Home made equipment 2/ 5
Jim Speirs
Prescription bottles make good match safes.
Prescription bottles or 35mm file containers make good storage places for
small items.
Grills from old ovens can be used for fire grills, refrigerator shelves
cannot be used as they will release toxic gasses when heated.
A frisbee will add support to paper plates when the plate is place inside
the frisbee.
Make a camp washing machine from a five gallon bucket and a toilet plunger.
Placing a plastic garbage bag over logs in a triangle will create a wash
basin.
Making a slit in a trash bag large enough to let your head through will make
an emergency poncho.
Laundry lint makes good tinder.
Cutting slivers off scrap lumber and heating in the oven to dry out the wood
will produce some very dry tinder. Remember to store in plastic bags for
your next trip. Save candle stubs for fire starters or to use as paraffin
to make other fire starters.
Insulate your backpacking stove from the ground in cold weather with a 6"
X 6" piece of plywood.
Cover the ice in a picnic cooler with foil to help it last longer. Keep the
water in your canteen cooler by wrapping the canteen in foil.
Use foil ring dividers for frying eggs. Put rings in the greased pan and
drop eggs into each ring.
Find it hard to put patches on straight ? Tape them in place first with
two-sided tape. When you are half-way done sewing, remove the tape.
Save a handbook that's getting battered looking by putting on a transparent
contact paper cover.
Run candle stubs along the edge of a saw to help it glide better.
When it comes time to pack up at the end of a camp, a wet toothbrush, face
cloth and bar of soap wrapped in foil won't dampen the other things in your
kit.
To prevent night accidents in camp, use phosphorescent paint to mark the
edges of latrines, the top of corner pegs of tents, etc.
Before starting to sew a tough material like denim or canvas, stick the
needle into a bar of soap. The coating will help the needle slide more
easily through the fabric.
To make sure you don't sew a pocket together while sewing a badge to the
front, slip a jar lid, preferably plastic, into the pocket, then fearlessly
sew away.
To help shed burrs easily, rub the laces of your hiking boots with paraffin
before hitting the trail.
Keep a dry bar of soap in your sleeping bag to combat musty odors which
develop during damp-season camping.
Waxed milk cartons are an excellent source of emergency kindling. Cut cartons
into slivers, wrap a bundle of them in plastic and carry them along in your
pack.
If a Scout has to take medicine, give him a break by letting him suck on an
ice cube to numb his tongue before swallowing the vile stuff.
Ice cubes are handy when you have to remove a splinter from a hand or foot.
Use the ice to numb the area around the splinter before operating.
Make your own insect-repelling candle from an ordinary thick candle. Drill
a 1" deep hole near the wick, fill the whole with citronella and cover it
with melted wax.
When handling evergreens or pine cones, they can remove the sticky sap from
their hands easily if they use baking soda instead of soap to wash.
Water proof matches by dipping them in nail polish.
To prevent batteries from wearing down if a flashlight is accidently nudged
on while you're traveling, put the flashlight batteries in backwards.
Kitchen foil can add extra warmth to your boots. Trace each foot on a piece
of foil and add a 5 cm border. Place the foil inside your boots, shiny side
up so you benefit from radiant heat.
Continued in next message.
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* RoseReader 2.00b P003758: Cats: Proof that eating and sleeping isn't all bad.