macguyver your way out of survival

There is obscene amount of technological wonder around you that if you knew what it was/ how it worked you can rebuild civilization from a scrapyard.

Take for instance the pennies in your pocket. Most one cent pieces minted these days in the usa is composed of pure metallic zinc with a copper sheath. With make ZA-8 alloy

from 199 zinc pennies and three copper pennies. melt them on a pan and you have a alloy that is almost stiff as steel.

You can can even make a battery out of pennies lemons and copper wire. Sand off the copper plating and solder copper wire to the zinc and copper pennies.

Salt is another very useful macguyver item. Chemically salt is composed of sodium and chlorine. when salt is electrolyzed in water using carbon electrodes from batteries you can make explosives and bleach. the reaction will make bleach at cold temperatures and sodium chlorate at high temperatures.

lets add to the thread of similar hacks you can do from junk found on the ground.

I once made coffee from a tshirt and a boiling pan.
No really though, I can machine items and do the mechanical but once it gets too deep into the chemistry or rudimentary electrical i get lost.
But I can make the hardware!

Originally posted by pellian
... melt them on a pan and you have a alloy that is almost stiff as steel.

Anyone who feels the desire to actually try this should be aware that the zinc fumes given off during this melting are DEADLY, so appropriate ventilation should be provided.

But of a discussion here about this process. Seems you need about 2000 F degrees in order to get a good alloy.
backyardmetalcasting

Dont think my little homemade propane forge would do that.

reply to post by alfa1


I know that whem you hit the zinc pennies with an oxy/acetylene cutting torch, they hit the flashpoint and sparkle real pretty.
I think i saw the vid on a DIY site but it was a kid in his backyard and he made a forge in the mud, pretty impressive.
I think he used a hairdryer for the forced air.
Here it is.

You can make air smell bad by just using beans and time.

Ok seriously: You can build a nice water purifier by using a pipe filled with fine sand in the upper half and activated carbon powder in the lower half of it. Will eliminate 95%-99% of toxic waste products. In a worst case scenario you could make activated carbon powder from charcoal yourself. Here's how

Since even the most inguyverous of all Mcguyvers will need to find a water source within three days after TSHTF .. otherwise a gazillion swiss army knives and a truck load full of duct tape ain't gonna save him.

For all your other needs, don't forget your Multitool:

reply to post by g146541


That's a conspiracy !! You posted a DIY on charcoal while I did the same. And the purpose isn't even closely related O.O

Spooky.

Scavenging tricks are also good tools to have; making light sources for searching about, being able to [quickly] pick combination locks without a lot of noise, because storage facilities will be a virtual gold mine in a survival situation.

I always thought this was a nifty little trick.



Here's a vid on lock picking.



Here's another nice thing to know if you're in a pinch.

reply to post by Mactire


That second vid was the coolest ever!!!!!
Where's my beer???

I have got to try this NOW!
I wish I knew someone using a padlock right now.

reply to post by pellian


well you could use patio stone walking path disks-- in a campfire to bake a pizza..

how to power a radio with a cactus. Macgyver style..

What You Need
A cactus
A galvanized nail
A small radio
Your MacGyver knife

What You Do
1. Open the radio’s plastic case.
2. Find the power leads. They will be a pair of black
and red wires connected to the battery terminals.
3. Cut the wires away from the battery terminals.
4. Strip the plastic coating from the wires to reveal
the copper inside.
5. Wrap the copper part of the black wire around the
nail.
6. Insert the nail into the cactus.
7. Insert the copper part of the red wire into the
cactus.
8. Turn on the radio. Congratulations! You’re
operating on cactus power.

Why It Works
The cactus acts as a natural battery, providing power to
the radio. Both batteries and cacti contain chemicals
known as electrolytes, which are comprised of charged
particles called ions. The nail and the copper wire
act as electrodes. The chemical reaction between the
electrolyte and the electrodes create electricity, which
makes the radio work.
This trick doesn’t just work with cacti, many other
objects contains electrolytes: lemons, bananas, even
your own body! Of course, this trick only works if the
device you are trying to use does not require too much
electricity. So you’d better not count on cacti to power
that new Margarita Mixer.



Credit:The Unofficial MacGyver
How-to Handbook:
Actual Working Tricks as Seen on TV’s
MacGyver
Revised 2nd Edition
Bret Terrill
and
Greg Dierkers

It puts a diffrent tone to i tune. So if ever you are in the desert know you can listen to music
As Seen in Episode: 018 - Ugly Duckling.

It's from a book but there is a link in the book www.macgyverbookbook.com

Originally posted by mkkkay
how to power a radio with a cactus. Macgyver style..

What You Need
A cactus
A galvanized nail
A small radio
Your MacGyver knife

What You Do
1. Open the radio’s plastic case.
2. Find the power leads. They will be a pair of black
and red wires connected to the battery terminals.
3. Cut the wires away from the battery terminals.
4. Strip the plastic coating from the wires to reveal
the copper inside.
5. Wrap the copper part of the black wire around the
nail.
6. Insert the nail into the cactus.
7. Insert the copper part of the red wire into the
cactus.
8. Turn on the radio. Congratulations! You’re
operating on cactus power.

But your going to need alot of nails. zinc copper only makes 1 volt and radios need 9 volts and decent current. how are you going to muster that? what if you don';t have a cactus?
What about making activated charcoal for water filtration. All you need is a paint can and alot of wood. start a campfire and fill up the paintcan with wood. punch a hole on the top to let out smoke. the wood burns in an oxygen free environment. To activate the charcoal use a metal tube and squeeze water into the hot charcoal. the steam will open up the pores in the charcoal.

What about making activated charcoal for water filtration.

There are many toxins that can get through activated charcoal.

Distillation is the only way

I used activated charcoal to collect gold leached from rock with cyanide.
The activated charcoal will collect the gold but not the cyanide.

The cyanide was left in the solution.