How to Make a Hollowed Out Book e-Reader Cover or Safe

The following project will take you from having an old, unwanted book to having a great holder for valuables. This project makes an e-reader cover that doubles as it’s own inconspicuous hiding spot. It could be easily modified for hiding valuables in your car or home.

Amazing What You Can Do With Paracord :: Stormdrane’s Blog

Stormdrane’s Blog.

This blog is just filled with great ideas on what to do with paracord. This site has instructions for making survivalist hat coolies to a simple monkey’s fist for finding that knife in your pocket.

Once I locate my extra paracord I plan to make the can koozie for my water bottle.

YouTube – Recycled Houses

YouTube – Recycled Houses.

Can you tell I’m interested in home-made homes?

The Classic Box, Well Rounded – New York Times

The Classic Box, Well Rounded – New York Times.

Grain Bin Home Tucked Into The Woods

Grain bin homes are cheap to construct, unique (for the time being), go up quickly, and never need painting.  It’s no wonder there’s a small force of people looking to own one.  The New York Times article above discusses the home pictured above, which was built for around $190,000.  And this was a pricier build.

Over at Get Rich Slowly they have a break-down on the costs of recycling a grain bin for a home.  (Warning: Mother Earth News Granola Articles Cited) Plus they have many more links to do-it-yourself builds.  It can cost you a lot less if you plan and do the work yourself.

The average cost is $30 per square foot or less.  This does not include the labor or the foundation.

For the do-it-yourself projects it seems the insulation of choice is hay bales.  Don’t laugh.  Hay bales have been used successfully for generations for insulation and when sealed correctly will last as long as the structure.

This would definitely be a cheap, no-fuss hunting cabin or summer camp.

Monte-Silo, a Fancy Grain Bin Home

Build Your Own Smoker on The Cheap….

Tired of the high prices they want for a smoker in the retail world? Ever wonder if there was a way to do it yourself?  Well, there is a solution. The video below shows Alton Brown, of The Food Network’s show “Good Eats”, demonstrating the building and the use of barbecue smoker made from terracotta pots.

A written description and break down of the project can be found at Dave Naffziger’s Blog.  One thing that is mentioned in the blog is that you should be careful as to where your terracotta pots come from.  Some pots are made with trace amounts of lead.

If you want a home made smoker with more style you could try this other smoker project. In an effort to get something that more resembles the pricey Big Green Egg the blogger at Zone 112 Project gang experimented and came up with this solution.

Little Blue Egg from Zone 12 Project Gang

The Little Blue Egg Project would take more time and skill to recreate but would make a nice smoker for far less than The Big Green Egg’s thousand dollar price tag.

With the glazing, however, I’d think you’d have to be more cautious as to where your pots came from.  Different ingredients are used to make glaze colors.  In this case, read all of the comments at the blog and do your research before buying your pots.

There are a host of other ways to build a home made smoker.  Some designs you can find on the internet are for building smokers out of galvanized trash cans, portable ice chests, iron pipe, cardboard boxes, etc.  In the end, the best smokers are the ones that will allow you to keep a steady heat at all times.

How to Make a Solar Charger for Your Gadgets

Ok. I’m a geek at heart.  When I saw this project I thought it would be perfect for the outdoor guy.  The current setup they show is not suitable for an iPhone or 3G device.  They advise you watch the site for when they have the kit ready for that.  But this would be sweet for charging a less demanding phone or your iPod during your trips into the wild.  The amazing thing is that the whole thing fits into an Altoids Tin (Think cigarette package size.)

HOW TO – Make a solar MintyBoost, a solar power charger for your gadgets! « adafruit industries blog.

Turn Your Beer Bottles Into Glassware…

Video.

Over at Mens Health they have video instructions on how you can turn your beer bottles into glassware.  The materials you will need are:

• Thick, sturdy beer bottle like Grolsch, Carona, or Lucky.
• Lighter Fluid
• String
• Lighter
• Sandpaper

The general instructions are:

1. Tie string around the bottle tightly at the spot you want your drinking lip.
2. Remove the string and soak in lighter fluid.
3. Replace the sting and while holding the bottle horizontally place a lighter under the string.
4. Slowly rotate the bottle.
5. Place the bottle under cold running water and the top of the bottle should pop free.
6. Use sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges of your new drinking glass.
7. Throw away any glasses you make that have uneven or dangerous looking rims. (Hmm, got to drink more beer for this project after all…)

My plans are to try this with a few beer bottles before the summer ends and have them as glassware for a friend’s camp.  I’ll post pictures if I do.

Survival Bracelet & Paracord Rifle Sling

It got mentioned before, but Instructables.com has some useful projects.  Here’s one dealing with a survival bracelet made from 8 ft. of paracord.  The idea being that you will always have 8ft. of multipurpose cord with you at all times.  I’m planning to make a few of these.

There’s also a design for a paracord rifle sling.

How to Build a Field Sink

Clean up is now easier in remote locations.

Make your own field sink following the instructions at Instructables.com.

For anyone who’s not discovered them yet, Instructables.com is a great resource for projects.  This one is a do-it-yourself field sink.

One of the great things about the site is when you read through the comments for an instructable you’ll see suggestions for alternative build methods and even links to different versions of the the same project.

Instructables is a great site for DIY inspiration.