Project Pelican 45 Toboggan Part One

 Time for a new project. This project starts with a stock Pelican Snow Trek 45 toboggan. Recently purchased from a local Canadian Tire store, for about $24, on sale of course. Full price around $40.

The toboggan measures approximately 20" wide by 45" long by 8" tall. Inside dimensions are of course, smaller. Material: Plastic.

 This toboggan is the right size for one person's camping gear. Winter is the time to pull your gear instead of packing it on your back. 

The challenge is, the pull cord on this toboggan is a little on the weanie side. We need to beef it up.

 Off to the local Peavey Mart store to get some hardware. Eye bolt and ring assembly 3/8" x 2 1/2" ($2.69), 2x 1/4"x2" carriage bolts + washers + nuts, sold by the pound ($0.51). Hardware = $3.20 + GST. The plywood was scraps I had in the shed. The outside piece is 5/8" plywood 4" x 6.5" and the inside piece is 3/8 plywood 4" x 5.75".

So, for the first part of this project we are still under $30.

 To prepare the plywood, I drew a centre line put a 3/8" hole at the centre and then put a 1/4" hole 2" above and below the 3/8" hole.

Then I transferred the hole placements to the toboggan.

Note: It is probably best to a fix one bolt and then drill the remaining holes through the toboggan and the inside piece of plywood. I had to drill a second bottom hole through the inside piece of plywood because the holes did not align properly for the bottom carriage bolt to go through. Ooops. My bad. 

Next insert the bolts and snug the plywood together.

It may take more than one tightening to get the plywood tight enough to get the washers on. I was only able to get the small flat washer on the eye bolt on the inside. I still have the large flat washer and lock washer. If in the future the eye bolt needs to be re-tightened I may develop more space and will use the other washers in the future.

Speaking of the future, this toboggan now needs a fabric cover and a harness. I will be making the traces out of 1" tubular webbing, mil-spec with a breaking strength around 2500 lbs. 

Colours to be determined. Red and blue 1" tubular webbing shown in the last pic. 

This modification will not likely be silent, as there is metal on metal contact with the pull ring and the eye bolt, but I was not making a tactical toboggan anyways. 

One of my suppliers sells a 420 denier pack cloth in white and I think that is what the cover will be made from. 

I will try to upload part two in a couple of weeks once I have built the cover. Then I will attach the cover to the toboggan. It will be laced on. Then this toboggan will be ready for a trip to the field.

Until next time.......keep your gear covered!!!

Mountainman.

Link to Part 2: https://mtnmanblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/project-pelican-45-toboggan-part-two.html

Gearing UP! Khukri Machete Sheath

 What do you do when you get a new knife, and the sheath that comes with it is crap??  

One solution, of course, is to not buy the knife to start with. 

The other solution is to build a new sheath.

If you are skilled at working with leather, build a leather sheath.

 I, however, am more comfortable with textile fabrics - like pack cloth, canvas, & Cordura.

So, when I acquired a Khukri Machete from Cold Steel, I was very pleased with my new blade. Not-so-much with the limp, cheap sheath. The included sheath provided the most basic protection to the blade but not much else. Too bad, because I bet that the poor quality of the sheath deters many from buying a very serviceable field knife.

 I decided the best course of action was to build a new sheath. So, I incorporated the required features from the original sheath - open back to allow the curved blade to exit or enter the sheath and went from there. I used 2 layers of 1000 denier Cordura fabric with 1/4" foam sandwiched between. So, in total I have 4 pieces of 1000 denier Cordura and 2 pieces of 1/4" foam - one set for the front panel and one set for the rear panel. Then I used nylon binding tape to finish the edges of the front and rear panels. I then added the webbing and Velcro, before assembling the front to the rear.

The straps, snaps and loop were added last. The lower of the two straps, wraps completely around the sheath to assist in securing the Khukri to a pack that has MOLLE webbing or gear loops.

While not perfect, I am pleased with the finished product.

So, when needed, build your own gear.

Keep you gear covered and ready to go!!

Mountainman.

Basic Shelters

 So, lately I have been thinking about shelter. Let's start with basic tarp shelters. These can be as simple or complicated as you like. 

 At a not-too-long-ago training session with Cub Scouts, we did start to teach basic shelters to the kids. They had a real good time and learned a few things, too.

 The first shelter, on the right, was a 6'x8' tarp anchored to ground on three corners and raised up on the forth corner. This shelter is very good to keep you shelter low and out of the wind, as well as, keeping what little heat you have from having to warm a larger structure. Ideally, you would place a small campfire in front to get a little more warmth.

 This next shelter is a classic tarp lean-to with a front drip shield to keep rain from blowing in the front opening. 

With a small campfire with a reflector wall, this shelter will keep you alive in many rough weather conditions.

The front 1/4 to 1/3 of the tarp is folded over a ridge pole or ridge line to provide a rain deflecting slope. Make sure your fire is beyond the drip zone, so the rain water does not put out your campfire. 

The structure I really wanted to talk about is a woven willow frame shelter. This is a shelter made by tying together supple tree branches to form the frame for your shelter and then securing a tarp over the shelter to make it more water proof. 

For those wanting to setup a bugout location on Crown land - not that I am recommending or endorsing this behaviour - merely suggesting a shelter type that may work well in that situation. I shall continue with the woven willow shelter, some may call it a wicci up (not sure of the real spelling). 

Unlike, the same shelter for emergency purposes where you tye the branches together for a temporary shelter. For a BOL, I would suggest finding a select grove/stand of willow trees to permanently tye together. Determine how large you would like your shelter to be. Bring your tarp to make sure. This process may take 4 to 5 years to get the exact structure you want. You will need fencing or linesman's pliers, pruning shears, loppers, pruning saw and a roll of tye wire. If you want a lean-to style you will be leaving the front open - where your fireplace will be or you may want a traditional wicci up style - which is more domed shaped with a small igloo type door to enter your shelter. You decide. 

You will need at the very least a two trees on a North/South axis and two trees on the East/West axis. Actual compass direction not important. The more trees used the stronger and the better. First make your North/South frame, bend a tree from each direction, hold at the proper height. Have your helper cut a piece of wire and tye the trees together. Depending on the span and the thickness of the trees, you will need 5 to 7 tye points along the frame. 

Next tye the East/West axis frame. This gives you, basically two poles that connect the ground in four points. 

With the remaining trees in the stand/grove tye two more poles - if you have the trees to work with. Southeast to Northwest and Northeast to Southwest. 

Use any other tree in the stand to weave between your now four poles. This may take a season or two to achieve, as the supple, weave-able trees may take a season or two to grow long enough. As I said earlier, it may take 4 to 5 years to get the frame the way you like it. Use the tye wire to anchor the inter-weaved branches in place. 

Now it is decision time again. For the shelter to be truly ready all the trees in the grove/stand that are  in the way of using the shelter need to be removed, via pruning saw, shears or lopper. By removing the extra trees now, others may find and use your shelter. If you don't remove the branches now, when you come to occupy your shelter you may be without the proper tools to remove the undergrowth. You know your area better than me, do what you know is right.

One last point, visit your site as you need to. On each visit weave more and more branches or trees into your shelter frame. In time it will begin to look just like a natural thicket. In fact if you have enough time for this project you can secure your tarp on the inside and the outside will be naturally camouflaged.  If you are working with Alder instead of willow, in time you might not even need a tarp to be weather proof.

I hope this helps some of you out there.

Keep dry and warm,

Mountainman.

The Chuck Box Part II

 Thank you for your patience. The weather finally co-operated on my days off and I was able to snap a few more pics of the Chuck Boxes.

For clarity sake,let me name my Chuck Boxes. The smaller unit I will refer to it as The Pantry. Where as, the larger unit I will refer to it as The Kitchen. 

Dimensions:

The Pantry - 24" Wide x 19" Tall x 18 7/8" Deep

The Kitchen - Lid - 24" Wide x 4 1/4" Tall x 18 1/8" Deep

The Kitchen - Main - 24" Wide x 25" Tall x 19 3/4 " Deep

 The Kitchen Lid is constructed of a 3/4" Plywood top and framed with 1"x3"'s. Inside the lid I fastened 6x 1" cup hooks to hang the utensils and whisks. I then added, two small eye hooks and a short piece of 1/8" bungie cord to hold the untensils in place when the lid is opened or closed. So, far the bungie cord has worked great, the utensils move a bit but they do not fall out nor get in the way of opening or closing the lid.

The top portion of The Kitchen Box is where I store my 2 burner Coleman Stove, this stove is a propane unit. My family prefers this stove to our other Coleman 2 burner that uses white gas/naphtha.

I also have a cast iron griddle that stores on top of the stove. Having enough room up top for more items, I also have plastic wrap, wax paper and tin foil, as well as a couple boxes of matches.

 I did not design nor desire to operate the stove while in the box, for a few reasons. The main reason was cleanliness, food or grease splatter would be difficult to clean from inside the box. The better solution if table space was in short supply would be to operate the stove on top of the closed Kitchen Box. 

You may notice that I have used a strip of piano hinge to attach the lid to the main box of the Kitchen. I believe this makes for a stronger unit, plus it saved me the step of trying to mount two smaller hinge units equidistant from each other. If you missed my first post on the Chuck Boxes, I fully admit to not being a carpenter nor cabinet maker.

One final point, I added the string to keep the lid from opening too far and putting too much strain on the piano hinge.

 In building these two Chuck Box units I found, although heavier, the 3/4" plywood is much easier to work with. There are fewer episodes of the wood splintering, compared to the 1/2" plywood. Just something for you to keep in mind. Also, once the unit is made from 3/4" plywood it is very strong, strong enough that I can stand on the unit if need be. 

The lower unit in the Kitchen is for storage of plates, cups, mugs, bowls, cutlery, kitchen knife set, kettles, pots with lids, cast iron frying pan, picnic table clips, measuring cup and my Coleman lantern. Not currently being stored in the Kitchen at the moment. 

The shelves on the right have an inside span of 11", enough to fit the plates and the cutlery tray. Also these shelves are almost full depth.

The shelves on the left have about a 10" span and have less than 12" in depth, so the Coleman lantern can fit in front for transport to the camping grounds.

The centre spars were made with two pieces because I ran out of 1/2" plywood. Looking back, it was good compromise because it allows light to the back of the shelves.

Note to self, if I make this project again - paint the pieces before assembly!!  My hand and arm could only reach in so far after construction.

 The Pantry. I wanted my kitchen sink to go camping, that would be that grey industrial tub on the top shelf. But, I did not have room for it in the Kitchen Box. I didn't want to make the Kitchen taller, because it would have been harder to load and unload from a vehicle. Solution build another purposeful Chuck Box.

Now that I was committed to a two box system, I had more options and more space to work with. 

First, Del Monte started to pack their fruit in plastic jars that had rings and lids like a Mason Jar. Plastic does shatter when it falls out of the cupboard. I was sold. I started buying Del Monte fruit, so I could have the plastic jars. I made the bottom shelf to fit.

The middle shelf is taller enough for boxes of Quaker instant oatmeal. Not stored in the Pantry in the off season. Currently, the middle shelf is storing empty water bottles for hiking.

During transport, you can see the kitchen sink is also useful to store the clothes pins, pot holders, oven mitts, wash cloths, garbage bags, tea towels and any spare Del Monte jars that did not find a room on the bottom shelf.

You may notice the Pantry Box is longer than my kitchen sink, so to resolve any possible issues of the kitchen sink moving around during transport, I installed a divider, which just happens to be the 

exact width for spice jars!! How lucky can you get. I know what you are thinking, how do you get all those jars out of that skinny hole?? I added a piece of cord, long enough to go there and back again. So, with the cord against the last spice jar, I would slowly add each following spice jar and slowly release tension on the cord. When all the spice jars were inserted a short piece of cord was left hanging out. The get the spice jars out at camp, simply add tension to the cord with a light pull and one by one the spice jars exited their storage place. 

I sure hope these new photos and the exterior dimensions help some of you out there. I never would have thought my original post about Chuck Boxes would have become this popular. Thank you for your interest. 

I am still searching for my original plans, but we had a move of residence from when the Chuck Boxes were built to when I started to write my blog. I have a large ominous black filing cabinet that needs attention, which I keep putting off. I am almost certain, that somewhere inside that cavernous interior I will find my missing plans. 

Until next time, Keep your kitchen tidy and your food secure!!

Mountainman.

Oldschool Blacksmithing

The Foundry at L'Anse aux Meadows

 Once again, it has been too long since my last post. Many apologizes. I know I should go to visit my Chuck boxes and gather dimensions and more photos. The weather has been less than perfect for photos, so I wait.

Another mountainman skill that most should brush up on is blacksmithing. Nothing like the smell of hot coke smoldering in the forge, with a twist of burnt used motor oil in the quenching bath and the ring of the hammer on the anvil creating a new tool or weapon from the raw ingredients from the Earth.

The Blacksmith Shop at L'Anse aux Meadows

 Aghh! And fire made it good!!

During my travels this summer I had the pleasure of visiting many blacksmith shops across the country: L'Anse aux Meadows, Nordstead, Louisbourg, Iona, Fort William, Bar U Ranch, to mention but a few. The most intriguing new discovery for myself was the anvil carried by the Vikings. Unlike the traditional English Anvil with its large footprint to secure it to the wood block the Viking Anvil was a portable anvil, quite light on about 30 - 40 pounds. However, it has a point on the bottom. It was designed to be hammered into the wood block.

The Viking Anvil at Nordstead, NLFD

 So, the Vikings would cut a block to the correct height for the blacksmith and then they would hammer the anvil until it was seated to the perfect height. If the anvil was removed, simple wood wedges were employed to re-secure the anvil to the wood block. A simple, yet ingenious method of making practical and portable tools.

Hard to believe the Vikings were able to secure a supply of iron from the bogs of L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. But, legend has it the Vikings recognized the tell-tale signs of the presence of iron below the peat and with much labour were able to excavate enough "bog iron" to smelt and forge enough nails to repair a damaged long boat. Of course, this repair job took around two years - because they had to build a village to survive the approaching Winter before they could resolve to repair the vessel.

The Twin Single Bellows at L'Anse aux Meadows

The Blacksmith Shop at Fort William, ON

 The top picture is of the foundry, where the "bog iron" was transformed from muddy slime to metal, the slag was discarded on the ground, to impure to even make nails. The iron bars poured at the foundry were then taken to the blacksmith shop and with the aid of the forge and anvil transformed into the 200 to 400 nails required for the repair. The blacksmith shop had a set of twin single bellows to maintain airflow into the simple forge. But, enough heat was generated to heat the iron to a workable temperature.

Compared to the Blacksmith Shop at Fort William, near Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Viking Blacksmith Shop was quite primitive. 

The art of blacksmithing is a dying art. Once one of the most important occupations in a community, it is now merely a hobby for the many who continue to practice the art. The farrier, the blacksmith who builds horsehoes and shoes horses, is a specialty that continues on due to a love people have for their horses. But still, the numbers of farriers doe not grow and someday in the future we may run out of them, too.

As with other specialties of the blacksmith trade/art (swordsmiths, armourers, knifesmiths) there are too few, spread too far apart.

 For those wishing to learn more about this art before it is gone, I highly suggest reading and practicing the lessons taught in Alex W. Bealer's The Art of Blacksmithing available at amazon.com.

Excellent Guide to Start From

 So, keep your fires hot and your hammer ready!

Mountainman.

TTD - Tactical Texting Device (Concept)

 It has been a few days since my last post. Sorry about that. I see interest in my Chuck Box is very high. I will get a part 2 to the Chuck Box posted very soon. Thanks for the interest.

Now, something I have been toying with, in mind at least. A battlefield texting device. With the current popularity of texting and the attention that has been focused on the negative aspects - such as texting while driving. I felt we should look for a positive aspect of a mobile texting device. To which, I believe a battlefield use of this technology would be warranted. If you have ever had to perform OP (Observation Post) duty, with an enemy close by you know what I am talking about. You need to warn the CP (Command Post), however, the enemy is so close even whispering may expose your position. And you are out numbered and surrounded. 

What if, you could send that critical information to the CP without fear of compromising your location. Even better, you could deliver a running update of the enemy progress?? Sounds good, doesn't it.

Even with off-the-shelf technology, you should be able to assemble a Tactical Texting Device (TTD). You need a 4g type texting device with a keyboard. A WiFi packet type modem - that has a USB port to attach a memory device for caching messages. And a Portable or Vehicle 2-way radio that can be connected to the modem.

In an urban environment that has an operational cellular network in place, just use the 4g device on the cellular network. However, should the cellular network fail or does not exist, then use the WiFi ability of the 4g device in combination with the WiFi packet modem and the radio, thus creating a RF (Radio Frequency) Intranet or LAN (Local Area Network.)

I am not a techie, so this is just a concept from where I sit. A concept that should work with existing technology already out there. I just want to share this idea, so someone can take the idea and put it into practice. These devices are small and use very little power, so with the addition of a solar panel and a USB power cell, this concept should be field ready and self-sustaining. Use the solar system to recharge the 4g device, WiFi packet modem and the radio batteries.

If you are setting up any type of bug-out location remember to maintain some type of communication with your OP's. They are your early warning system. If you can achieve this without sound all the better.

Keep your batteries charged,

Mountainman.

May 2014 - UPDATE!!

Forget concept. Digital over radio communication is already happening.

Please follow this link to AmRRON and John Jacob Schmidt's article:

http://www.amrron.com/2014/02/14/digital-communications-a-practical-exercise/

At least using the airwaves does come with a re-occuring monthly bill - like the internet or cable. Just an upfront fee to secure your HAM license. For more info on becoming a HAM radio operator visit: 

http://www.fars.ca/

Remember receiving and having the ability to transmit information during a disaster or emergency is vital to your survival and success.

Mountainman.

 

Long Term Shelter Options

 Long Term Shelter Options

Let's say you want to campout for a long time. More than a week, more than all summer, maybe forever.

Your cute $900 tent from North Face, Mountain Hardware, MSR, whomever may not be your first choice, first because you don't want to leave it behind - someone might steal it!!

So, what are your options? Build a cabin on Crown Land?? Might work, until the Ministry finds it and burns it to the ground. So, you are then seeking a  semi-permanent solution. Cabin-like comfort and tent like portability. 

As you can see by the pictures, cabin tents are making a comeback. Lower down is a white canvas tent with wooden walls, these are the cabin tents of the late 1800's, used by ranchers, prospectors, gold-miners and hunters. The wood walls and floor keep the critters out and the canvas top keeps the weather out and the costs down.

 In my opinion, one of the best features of the cabin tent is the sturdiness. As long as you can keep the canvas tight and no oily fingers touch it, you get to stay dry. Also, these tents are big enough for cots, chairs, tables and even wood stoves. A small wood stove will keep a canvas tent warm even in the winter. The wood floor, makes you think you are in a house not a tent. Put a rug down and it is even more homey! For most canvas wall tents it would be best to have a large tarp strung over top. 1) To keep the water off and 2) to keep the UV rays from harming your home away from home.

Tents are not the only option. An RV can also work. The one pictured to the left has an add-a-room enclosure installed under the awning. This trailer is about 19 feet long and the add-a-room is about 10 feet long. Due to zip-out window covers, this addition is very weather proof. In fact, by adding it you now have another 80 square feet to live in. So, your washroom, kitchen and sleeping quarters are inside and your livingroom is outside. With a small propane or wood heater this setup could do for a year round setup. I would however, suggest that the RV have skirting installed, so, the wind cannot steal all the warmth from underneath the trailer - especially during the winter months.

This RV was setup in a public campsite, probably on a season's long rental agreement. A similar setup in the forest would work well if you had a location that had some form of security to protect it from vandalism when you were away. 

The BBQ is also a great addition to any campsite. When the weather is fine, why cook indoors. There is enough of that during the winter months.

The last pictures are of my wall tent setup a few years back. Yes, I had fun setting up camp, does it show?? Those tiki lamps can be a source of fire hazard, keep a fire extinguisher handy!

With just a tarp over our camp, our cots in the tent we were able to stay comfortable for our week long stay. My wall tent is a wee bit too small to setup as a cabin tent, it is only 8 feet by 10 feet. Enough space for 3 to sleep on cots. But, not much more space to live in. 

However, the addition of the large tarp over top, we had a safe and dry zone outside the tent if and when it rained.

The secret to semi-permanent camps is to keep the canvas tight. If. it can't flap in a breeze it can't get wrecked. 

Keep warm and Dry on your next outing!

Mountainman.