Friday, September 14, 2018

old humper mill


OLD HUMPER MILL
I’ve often said that sometimes in life you DON’T get screwed and the cheapest item can at times usually be the best.  For instance, the Moro knife.  It is about the best starter/basic carbon steel knife, and the cheapest.  The only thing you can complain about is the sheath, being some God awful plastic contraption which looks like it could only be placed on a string belt.  Now, this CAN be utilized to your advantage.  In the cold weather ( 9 months of the year ) walking the mutt, I can place the sheath in my jacket pocket fliped around so the clip holds the knife upright and just out of sight at the zippered opening.  When it is summer I clip it to the waistband of my shorts, inside.  Placed next to my crotch the knife is invisible with my shirt out.  The sheath sucks as a belt unit but is good for stealth.
*
It used to be true that the best military rifle was the cheapest, a factory refurbished Lee-Enfield rifle at $125 when AR-15’s were going for a grand.  No, Spanky, I do NOT even consider the Mosin-Nagant a contender in the military rifle category.  It was good for one thing and one thing only and that was as a Butter Knife Gun ( the idea of a butter knife is that for 25cents [ now fifty ] you can arm a potential tribal member.  They sharpen it up, and if they can pull off killing an enemy troop with it and capturing his weapon and ammo, he was in ).  The Mosin-Nagant was a terribly designed gun to begin with, not even beginning to be troop friendly, but then the morons made it worse.
*
Look, I’m sorry.  I don’t care who you are, but if you want your gun to blow up in someone’s face, you can’t call yourself a designer.  The rifle had no gas escape vent.  The Enfield and Mauser did.  And they did it for one simple reason.  In the 1890’s, chemical powders and primers were crap ( compared to forty years down the road ).  Primer cups and cartridge cases could rupture regularly.  The vent protected the user.  No vent, no protection.  Should that matter to the survivalist/militiaman?  Only insofar if they ever handloaded or cottage industry manufactured reloading components which I think in theory includes all of them.  The modern steel cased ammo somewhat protected the user, since it did NOT swell upon firing and seal the breech and gases escaped through the bolt, reducing a case rupture down to the danger of a primer failure ( which while not fun was at least not face melting dangerous like an exploding breech ).
*
Anyway.  I can’t imagine who in their right mind would spend the current $300 on a Mosin-Nagant, let alone fifty cents for a crappy steel case round, but you never know.  It needed to be said.  Moving on.  The cheapest water filter might not be THE very bestest, but as far as Safe Enough performance per gallon, it sure enough is.  You can spend $60 on a Katadyn filter element and make a homemade drip filter using one of the best name brands out there to get 13,000 gallons, or you can spend $60 and get THREE filters rated up to 100k gallons each ( you know, because One Is None ).  I have multitudes of each, but I’m trusting Sawyer with my life.
*
The BEST grain grinder is also the cheapest.  Yes, the Victorian mill ( made in Mexico, used to be the famous Corona brand ) is a brute to use.  It is also a brute in that it is built like a tank, meant to be an investment lasting a lifetime ( just beware of rust ).  Since it was designed for corn, it sucks grinding wheat.  You just run it through three times rather than once.  Sure, that sucks.  But it will NEVER fail you.  I have three of them, as well as three cheap Chinese knock-off’s.  But only because I got them on sale at under $20 at the time.  It was too cheap NOT to.  I bought so many because, duh, you don’t store a ton of wheat and just have one grinder for it.  But I doubt I’ll ever need the back-ups, either.  These things are old school design, where you didn’t plan in failure as a business model.
*
Now.  Here is the thing.  I know some of you are too frail to use the Corona.  I get winded doing a three quarters full hopper ( about two cups of flour ).  Remember, three times grinding.  Once through on course ( 3 o’clock ), once medium ( noon ) and once fine ( 9 o’clock ).  7 o’clock is fully closed and you don’t want that.  Metal on metal will put shavings in your flour.  It is like tightening up that bike wheel.  Fully close, then back off slightly.  I’ve gone from grinding twice a week to three times ( or four, depending on consumption ).  I just don’t grind as much at one time and I’m fine on this grinder.  If you can’t even do that, there might still be an alternative manual grinder for you.
*
You might think a motor driven grinder is a good idea, but you just designed the Mosin-Nagant rifle.  Sure, the gun is unaffected in the Artic north, or by unburned powder build up.  It is also unaffected by cleaning and oiling.  It is ALWAYS difficult to load or cycle.  When you motorize something, it will ALWAYS fail.  Your only question is timing.  When you buy a motorized machine, what you are doing is saying “screw my descendants”.  You don’t want them to have a needed tool.  You selfish humper!  Just like with Social Security, isn’t it?  Okay, peace.  I won’t get into that.  I’m trying to be seriously humorous.  Manual tools are your best bet, whenever feasible.  They simply perform better, longer and with less worry. 
*
There is a manual grain grinder that is SOOOO much easier to use than the Corona ( yes, I know it is called Victoria now.  I just told you that.  I’m using the old name because this new grinder I speak of has a very similar name and I’m trying to avoid confusion ).  It is called the Basic Grain Mill by some companies but is also known as the Victorio brand mill.  I had one for Y2k and I think back then it cost $65.  Now it is around $75.  Except through Amazon, where it is $51 with free shipping.  I’ve used this unit and it is much, much easier to use than the Corona. 
*
BUT!!!! And there is always a butt hanging around.  It eats its plastic washers.  You can literally see tiny plastic shavings falling from the washer housing as you are grinding.  So, this is still the preferred manual type grinder.  It is WAY easier to manipulate, a really big plus for the aged and infirm.  It is much lighter and smaller if you are say, stashing a cache of food ( this whole subject crystalized for me as I was thinking on my needed BOL, which is a subject covered elsewhere ).  It ONLY costs $10 more than the Corona.  I’m not recommending them OVER the Corona, I’m saying that they are the next best thing if the Corona is too much tool for you ( just like some folks need to downgrade from a full size thirty cal bolt to a carbine round or semi, as they need a less hard hitting weapon.  Or like how the 357 is too much pistol for a lot of smaller folk.  A 9mm that will hit is better than a 357 that will miss ).
*
Here is the new, lighter, easier to use Victorio on Amazon:
Now, don’t even think about owning this grinder unless you have back-up plastic washers for it.  You need to go to the company that makes them.  No, I have no idea how many you need.  I would keep careful records and see how many pounds you can grind per washer ( I got rid of my unit after just that one hopper of wheat ), then I would double that number of needed washers.  I know this subject was discussed here before, long ago.  So I apologize if there was anything I’ve forgotten, or needs to be repeated by minions using this grinder.  Here is the web page for the washers for sale:
( .Y. )
( today's related link https://amzn.to/2MSGAyp )
*
note: free books.  PC Zombies https://amzn.to/2xegtHG .  PA https://amzn.to/2xhkwCT .  A Ron Foster book  https://amzn.to/2QowfIJ .  Because you can never get enough zombies https://amzn.to/2Oh7sVf .  
*
Please support Bison by buying through the Amazon ad graphics at the top of the page ( or from www.bisonbulk.blogspot.com ). Or PayPal www.paypal.me/jimd303 

*** Unless you are in extreme poverty, spend a buck a month here, by the above donation methods or mail me some cash/check/money order or buy a book. If you don't do Kindle books, send me the money and I'll e-mail it to you in a PDF file.  If you donated, you may request books no charge.  
*** My e-mail is: jimd303@reagan.com  My address is: James M Dakin, 181 W Bullion Rd #12, Elko NV 89801-4184 ***E-Mail me if you want your name added to the weekly e-newsletter subscriber list.
*** Pay your author-no one works for free.  I’m nice enough to publish for barely above Mere Book Money, so do your part.*** junk land under a grand *  Lord Bison* my bio & biblio*   my web site is www.bisonprepper.com *** Wal-Mart wheat***Amazon Author Page
* By the by, all my writing is copyrighted. For the obtuse out there



33 comments:

  1. Ahh, Ron Foster, the Amazon version of an infomercial.

    Although Harbor Freight is scoffed by many, this is another good place to save money if you know what you are doing. Hand tools are pretty safe, as a mechanic, I usually break one wrench out of a set. Which is remarkable because I can break Snap On tools with frightening regular results. Stay away from the power tools, with the exception of the electric impact gun. Any of the mid grade pneumatic tools should be fine, the rest can be a crap shoot.

    The Mosin Nagant was used by a military that used a tactic of arming the lead teams, sending in the backups unarmed and expecting them to pick up a dropped rifle to continue the fight and enforced by a third wave that shot anyone in the second that refused to do their part. I doubt safety even crossed the minds of the Powers That Be back then

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did "pass the dead mans rifle" tactic pertain to WWII or was it also employed in the First? The rifle did show up decades before either. Not that the Czar cared any more about the peasants than the Commissars did.

      Delete
    2. WW2 for sure, not positive how much further back it went. I will try to find out

      Delete
    3. It is hard to dredge up any info on WWI Other Theaters outside the western, other than expensive books or just general undetailed statements, so good luck.

      Delete
    4. Apparently it was taught to them in the Russo-Jap war, later they used it in their revolutionary war during WW1, but not actually against any Axis/Allie power. That had to wait for WW2

      Delete
    5. Thanks, first I had heard of it being earlier than WWII.

      Delete
    6. I love trying to research WW1, just because it is so hard to do. After all, how's does a world war start after some unknown arch Duke gets shot?

      Delete
    7. The newest thing seems to be research that digs a lot deeper than just the catalyst from the assassination. I have one book, The Russian Origins Of WWI. Haven't read it yet, though ( I have a few others but forget the names ). I just like the war because just like with Vietnam, I'm burned out on WWII. And it was the Oil War, which is not as exciting as The Colonial War.

      Delete
    8. The hilarious thing about WWII is that the Soviets only just beat the Germans.

      I'm only just now coming to terms that the UK lost the war as well. Well, they 'won' but it was a Pyrrhic victory they didn't recover from

      Delete
    9. The Soviets only did as well as they did because of our massive equipment and logistics gifts. And the Yanks were the Brits worst enemy, trading imperial concessions for salvation. With friends like these...

      Delete
  2. We like our 'Wonder Junior mill' works well and doesn't have the draw backs of a corn grinder. Tho we also have a Corona for a back up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. $200 seems steep, BUT!, no where near as bad as all those $500 units the yuppie scum gurus pimp. And that electric drill attachment seems like a sweet deal. I would say, although without testing it I can't be certain, this seems like a better investment than dozens of plastic washers. Unless you are too poor, then you have little choice.

      Delete
    2. I think the Wondermill also has an accessory part to grind with foot pedal power. Not that much more if you buy both up front.

      Delete
    3. That sounds rather interesting. Much better than relying on an electric drill.

      Delete
    4. It goes by “bike sprocket attachment” and you can attach the bike chain to the sprocket.

      Delete
  3. Or as the Christian lady where I once worked was fond of saying:

    “Necessity is the motherfucker of invention”.

    Nah, she didn’t really say that :D

    You might consider a bigger crank for the mill, or maybe set up some Rube Goldberg style set up with a bicycle pedal rig, to ease the work load. If you have kids, then there’s your solution. Just wait until after the collapse to avoid the CPS A-holes from getting you on child labor violations.

    Might seem like an ignorant question, but wouldn’t it be easier to just stock flour instead? I’m sure it would cost more, but is it so much more that it wouldn’t be worth it to avoid the added hassle of grinding? Yes, I’m also sure that it doesn’t stay as fresh that way, but you could also vacuum pack it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No matter how you store it, I would NOT recommend whole wheat flour for storage unless it is a minor amount such as a few months worth. And it was constantly rotated. Perhaps in Mason jars if you have the vacuum seal attachment. I've eaten year old ww flour and it didn't kill me, but you are eating rancid oil, just like with brown rice. I'd rather rely on white flour. Less nutrients ( none, really, just calories from starch ), but nothing to get you sick after you are already mega-stressed and suffering from those related ailments. There are no ignorant questions. Ignorant is not asking and acting like you know everything. That is why I ask stupid questions all the time.

      Delete
  4. way back when I had one of those Back to Basic mills.. they had soft brass washers back then.. very soft. you could watch it deform as you ground your wheat. sounds like they have not learned their lesson.

    TMM

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is where the rubber meets the road as far as minion's smarty pants goes. Every single implement or contraption you look at you instinctively assess the failure points and sez to your self how would I have made this P.O.S. better. Also what wear out consumable parts should I source for continuity of the unit. I use a kero lantern as study example: I order in at same time knowing this stuff, a spare globe or two and packs of wicks. This puts the unit's servicability deep into the future and probably past my life cycle, but, it is done. They will name community gathering institutions after you for being the wise one (wise assed as well) to think this shit up and save yer ass and a few other peons that propigate your scribblings. It could and may happen.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just a thought, couldn't those washers for the grinder be substituted for an old copper penny with a hole drilled in it?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yesterdays topic...
    How about hiring your local septic company (Elko has a precast concrete one) to dig a hole on your remote parcel and install a concrete or plastic tank of the dimensions of your choosing? Because, "building soon of course." If you just make sure the manhole is large enough to enter, you can waterproof it, stash it with all your long term goodies, then cover it all over, invisible under ground. Maybe even transplant some sagebrush on top of it or something. Then you can clean up and sell your original lot with the BPOD on it since it seems like it's no longer usable to you with the troublesome neighbors. If anyone decides to follow the road out to the remote parcel, they won't see anything to steal or mess with. If you ever have to bail out of Elko proper, you'd only have to dig down deep enough to reach the top of the manhole cover to access your supplies. With the money from the sale of the BPOD property, you could put in a steel culvert underground/earth sheltered shelter for habitation. Just be sure not to stuff that part full of goodies in case vandals/thieves find it before occupancy is necessary.
    Peace out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might be on to something. I'd have to do some research, but that sounds rather rational and obtainable. Thank you.

      Delete
    2. Good advice from Peace Out Jim. I’ve been looking into dugouts and pithouses in more detail, and at this point in time, I’m thinking that a pithouse would be easier, as well as more concealable. To me, the easiest option would be if you could get a hold of a large corrugated drain pipe (at least 8’ in diameter, and 7’ long) but I do believe that stuff is rather expensive. You could sink the pipe vertically 4’, mound over the remaining 3’, and then all that you have to do is build a roof over the top, along with a trap door. Another option is to bury an old car, and cut out a trap door in the roof. But with the car, it would have to be well sealed; possibly with something such as auto undercoating. You could drag a brush pile over the top for concealment, and anchor it down to prevent it from blowing away.

      For your purposes, you could probably get by with a basic pithouse at your remote land. But I would store all perishables and food stuff in galvanized metal cans to prevent rodent infestation, and make sure that you have good drainage.

      See images below for a basic pithouse. They look quire doable to me, even for the average, no skill person.

      Elko Minion

      http://www.underground-homes.com/images/pithouse.jpg

      http://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/peoples_mesa_verde/images/PI_housing.jpg

      https://duckduckgo.com/?q=pithouses&t=lm&atb=v78-4_b&iax=images&ia=images&iai=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.underground-homes.com%2Fimages%2Fpithouse.jpg

      Delete
    3. My remote land is on the north side hill ( no southern exposure except last half of day ). So I'd build into the side. Not that I can envision doing the work. Gotta do something, though. Sigh.

      Delete
    4. I hear ya. Though I haven’t been to my land yet, from Google Earth it looks to be at a continuous grade, so I will likely have to go with the dugout as well. One thing’s for certain, and that’s that there is no easy way to go earth sheltered; only easier. But whatever is the easiest, cheapest, and most effective way to go about it, I’m going to find it!

      Delete
    5. I remember seeing one video the guy did underground but he crawled in and you couldn't stand up. If you figure that as four feet, in theory you could dig just two to three feet and then mound up the rest. If you really only used it to sleep or get out of the worst weather, it might be the easiest option.

      Delete
    6. Yes, I’ve actually thought about going that route, but decided that it would be really nice to be able to stand up at times. But if I didn’t care about standing up, then partially burying my now defunct Plymouth Voyager mini van, would probably be the easiest option. I might go with a smaller door though; say 3’ or 4’, that you have to crawl through. This would make it more concealable than a full size door, and you could probably anchor a large sage bush in front of it, and conceal it easy enough.

      Originally, I wanted to have a full size earth sheltered home, but reality finally got a hold of me, and now I’ve decided that it will likely be no larger than 8’x8’.

      Delete
    7. That 8x8 is going to be hard enough. Ask me how I know :( Actually, it wasn't close to easy but the easiest was an actual 8x8 hole ( making it a 6x6 if I had place walls up ) by 4 deep for the test pit. I put pallets along the edge to get the dirt stacked up high enough where I could stoop over and crab walk at a total of 5 high. One foot over more on each side, or one more foot down made a HUGE difference.

      Delete
    8. Again as always machine excavation is the way to go. $2k including the fuel was enough for me to excavate a 400ft driveway (into a hillside) and a 50 x 50 opening into the hillside to build my house. If I had a dozen slaves I might get a 1/10th done in same week of time, but running a bobcat is easier than the slaves and both more morally correct and less likely to leave someone around to run their mouth - I am the only one who knows exactly what I dug out (and the NSA satellites of course - but you can fool people who depend on them with 'landslides' that got rid of parts of your excavations...)

      Delete
    9. Too bad you can't use dynamite any more. :)

      Delete
  8. I dug a ten by twelve hole in the ground, no hilly areas on property, by hand with a shovel. Took a couple of weeks. Dug down four feet. Used nine poles 6 to 8 inch in diameter, covered the bottom of the poles with thick plastic bags, sunk those poles 2 feet into holes made with posthole digger. Lined the walls behind the poles first with 6 ml poly then plywood. Put a low pitch shed roof on. Back of pit is 4 foot high, front is 6 feet high. Put a metal roof on. Dug out a door and walk way. Put two foot windows on top front area sticking 2 foot out of ground. It's still standing, no cave in after 12 years. Has kept me warmer in winter. Use it as a cellar that's cool in summer. Had a few floods with torrential rain. Should have done the French drain as suggested in Underground house book. May replace poles that got wet but it's built like a tank and very pleased with it. Cost very little to build with great benefits of stealth and warmth. Would build another if had time. Best little shelter. Put a loft in back with shelves for water under the loft. They never freeze even if below zero a long time if I haven't occupied it. Put in French drains to keep it dry. Worth your time and the few bucks to build.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, no insulation on the roof? And it still stayed warm?

      Delete

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN CLOSED