Some skills for after the crunch

[Ryder]

Here are some simple how to's for tough times.
http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/03/some_home_chemistry_tricks_of.html

[Atash Hagmahani]

Thanks, Ryder. This reminds me of a reference I saw some time ago to everyday chemistry of where things come from.

I know how to make lye, and I think stores rarely carry it anymore. The last time I saw it, it had other chemicals mixed into it, and it would not make pure soap.

Soap is traditionally made in the late autumn, during butchering season.

I wonder if vegetable soaps could be made from the saponins in plants? I would guess so--and it probably actually happened, but we have collectively forgotten how to do it.

The reference--I think it was a book (I should look on Amazon) had references to a lot of other 19th century chemical technology as well.

I do have in my possession 18th-19th century mechanical technology in the form of a book "507 Mechanical Movements".

[opsec]

Good article.

You don't need to make soap from the saponins in plants. They are soap. Just use the plant itself as you would soap. Some plants are better than others for this, one is actually called soap plant or soap root, I forget which.

[Ryder]

Kind of tough to keep a basket of soaponin plants by the shower year round.  We make our own soap with olive oil and lye which we bought a big supply of several years ago and if done right it spoils you to use store bought soap, the home made stuff just makes your skin feel good.....especialy here in 10% winter humidity montana. Just beware of lye...it really can make you blind if it gets in your eyes.

[opsec]

Lye is nasty stuff. I used a high concentration of it to boil a bunch of traps that I was preparing. It actually took the epoxy coating off of the inside of the drum I was using.

[offdalip]

I used a high concentration of it to boil a bunch of traps that I was preparing. It actually took the epoxy coating off of the inside of the drum I was using.

That's b/c concentrated Lye boils at a much much higher temperature than water, epoxy melted off from the heat which depending may get up to 300 deg celcius.

most store lye nowadays has salt impurities and some also have aluminum

[offdalip]

Atash wrote:

This reminds me of a reference I saw some time ago to everyday chemistry of where things come from...
The reference--I think it was a book (I should look on Amazon) had references to a lot of other 19th century chemical technology as well.

I didn't find the original posters article very good at all, I wouldn't even call it chemistry.

I have all those books that you are thinking about Atash, but they are in .pdf so I can't post them here?

if anybody wants I might be able to email the smaller ones

[Atash Hagmahani]

I have all those books that you are thinking about Atash, but they are in .pdf so I can't post them here?

That depends on whether their copyright has expired. If they are public domain, I could easily set up a share, and then you could upload them and link to them.

That reminds me. It might be a good time to scan Project Gutenberg for any useful information there.

[offdalip]

I have both, some  expired that can be shared and others still copyrighted that can't be set up publicly

[offdalip]

from the article

For those of you who would like to learn more, I refer you to "The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments", a book written for an 8th grade level reader

an awesome little book, I have it in pdf. can't really get it anymore since it is heavily frowned upon book by MSM like the plaque nowadays. After all, We can't have little 12 y/o kids
doing real chemistry experiments that maybe sometimes do a tiny little boom

[offdalip]

Here you go, I found it on the web, I don't host the site but if not a good thing mods delete:

http://chemistry.about.com/library/goldenchem.pdf

Banned Book - The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments
Tuesday August 5, 2008
The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments, written by Robert Brent and illustrated by Harry Lazarus, is a children's book published in the 1960s that was intended to explain to kids how they could set up a home chemistry lab and conduct simple experiments. Supposedly the US government had the book removed from libraries and banned for sale on the grounds that the projects were too dangerous for its intended audience. I would have to agree that you probably don't want your kids making and igniting hydrogen in the garage, but for the aspiring chemist who can adhere to the safety precautions, this remains one of the best do-it-yourself chemistry books around. You can download the pdf of The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments to save on your computer or print. It is sort of funny that a book that is banned from the public library is legal to download and read, but it's true.

[opsec]

Right on. Got it copied.

[The Future]

Good article.

You don't need to make soap from the saponins in plants. They are soap. Just use the plant itself as you would soap. Some plants are better than others for this, one is actually called soap plant or soap root, I forget which.

There are no less than =Soap]113 plants that can be used for soap with some =Soap making]at least 11 useful in the soap making process.

I have tried to grow a few and all failed.  Quinoa is perhaps the most common one right in your grocery store.  What is noteworthy is that what you buy in the store and have to soap to get the soap out has already been soaked extensively to get the soap out.  In other words, the fresh plant is said to be quite potent.  Some suggest (for prep for eating purposes) putting quinoia in a panty hose and rinsing in the washing machine...

[offdalip]

ack

my HDD is froze

try to get it going hopefully


Anyways, Atash, Opsec;

I believe this is the tome you were referring to,

it is one of the oldest in my (hopeful still) collection

http://www.archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpr00dickrich

I supposed have many more if I can get my HDD to cooperate.....

[opsec]

Got it saved. Thanks.