Improvise and addapt or home made kit?

[Smudge]

I was wondering how many improvise or addapt non bushcraft kit to suit thier purposes? ie: coffee jar from TK Max for billy can (which I was really impressed with and mean to try) or do any of you make your own kit if so what and how long has it lasted?
Im always looking to save a couple of quid when I can and have never believed in spending mega bucks for anything unless I can see no other way (much to my wifes dismay).Alot of the stuff I take out (when I have been able too) is stuff I've had for ages or improvised and I was wondering how many people do this or is it a case of oh i need an Xitem and off to the shops you go?
(Basically I'm nosey and looking to save more penny's)

[Powderburn]

I'm always looking for ways to make kit at little or no expense. :wink: Billy cans from coffee and tomato juice cans, stoves from Coke cans, match safes from plumbing parts, you name it.

Thinking up and making the gear if half the fun, even if the experiments don't always work. 8-)

[Ed]

I think most people here adapt non bushcraft kit.... probably the most poular has to be 'the plastic film canisters' ....famous amongst bushcraft folk.... used for everything from keeping you matches dry to an improvised fishing float.
As for making kit, I made a hammock when I lived in asia.... still going.... just... after nearly 9 years.... looking a bit worse for wear now though.

:-)
Ed

[JakeR]

Not sure how relevent this is, but a good way of getting a fire going with stuff around the house is with iron wool. Throw some sparks onto it, put it into your tinder, and you'll be amazed!

Jake :bu:

[Great Pebble]

Tease it out a bit and short it across the terminals of a battery and you wont even need the sparks.

Nick in Belfast

[Andy]

with the help of my mum (ok my mum with my help) we have made some pockets for my rucsack from some old trousers, they have belt loops from jeans to hold them on. this is because my pack is about 12 years old so i cant get the proper pockets and other pouches cost a bomb. I've also modified a large baked bean tin for a stove. my mum made a head band for my maglite. for mountain bkinga made a front mud guard which got put in MBR

[ally]

been pi**ed off with carrying a wood sawe blade around, never quite goes where you want it to, got hold of some 2'' velcro and some elastic

sew some elastic loops onto one side of the velcro, bung in the blade and afix to your belt of rucksack strap, really easy and cheap

i dont carry a billy can so dont put in there as ray recondmends, add a couple of extra 'loops' sewn lengthwise on the velcro for lighter or what have you

[sargey]

my trusty ultralight dual fuel stove has been going a while now, burner made from coke cans, pot stand and windshield made from bits of a disposable barbeque.

cheers, and.

[Adi007]

I use film pots a lot ... but not for anything I'm gonna stick in my mouth. That silver halide isn't good for you!

Go to anywhere that develop film (quickly before everyone goes digital), they'll give you all you ever need!

I think most people here adapt non bushcraft kit.... probably the most poular has to be 'the plastic film canisters' ....famous amongst bushcraft folk.... used for everything from keeping you matches dry to an improvised fishing float.
As for making kit, I made a hammock when I lived in asia.... still going.... just... after nearly 9 years.... looking a bit worse for wear now though.

:-)
Ed

[Powderburn]

I use film pots a lot ... but not for anything I'm gonna stick in my mouth. That silver halide isn't good for you!

You won't get any from film containers. That is an urban legend. :wink:

Kodak Envirnmental Services: Information on 35 mm Plastic Film Containers
"Newspaper and magazine articles have mentioned "toxic residues" in the containers which might come from the film. There are none. The chemicals in a roll of film are embedded in the gelatin emulsion layers (about as thick as a human hair) and do not rub off the plastic film base.
...
In summary: There are no "toxic residues" in Kodak film containers. Because our film containers are not manufactured to comply with FDA or CPSC requirements, Kodak does not recommend the use of film containers for anything other than their intended manufactured purpose. However, if a customer chooses to use a Kodak film container for other than film storage, the container first should be thoroughly washed with soap and water."

[faca]

I have read that the way to "clean" photograf containers is to fill with salt+water during 24 hours so salt react with toxic residues after that wash with soap and water.
Enjoy

[Adi007]

Urban legend or not, I'd rather not chance it for two reasons ...

First, I used to work a lot with metal salts and know that they aren't that good for you.

Secondly, my brother-in-law used to work for Kodak in film dev (his name is on the Kodak Gold tech patent), and he says that he wouldn't use them for anything you'd eat afterwards. He wasn't talking specifically about Kodak film but he did say that there was more risk of ingesting silver salts from cheaper films. But not only that, older film could leech the salts and if the film was damaged in any way, you again couldn't be sure.

Geletin or not, given how nasty silver halide is, I think I'll pass. If it was a cyanide salt sealed under a geletin layer, no one would chance it!

I use film pots a lot ... but not for anything I'm gonna stick in my mouth. That silver halide isn't good for you!

You won't get any from film containers. That is an urban legend. :wink:

Kodak Envirnmental Services: Information on 35 mm Plastic Film Containers
"Newspaper and magazine articles have mentioned "toxic residues" in the containers which might come from the film. There are none. The chemicals in a roll of film are embedded in the gelatin emulsion layers (about as thick as a human hair) and do not rub off the plastic film base.
...
In summary: There are no "toxic residues" in Kodak film containers. Because our film containers are not manufactured to comply with FDA or CPSC requirements, Kodak does not recommend the use of film containers for anything other than their intended manufactured purpose. However, if a customer chooses to use a Kodak film container for other than film storage, the container first should be thoroughly washed with soap and water."

[Roving Rich]

Tere is NO chance of silver halides contaminating a film cannister. When I was a photography student i even tried burning film,and it remains unaffected. If it leaked silver halides your negs wouldn't last the century or so that they do!
IMPOSSIBLE.
Rich

[maddave]

I have a coke can stove, I made my own 'possibles' pouch and billies/hobo stoves from 5lb coffee cans.....i'm always on the lookout for idea's to make free kit. It's half the fun

The site below gives some ideas for home made kit.

http://www.scoutscan.com/scouts/homemade.html

[Adi007]

In a developed negative the silver halide has been reduced to black silver anyway so there wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it's just me. I'm not saying no one should use film pots for things they are going to eat, just that I'd rather not. :-D

Next time I'm bored I'll have to swab a few pots to see if I can detect the presence of AgBr.

Tere is NO chance of silver halides contaminating a film cannister. When I was a photography student i even tried burning film,and it remains unaffected. If it leaked silver halides your negs wouldn't last the century or so that they do!
IMPOSSIBLE.
Rich

[Smudge]

:shock: keep them ideas comin guys
And thanx for that link Dave a few things there I knew already but and quite a few I didnt ops:
Btw old umbrella's can be made into handy lil bags (as yet nothing's gotten soaked that's been in one)

[ditchfield]

I've also made stoves with old coke cans, for both Esbit and Alcohol. I made a nice pouch for my Leatherman from some trimmed off bits of nylon strap from a rucksac. I also recently made a sheath for a knife out of an old pair of Ben Sherman Leather moccasins :-D.

[RAPPLEBY2000]

i have made loads of stuf mostly in the cloth area:

a 2 layer nylon rip-stop Zootsuit

a SAS type smock with 4 pockets, big buttons, zip, woolen cuffs, hood ect made from 2 US army BDU shirts!( i wish i'd done it in any colour but camo!)

various straps and webbing clips to improve webbing rucksacks ect.

pop riviting pouches to a webbing belt?(don't know if that counts)

i made a sniper smock including scrim(when i was younger :roll: )

made a hood for an M65 jacket.

an alpha tent(poles to convert a USponcho into a dome tent) and also equivilent poles for my UK basha!

made arctic mittens, and an arctic fur hat.

i've been adjusting and fixing for around 15 years!



i still have some projects!!!

a reversable windproof smock sandy brown to green/khaki would be nice with over trousers to match :roll: !

[leon-b]

i use film canisters to keep matches, tinder ect dry
i also made a small billy can out of an old soup tin

[Graham_S]

Hmmm,
stove from a couple of red bull cans, lid for my crusader cup from a bit of old aluminium sheet, film cannisters for tinder, matches, hexi tabs,
bound to be more.

[JohnC]

Red bull stove (having seen Grahams)
Likewise a crusader pot lid from an old pot.
Shirt from an army blanket.
Repaired the zips on my rucsac pouches with 2 salvaged zips.
Bags from trouser legs etc.

[oops56]

I buy them winter wool hats put a pull string in them they will fit most pots and small stoves

[wentworth]

I think just about all my gear is now homemade:
down filled hammock
One of my synthetic quilts
Modified down quilt
3 ultralight packs
fleece jacket
beanie/ mittens
Gaiters
can stove
Silnylon tarp
Silnylon drybag
Mozzie net
Wool vest

Once you learn to sew a straight seam and gain confidence, you realise that just about all gear can be made simply (excuding baffled sleeping bags). Now I can make up a new pack for around AU$5, a simple hammock for $10 and a jacket for even less.
I did a trip a few days ago where for the 1st time, I relied solely on my homemade gear, and it was perfect for my needs. The great thing about being able to sew is, if something doesn't work the way you want it to, unstitch it and modify.

[JohnC]

Once you learn to sew a straight seam and gain confidence..... .

Getting going with a sewing machine or needle and thread is one of the most useful skills I've learned over the last year.

[anthonyyy]

Looking at it from the perspective of what SKILLS are most useful in modifying/making kit; I would say that the following skills are most useful:

Sewing
Tinsmithing

[gregorach]

Once you learn to sew a straight seam and gain confidence, you realise that just about all gear can be made simply (excuding baffled sleeping bags).

Oh, don't say that... I'm planning on making a baffled down underquilt (darted and asymmetric to boot) and I've got nowhere near the sewing experience you obviously do...

Go on then: what's so bad about baffles, and do you have any tricks to make it easier?

[wentworth]

No! don't let me disuade you. It's something that I'd like to try, but the thought of sewing 15 or so pieces of noseeum mesh to lightweight nylon, then filling each with a pre measured amount of down and then sewing it up sounds complex.
My underquilt from JRB, although designed for an asym hammock is a simple rectangle. Is your quilt itself going to be asym?
Let us all know how yours turns out. You might even inspire me to have a go

[gregorach]

Yeah, I know what you mean... Especially the down-filling bit - that's going to get messy. Actually sewing the baffles should be fairly straight-forward, if tedious and time-consuming.

The design I'm working on is based on Partrick's Kickass Quilt, but with a more radical shape (think move the side "corners" closer to the ends) and a differential between the outer and the liner to ensure space between them. Mine will have rotational symmetry though - there will be no difference between the head and foot ends.

[scanker]

Are you still going for the "coffin" shape though? My quilt was based on Patrick's design and the HH tie-outs pass through D-rings on the quilt darts. I've not had a great deal of experience in this, but I feel that the side tie-outs are essential for a good fit on the quilt.

[gregorach]

Yeah, pretty much... It's going to be used with a DD hammock though, so no side tie-outs. My experiments so far seem to indicate that it should work OK - you maybe need to pull the sides out when you get in (which you kinda need to do on a DD anyway to get it settled right), but once settled it should hold in place just from its shape and the shockcords.

I suppose I should really make another full-size prototype before commencing work on the real deal... I've already made one prototype, which is what convinced me that I needed to modify Patrick's design for my hammock / body. For the last few weeks, my living room has been scattered with plans and 1:10 paper models...