Improving the Heavy Cover USGI Canteen Cup Lid

Last year I bought a stainless steel lid for my USGI canteen cup from Heavy Cover, Inc. (It doesn't seem to be listed there currently.) I haven't gotten much use from it for two reasons:

1. It's too heavy for what it is.
2. It was a very snug fit in the cup.

Today I decided to improve it with the help of Mr. Dremel, but cutting away part of the lip that sits inside the cup.

First, here it is being held by its handle in my vise. I've already made one cut with my Dremel using a heavy duty cut-off wheel.

After making the cuts, I snapped the excess material off with pliers. Then I used a grinding stone in the Dremel to deburr where I made the cuts.

And finally, sitting on the cup. As you can see, it's the older L-handle style. IMNSHO, this is much better than butterfly handles. If you look closely you can see where I added graduation markings to the cup.

The lid is a bit lighter now but it would have been better had it been made from hard anodized aluminum, or at least a thinner gauge of stainless steel. It's noticeably easier to set on the cup or remove it to check how something is cooking.

DIY Adjustable Pot Bail

For cooking, or even just boiling water over an open fire, a pot with a bail is really handy. However, bails add weight and bulk and we often already have a good pot that just needs a bail sometimes. Over on Bushcraft USA, "Jerome" posted a great how-to thread here.

If video is more your style, Lonnie posted a video inspired by the above thread on his YouTube channel, Far North Bushcraft and Survival.

Most hardware stores should have the required materials. I bought 6 feet of 1/16" cable and the appropriate ferrules today at Home Depot for around $6. (That included an extra set of ferrules.)

I made up a couple bails this afternoon, each from a 3' piece of cable. After crimping the ferrules similarly to how Lonnie did in the above video for the first bail, I took a slightly different tack for the second bail. I hit each ferrule with a punch once to hold it in place on the end of the cable, I then used my bench vise to fully crimp it.

The advantage of using the vise is that you get a full-width crimp, not just where you hit it with the punch.

My plan is to keep one bail with my Keith Titanium canteen and cup set, and the other with my old USGI canteen cup.

Ten Medical Uses for a Triangular Bandage

This video discusses 10 medical uses for a triangular bandage.

{Hat tip to Greg Ellifrtiz.}

Aside from medical uses, triangular bandages can be used for many of the same things as a shemagh or bandana. For example:

• Dust mask
• Hankerchief
• Head scarf
• Sweat band
• Scarf to keep your neck warm, or cool if you wet it.
• Pre-filter for water, to keep your filter from getting clogged with chunky bits.
• Pot holder
• Pot scrubber
• Wash cloth
• Etc.

I always carried a couple USGI muslin triangular bandages when I was in a Civil Air Patrol ground search and rescue unit, as did my team members.