How To Improve The Air Quality In Your Home

When it comes to more complex situations like providing oxygen in an enclosed room, you may find that you will still need to bring air in from the outside.

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AWK News 3.14.20: The flow of information is VITAL. Keep up the good fight. Q

AWK News 3.14.20: The flow of information is VITAL. Keep up the good fight. Q

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Coronavirus, Prepping and the Future

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

About 8 weeks ago, we were hearing of a respiratory virus going around China. A short time later, the Chinese government essentially locked down the country in order to help halt the spread of the Coronavirus. If you want to see the latest maps and information on the COVID-19 outbreak, The Johns Hopkins University and Worldometer have near real time information on cases, locations and outcomes.

This isn’t the flu

Emergency room

As a new virus, you have people calling it the next great calamity (which it might be) or “just the flu” (which it definitely is not). While the flu kills tens of thousands annually, it’s also been around a lot longer. COVID-19 is new. So while of the 129,842 people who have/had it, “only” 4,751 have died. That’s 3.6% mortality, versus the 0.1% for the flu. To put into perspective, if we use the flu mortality rate, that is only 130 people dead. A huge difference.

If we assume 40,000 people die from the flu, and the mortality rate is 0.1%, then the number of people with the flu was about 40 million (40,000/0.001). If we take that 40 million and apply the 3.6% mortality rate so far, that is 1,440,000 people dead (40million * .036). Coronavirus lived days on hard surfaces, has a very long incubation time and spreads faster than the flu.

This isn’t just the flu.

Cancel culture

In addition to China, Italy has locked down the country, even closing bars, restaurants and most shops as their death toll rises. Norway is following suit, pretty much shutting down the country until this passes. 

The small local hardware store might be the last place people run, but a great place to find supplies.

And now we find ourselves (U.S.) right in the middle of the chaos. The NBA has suspended the remainder of the season after a player tested positive. Numerous conferences in the U.S., such as SXSW, Facebook F8, and Google Cloud Next ‘20 have been canceled, postponed or switched to online events. Even Coachella has been postponed. Worldwide, several large events, such as the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, have also felt the pain.

I won’t even get into the fights over toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

We’re in it for the long term

Well, it looks like the Coronavirus (aka COVID-19) is here for the long-haul. As a prepper, it’s ironic to see people scrambling to do the things we’ve done for years. And while it’s humorous to poke fun at people making runs on toilet paper and hand sanitizer, it underscores the serious lack of preparation in this country.

I’m from the tail-end of the baby boom generation, and can still remember visiting my maternal grandmother and watching her and my great-grandmother (when she was alive) canning fruits and vegetables. As dairy and hog farmers, they had plenty of meat and dairy. Grandpa was a real handyman, as I’m told, and used whatever he could find to fix things around the farm. Having a farm during the Great Depression teaches you a lot…necessity being the mother of invention, and all that.

Given most people’s financial and living situations…heavy mortgages, rampant consumerism…preparation is often the last thing on people’s minds as they try to live their lives. I read in an article recently about a couple, no kids, who couldn’t scrape together $1,000 cash for part of a downpayment on a home they wanted. Their combined income was well into the six-figures. What do you think the chances are they have 2 months or more food and necessities available?

Preppers are ahead of the curve

tactical bag

So when I read or see stories of people wiping out the toilet paper section, it’s clear they’ve not given any thought to preparation. If the U.S. government imposed Italian-style movement restrictions, a dubious endeavor to begin with, these people would be well set to wipe their butts, but not a lot else. It appears the aftermaths of numerous hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters has taught us nothing, collectively.

I’m hoping that most of our readers have been prepping for some time. But if you’re new to it, here are some resources to get started:

Food:

Pasta and rice don’t take up much space. As long as you’ve water and a way to heat it, you’re good. Even if the Coronavirus causes actual logistical shutdowns, government services such as water, police, fire, power, etc., *should* still operate, albeit at reduced personnel.

Other items you might consider stocking up on are canned and boxed goods, such as vegetables, cereals, trail mixes, etc. You need to get through the next 2-6 months, so you shouldn’t have to worry about it going bad. One caveat: Make sure it’s food you will actually eat. When this blows over, having 5 cases of canned brussel sprouts will do you no good if you hate brussel sprouts.

Health:

Get first aid training. This should be a no-brainer, but many people put it off. Courses in CPR and Stop The Bleed can literally be life savers.

If you can, extend your supply of multivitamins and any prescription meds you may require. If you can, switch your RX medication to 90-day supplies instead of 30-day. If you get sick and can’t leave, or the government imposes internal travel restrictions, running out of medication can be deadly.

Survival

If you live in a major town as I do, then having an everyday carry bag (EDC) can literally be a lifesaver. Also consider a Get Home Bag in case things devolve and you have to abandon your vehicle to make it home. Hopefully it’ll never come to that..but isn’t that why we prep?

The Prepper Journal Archive

Readers of TPJ, continue on with what you’re doing…you’re ahead of the wave. If this situation gets worse, we’ll be OK for a while. 

If you’re looking for a one-stop ‘shop’ of prepper articles, the Prepper Journal Offline Archive maybe just what you’re looking for. It contains all our articles plus 28 military manuals in PDF format. All for only $12.99 (plus any applicable tax).

The post Coronavirus, Prepping and the Future appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of The 6 Most Common Survival Foods

I hope the information provided in this article will help you make a wise choice and help you figure out if your pantry is equipped with the proper food.

from Survivopedia
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Reviewing the 5D Tactical AR Router Jig Pro

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

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 21^st 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 post Reviewing the 5D Tactical AR Router Jig Pro appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

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Short-Term vs. Long-Term Survival

Should things turn out differently than I’m saying, I still have my long-term stockpile to fall back on. I don’t expect to need it, but it’s there if I do.

from Survivopedia
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5 Steps To Survive In The Wild With Nothing

If you want to survive in the wild with nothing, this is what you need to know. Information such as this can be of crucial importance in saving your life.

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