic buckets - Sorry, it's a secret, but United States Plastic is an internet source that I have used in the past.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Building Pallets, Part Two

Welcome Preppers and Survivalist,

Modifying an Existing Pallet

Modifying an existing pallet can be fast and easy if you remember one simple rule.

The rule: Get the Best Pallets You Can Find.

You can find pallets at many places. I have had lots of luck at local lumber yards, home improvement places, and local paint stores. If these folks don't have any pallets, when you visit, always ask if they will have some in the future or if they know anybody that has some pallets.

Be warned. Some folks might ask you to pay for the pallets; I had to pay 25¢ per pallet, one time. All the other times, people are happy to give them to me for free.

OK. You have the best pallet or pallets; you can find, in town.

The next thing you want to do is review your plan because you plan determines how you will need to modify the pallet to fit your needs.

For this article, I will be doing a pallet modification to fit under two shelves; I built a few articles, ago.

So, I need a pallet that will fit a 48 inch wide space that is 24 inches deep. Nope, I really need a 45 inch wide pallet because the shelf's legs make the space 45 inches wide [48 inches - 3 inches (two 1 1/2 inch legs) = 45 inches]

But I have a problem, I can only find 41 inch wide pallets that are 48 inches deep, in my area. Oh well, I will have to settle for 41 inch wide pallets because that's all I can get around here.

Back to the plan.

Since I need two 24 inch deep pallets, I am going to slit the pallet in half. You will notice in the picture to the right that one of the top deck boards (slats) are going to be in the way, so it will have to be removed.

When I remove a slat, I want to be careful.

Now, I have tried removing slats a bunch of different ways. (Hitting the slat on the back to pop the nail, prying up on the slat to pop the nail, carefully digging the nail out to pull the nail out, and ...) Most of the time, I ended up splitting the slat. Sometimes, I would end up breaking the slat making it useless. Until, I discovered a method that gave me consistent success.

This method requires a claw hammer with straight claws and a rubber mallet. First, starting on one end of the slat, position the claw hammer, so when you hit the hammer with the rubber mallet, you knock the claws under the wood. Next, you work the claws under the wood by hitting the claw hammer with the rubber mallet. Hit the hammer pretty hard with the rubber mallet. Next, hit it a few more times then move the hammer to the other side. Do the same until the slat moves. (You might jam the claws under the wooden slat, don't worry, just hit the hammer in the opposite direction)

Next, you move to the middle set of nails and do the same thing. Once the middle set of nails are loose, you move to the other end. Once all the nails are loose, on that slat, pry the slat up with the claw hammer. There should be no problem and the slat should be in good shape.

Make sure, you use a rubber mallet because a metal hammer may chip or shatter if hit with another metal hammer.

Once all the slats were removed that I needed removed, I was ready to cut the pallet into two pieces.

To cut the pallet in two, I measured and marked all three stringers. For these cuts, I used a circular saw. (You can use a handsaw; it will just take a little more time and effort) Next, I cut one of the outside stringers. To cut the outside stringers, I put the pallet on end and cut the stringer. I turned the pallet over and cut the other stringer.

Lastly, I set the pallet down, just like normal, and cut the middle stringer. Turn the pallet over (the cut won't go all the way through) then cut the other side of the middle stringer.

OK. I was lucky and this pallet had to have two stingers removed, so I then nailed one slat to each smaller pallet and ta da. I have two pallets 24 inches deep and 41 inches wide.

The picture above, shows the almost finished pallets with all of the tools and safety gear, except my brain and safety glasses, that I used on this project.

Back to the project.

I say almost finished; the small pallets are unstable. It seems the bottom deckboards are too close to the middle, so off they come.

To be attached, at the end of the stringer. Just like the other bottom deckboards.

Now, all I do is turn them over and place the pallets under each shelf, and start loading it up with supplies.

Lastly, this was a simple modification. I didn't have to change the distance between each slat; take a slat off of one pallet and put it on another pallet; or replace one of the stringers because it was broken, or ...

But, with a little imagination and the basics introduced in this article, you can now handle most problems modifying a pallet and modify pallets to fit most of your needs.

Tools Needed:
Saw, curricular or hand
Extension Cord if using circular saw
Claw Hammer with straight claws
Rubber Mallet

Safety Equipment:
Hearing Protection
Eye Protection
Your Brain

Links:
Robbins Resource Management - Pallet Parts Terminology
http://rrmgtonline.com/pallet-parts.php
Scroll down to "Stringer Design"

Safety Xchange - Pallet Hazards and How to Control Them
http://www.safetyxchange.org/health-safety/pallet-hazards-control