Soft Jaw Pliers For Gunsmithing

Last week I found an old Lee Loader for 20 gauge shotgun shells on eBay for a very good price so I snagged it. It's basically new-old stock and came complete in the cardboard box with instructions, loading data, and all the parts.

The kit that I bought dates from the 1960s, before Lee changed their shot dippers over to plastic. It's made from aluminum. There was some corrosion on it preventing me from pulling out the inside part to increase the volume of shot.

After letting some Kroil soak into it for a few days, I used this set of soft jaw pliers to rotate the inner sleeve and break it free. I was then able to pull it all the way out and clean the corrosion off with 0000 steel wool.

I originally bought the pliers to help removal of the cap for the CO2 cylinder chamber on my QB-77 pellet rifle. Since then, they've come in handy for a variety of projects when I needed a good grip on something but didn't want to scratch it.

If you do any kind of home gunsmithing I highly recommend picking up a set.

Yarzheit Candles for Emergencies

If you want to stock up on candles for emergencies, yarzheit candles are a good choice. They are lit by Jews on the anniversary of a loved one's death and are intended to burn for at least 24 hours.

Thursday morning I lit one for my father and it burned for about 36 hours.

It was a Manischewitz brand candle. (Amazon link.)

Yarzheit candles are available in glass or tin containers. I recommend the glass for maximizing light output.

Compared with many other candles they are relatively safe to leave unattended, as long as you place them on a heat proof surface. They are small, short, and not prone to tipping over.

Be an Asset

It sure looks like what happened overnight in New Orleans was a terrorist attack, in the same vein as the recent Christmas market attack in Germany.

This got me thinking about how we can prepare to be assets in such an incident, rather than a hinderance.

First, read this article "Responder Zero" at the Integrated Skills Group website.

https://integratedskillsgroup.com/2021/06/responder-zero/

As a matter of fact, I encourage you to read everything on that site. It's one of the best, if not the best prepping-related sites on the Internet.

Second, know basic first aid. The American Red Cross offers courses. Find one here: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid 

Third, take a Stop the Bleed class from the American College of Surgeons. STB is focused on controlling bleeding injuries from trauma and stabilizing the victim until proper medical care arrives. An in person class is best but they also have online training in case you can't get to one in person.

https://stopthebleed.org

Fourth, if you are legally able to, get training and carry a concealed firearm. In this incident, after he exited his truck with a rifle, the perpetrator was taken out by police. What if this happened at an event in which there were no police?

See my PDF ebook, "Guns for Jews" for beginner's guidance.

https://x.com/davemarkowitz/status/1860425977001542091