A basic tool set? Hand tool bug out bag?

[James Taglienti]

I am intrigued by the basic tool set post. What is a basic tool set?! Is it 10 tools, or 150 tools?

On a lot of survivalist forums they speak of a "bug out bag." This is the backpack you grab when the apocalypse happens. Is there a "bug out tool chest?" IE only what you can carry on foot, somewhat comfortably? If so, what is it? Not that I would be loading jointers into the truck when the world ended, but it's interesting.

Someone asked about a bench. Let's assume that is the first thing you would build. If you were leaving home, on foot, for a new residence that you would build all of the furniture for, what would you bring? Let's say there's a local sawyer nearby.

That would be my basic tool set. The furniture would be stark and utilitarian, possibly unfinished. But you cant inlay and cut decorative chamfers on an end table that isn't there.

[Jim Koepke]

My problem is where to bug out to?

I already live out in the hills. Maybe what I need in case of "bug out time" is a few miles worth of concertina or razor wire. Then we could put it all around the neighborhood to keep the city folk from bugging out up here.

jim

[Rick Rutten]

That is what I was thinking: "Where are going to bug out out to?" A wood working school? The concertina wire is interesting, you would need a game port (for animals not Nintendo) so the city poeple could chase the animals in to you. Kind of like a rural drive though without the gas.

Not so long ago a survialist meant someone that could live off the land. One of the oldest I ever met said all he needed was a knife. With that he could get everything else he needed.

Rick

[Andrew Gibson]

I have always wanted at some point in my life to have the chance to disappear into the woods for a year or 2... or more, and build a cabin and just live.

I think the most important tools would be a crosscut saw (for cutting trees) an axe, hand axe, maybe and adz, a good draw knife or two. A hammer or 2. spoke shave, probably my #5 and #7, a pair of panel saws, and sharpening supplies (that would have to include stones files and saw sets). a couple chisels would be handy as well. A pair of back saws would be a luxury until you had to carry them around the whole time. A shovel.

I riving knife might come in handy. wedges, but you could get away with wooden ones I guess. I wonder if a frame saw for sawing logs into boards might come in handy, but I guess a blade could be carried or made, and a frame would be easy to make up and not worth carrying, so maybe a couple blade blanks would be nice but again not necessary.

Most important 3 tools would be an axe, a shotgun, and a rifle.
Edit, I always have some form of knife in my pocket so I don't even consider that part of the tool kit.
the first thing I will be throwing away is the cell phone, then the bulky plastic remote for the car doors... that gets thrown away, the rest of the keys just get droped :P

[Rick Markham]

I am willing to fight to the death for my Laguna bandsaw :D (and my lie nielsen planes)

I think if there was an apocalyptic situation, my woodworking tools would be the least of my concerns. I have enough to carry for survival, at most I would take an axe, some chisels, and plane irons and a crosscut handsaw used for tree trimming. Honestly I would have a hard time carrying anything more than what I needed for survival, most of my carrying capacity would be burdened with firearms and ammunition. Without food, I don't care what I am sitting on. Furniture is a luxury of modern life, something we take for granted.

As for a basic tool box to carry around, the idea intrigues me, I have no need for such a thing, but I suppose it depends on your purpose. The photo's of large cabinet maker's tool chests (from previous centuries) come to mind first. Those things were huge and I can't imagine them being mobile what so ever. I think largely depend completely at the "task at hand". My guess is the OP of that thread that is being referred to, was asking a "what are the most essential tools do I need" but again, completely dependent on the situation.:D

How's that for not really answering anything!:rolleyes:

[Zach England]

^^^
weirdest thread ever

[James Taglienti]

Whoa

I never insinuated that in an actual bug out bag i would include woodworking equipment. I was trying to draw a parallel.

"Ok, Remington 700?" check.

"Gillie suit?" Check.

"Fore Plane?" Check.

I just wanted to know- what is the core set? What are the bare essentials you need to prepare, dimension, and join wood into a recognizable piece of furniture?

Not trying to plane my way to survival in an apocalypse. Just curious about what we consider "irreplacable."

[steven c newman]

When I was in an Infantry unit, the Supply section had a box. It was called a "pioneer tools" box. Basicly, just the hand tools a "pioneer/sapper" would need in the "field". No power tools were in the box, but just about every kind of hand tool for working wood was. I could go on-line and look it up, IF I can remember the M-##### number that was on it. It did have some hand saws, an axe, a hatchet w/ a "hammer head", a claw hammer, some screw drivers, a couple of chisels ( more for "timber framing") a tape meaure, and a few other items "buried" in there. It had an "inventory list" on the inside of the lid. Just about the size of a "foot locker" , I think.

[Dave Schwarzkopf]

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=storage&item_ID=79170&group_ID=20686&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Of course I'd have to dig deep and bring only the essentials....

[Rick Markham]

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=storage&item_ID=79170&group_ID=20686&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Of course I'd have to dig deep and bring only the essentials....

How is that thing going to protect you from the hoards of Zombies? :D

No in all seriousness, James I didn't actually think thats what you were referring to. It's a hard not to run with the idea though :o

I have a shop full of stuff and sometimes don't feel like I have a "Basic set" of required tools. I would guess my focus would have to be the most useful of handtools, Saws, Chisels, combination square, a block plane, probably a smoothing plane. I honestly don't own a full respectable set of hand tools. I would want a router plane, a mallet, hammer, screwdriver, jack plane, miter box, etc... It would be pretty hard for me to fill up a toolbox of handtools at this point... but I am working on it as fast as I can :D

[Charlie Gummer]

I have frightfully few true hand tools at the moment so I'd be hard pressed to have a choice to make.

Besides, I'm fully embracing the fact that with my luck I'll be one of the first zombies...

Along these lines, has anyone read the S.M. Stirling Emberverse series? The modern world is taken back to medieval times (technologically). VERY good. I went to school at OSU (Corvallis, OR) and part of the series starts in Corvallis. Kinda creepy.

[Dan Karachio]

I have to admit, I bought a water filter and it is ready to go with other camping gear. Not for Armageddon, but power outages and other problems where civilization breaks down. I was in that damn 2004 blackout with my wife miles away and stuck with no way to know she was okay and that was no fun at all. Do you want to be really depressed? Read "The Road."

As for Zombies, don't you have to cut off their head to kill them? If so, perhaps a Lie Nielsen dovetail saw would be a good choice. Now I'm just waiting for someone to tell us the right rake and tpi for zombie necks. It is essentially a cross cut, right?

I remember reading about a guy who went off to live in the woods and became perhaps the ultimate neanderthal and anti technology person around. I believe his brother finally turned him in! Stay with us guys. It's not all bad here! :-)

[Bob Strawn]

Let's look at real and even likely events. A storm, flood, earthquake, or hurricane comes through and does enough damage that the power will be down for a week. You need to be able to fix a window and secure a few things. Maybe you are fine, but a neighbor or your office needs to be dry or secure after roof or other damage. Professionals are either unequipped or busy. A tool set that is dry and able to work without power is not a foolish thing to have.

Here is my answer. (http://toolmakingart.com/2010/04/27/vagabond-tool-rack/)

http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2001%20Lid%20on%20Bucket.JP G
http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2003%20looking%20in%20bucke t%20with%20Jsaws.JPG
http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2006%20saws%20in.JPG

Having a dry, floating, waterproof container with a good general purpose woodworking set that comes out and becomes a convenient tool rack with everything you need easily reached, seen, and put up, seems to me to be a rather nice thing to have handy.

Bob

[Rick Markham]

Bob, enlighten us what ya have in thar! That's a well prepared and thought out kit there. Living here in hurricane land, such a set up is a good idea... as long as it doesn't blow away with the house or float away. :)

[john brenton]

I suppose I shouldn't be putting any links up, but just in case you were feeling like a man...here's a guy that proves you wrong. (and no, its not porno! HA!)

An awesome special I saw on PBS about a guy who said "screw it" and went into solitude:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss

[Rick Markham]

Man, that's an inspiring video! I wish I had the stones to do that, not sure I could stand myself for a whole year though LOL Building the cabin looks like a lot of fun, hard work but fun! Living in complete solitude... not so much. The survival part would be a whole lot less challenging for me than the complete solitude. Being in a place that beautiful it would be hard not being able to share that with someone else.

[john brenton]

The guy went back to the cabin and lived there for another 30 years! It's an interesting story. Apparently he got real sick in WWII and had about six months to sit and ponder life. He did a few things in between then and going to the mountains, but the guy had some serious depth to him. You should see the whole video, it shows just about all the stages in building his cabin in pretty good detail.


Man, that's an inspiring video! I wish I had the stones to do that, not sure I could stand myself for a whole year though LOL Building the cabin looks like a lot of fun, hard work but fun! Living in complete solitude... not so much. The survival part would be a whole lot less challenging for me than the complete solitude. Being in a place that beautiful it would be hard not being able to share that with someone else.

[Bob Strawn]

Bob, enlighten us what ya have in thar! That's a well prepared and thought out kit there. Living here in hurricane land, such a set up is a good idea... as long as it doesn't blow away with the house or float away. :)

Glad to share. I call this the Vagabond Tool Rack, I have tons of details here on my blog entry (http://toolmakingart.com/2010/04/27/vagabond-tool-rack/), but here is the contents,

http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2008%20face%201.JPG

Planes, scissors, spare paracord and barrel locks, a try square, and a scribe.

http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2009%20face%202.JPG

Marking knives, bevel gauge, bevel setter, two chisels, combination square and a sharpie.

http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2010%20face%203.JPG

Four more chisels an aluminum bronze mallet, screwdriver, pencil and strop.


http://toolmakingart.com/images/Tool%20Box/Portable%20Tool%20Rack/Vagabond%20Tool%20Rack%2011%20face%204.JPG

A wooden mallet, scratch awl, lighter, flashlight, knife, and chisel. All that is missing is the cutting gauge.

I wanted a tool rack that I could take with me, so I would stay organized while working. I also wanted to be able to put it away and not worry about rust or dust.



Bob

[Rick Markham]

That's a really neat set up bob. One question, where did you get all the little fasteners that slide on the paracord. I never thought about using them that way... very clever, they serve double duty!

[rick carpenter]

Let's look at real and even likely events. A storm, flood, earthquake, or hurricane comes through ...


That is outstanding, Bob. Something I'll have to do. I'm involved in disaster relief through the Methodist church for much of your general area. We have a tool trailer packed full for emergencies, but an individual kit like yours could be invaluable for the first few unpowered days for anyone. I'm a fan of 5-gal buckets myself. I don't weigh too much that I couldn't use one as a step stool.

I'm just over here in Huntsville.

Rick

[Bob Strawn]

That is outstanding, Bob. Something I'll have to do. I'm involved in disaster relief through the Methodist church for much of your general area. We have a tool trailer packed full for emergencies, but an individual kit like yours could be invaluable for the first few unpowered days for anyone. I'm a fan of 5-gal buckets myself. I don't weigh too much that I couldn't use one as a step stool.

I'm just over here in Huntsville.

Rick


That's a really neat set up bob. One question, where did you get all the little fasteners that slide on the paracord. I never thought about using them that way... very clever, they serve double duty!


Surgical Scrub Hats (http://www.surgicalscrubhats.com/servlet/the-cord-locks%2C-cord-stops-cln-ball-round-toggles/Categories) is the best source that I know of for the cord locks. I like the round ones the best, I have tried a lot of them. The flatter ones have a lower profile, but are iffy on convenience and grip.

It takes about 50 of the cord locks to properly set up a kit like this, so go ahead and order a hundred from her. Because of the length of some tools, I prefer the 6.5 Gallon Buckets. My favorite source is Yankee Containers (http://www.yankeecontainers.com/) but they provide this size in white. I don't actually advise that color as it seems to rot first when left in the sun. Here is the PDF with their prices. (http://www.yankeecontainers.com/Plastic_Pails_Price_List.pdf)

The Gamma Seal Lid (http://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/gammaseals.html) is a must have, they go on easy and they are air tight. The top makes a good chair surface and a good sorting holder for parts, or screws.

This setup is also pretty nice for a mechanics tool set.

The Methodist Church does some great work during emergencies. We are typically out of range of most the events, but my area is prime for emergency shelters. I take the evening shifts at the ISD shelters and am quite aware of the Methodist Church going above and beyond.

Bob

[rick carpenter]

The Methodist Church does some great work during emergencies. We are typically out of range of most the events, but my area is prime for emergency shelters. I take the evening shifts at the ISD shelters and am quite aware of the Methodist Church going above and beyond.

Bob

Don't count yourself out of danger. Ike hit us here in Huntsville at cat 1, not badly, but the eyewall went directly over us. Jasper TX got whacked by Rita. Kudos for your shelter work, you may be busy this season. Bring your vagabond kit with you, you never know when you'll have a power out at a shelter (like we did).

[Bob Strawn]

Don't count yourself out of danger. Ike hit us here in Huntsville at cat 1, not badly, but the eyewall went directly over us. Jasper TX got whacked by Rita. Kudos for your shelter work, you may be busy this season. Bring your vagabond kit with you, you never know when you'll have a power out at a shelter (like we did).

In 61 Carla proved that further North does not mean entirely safe.

Bob

[David Laaneorg]

I know this thread has been dormant for a bit, but I remember reading somewhere (was it FWW, or Woodworking, or ... I don't remember) about the traditional journeymen woodworkers. Apparently they still do it in some places in Europe. The idea is, that you apprentice, then you become a "journeyman" for two years. You pick up and travel around for two years working for room and board, building and fixing things for people (not a factory or business). I remember that they journeymen had a uniform of sorts, a corduroy suit they would wear and would identify them so that people knew what they could do. After your two years, you could then go and work for a master woodworker or start your own business. Anyhow, the point was, they had to carry all of their tools with them. There was a picture of one, and he had a tool roll slung from his shoulder, probably around the size of a bike courier's bag. I don't remember much from the article (dang, I wish I could find it, it's somewhere in the house, just don't know where) but he would carry chisels, and plane blades. The thing being that when he needed a plane, he would just make a new plane body on site, and just take the blades when the time came to move on. I don't remember anything else from the article... if i find it I'll post some more info.

Dave

[James Taglienti]

i'd really enjoy reading that, and it is much more in the vein of what i was trying to provoke when i started the thread. thanks!

[Bill Houghton]

Most of the folks here are making furniture, which provides a place to sit or somewhere to set things or somewhere to store things.

Immediately after the [insert favorite apocalyptic event here], you'll sit on the ground, put your canteen (or brew, if you managed to bring some) on the nearest rock, and store things in duffle bags.

Next stage will be building shelter, with shelves providing storage, and limited chairs - beds are more important, probably, and would mainly consist of something to get you off the ground a little and away from moisture and ground-level bugs and beasties.

Furniture, of the type discussed here, is a LONG way down the line.

So the bug out bags would include a lot of tools not used in furnituremaking, many of them probably not even in the inventory in a lot of shops. I recall Eric Sloane used to argue that what you needed in the woods was a good axe and a good knife, with everything else being a luxury.

It is true that the denizens of this board would be bettah off than those who rely on power tools only, both because power tools weigh more and because it's really hard to carry electricity in a bucket.

[Jerome Hanby]

I'd watch that Alone in the Wilderness documentary/movie and take notes. Don't think you can bug out to a greater extreme than he did and while he didn't have to carry everything untold miles on his back, he did have to haul it from where the plane could land to his cabin site...

I noticed the usual suspects you would think of for building a log cabin, but he also produced lumber. I noticed at least a block plane and a larger bench plane (maybe a No 5). He had a standard looking hand saw and a bow saw as well as files and what not to sharpen them. I was amazed and the lines he was able to cut. I can't re-saw that well with my bandsaw;).

[Chuck Nickerson]

Back to the original question: since is was James who posed it, my bug-out toolkit would be only my LN keyfob. It's not just a keyfob, it gives one access to secret caches of LN tools stored around the country. James can figure out for himself which Veritas token gains one access to their secret caches of tools. James - save that $25 and you'll be penny-wise, but pound-foolish.

[David Laaneorg]

Oh, another thing I remembered, for the longest time, the only things the early fur traders and natives needed was an ax, a belt knife, and a hook knife. With those, you could make anything you needed quickly and comfortably (including a log cabin and all the furniture you needed inside). Just some more food for thought.

Dave

[James Carmichael]

Much too cool Bob!

In the survivalist vein, that does look like a leather pistol holster on the left-hand side

[David Laaneorg]

Ok, it took a while, but I finally found the article. I was browsing some old Fine Woodworking mags picked up at a garage sale, and found the article I was thinking of, it's in Issue No. 99 March April 1993. Right at the back of the magazine in the Notes and Comments section, on page 108. There's a short article by Jim Toplin about a journeyman from Switzerland. If you don't have access to a copy, I could possibly scan it, but I have a feeling that copywrite issues could be a problem.

Dave

[Eric Brown]

I do some woodwork. Do some learning (ie: make mistakes). Eventually I go to bed. My nightmare is that along comes Roy Underhill with an axe and he finishes my project. Not only doing a better job than I can with all my tools but as fast as Woody Woodpecker too. The fact is I recognize that practice makes perfect and I have a ways to go. People like Roy, Jr Strasil, George Wilson, etc., can all do better woodworking than I.

In a way I also feel sorry for them too. My journey of discovery has no end in sight. While they may learn something new every once in a while it can't possibly match what I am learing now.

So I guess my answer for now would be an axe or hatchet

Just need to practice more.

Eric

[David Keller NC]

This is an ols thread, but I'll give my two cents for what's absolutely "got to have it" tools:

Set of augers
Large coarse tooth cross cut saw
One rip-filed 26" long panel saw
One medium-length rip-filed back saw
Double-Bitted felling axe
Standing ship adze
Broad axe
Set of firmer chisels
Set of large gouges
A fore and jointer plane
sharpening supplies
Nails - several pounds of all sizes
12 oz hammer
Rope

And of course - a 50 cal Barret bolt-action, a 30 cal lever-action, and a 22 cal ruger long pistol. (and ammo to with the above). :D

The Dick Preonneke film is neat, but unfortunately things odn't always turn out that well. If you want an alternative take, rent a more recent movie based on a true story "Into the Wild"

[David Laaneorg]

Some more info about journeymen:

http://greenwood-carving.blogspot.com/2010/07/german-journeyman.html

Enjoy!