Starvin Larry

There are many skills that will be needed should SHTF,and we end up in a complete societal collapse-for whatever reason,”terrorism”, currency collapse,government collapse,things spinning out of control leading to civil war,rev. war,insurgency,guerrilla warfare,4GW,whatever term you choose to call it in an attempt to restore order,that are not “tactical”skills.

There still has to be a supply of goods and services,medical care,mechanical repairs,structural repairs-both to homes and buildings,and infrastructure repairs.

There would still have to be manufacturing,farming,raising livestock-be it chickens,hogs or cows,there would still have to be a method and places to process crops and butcher livestock.

There would still have to be a way to transport these goods.

Power generation would be required-beyond your 7500 watt generator-in order to manufacture goods.

Methods of purifying very large quantities of water,and a way to dispose of wastes-both human and trash/garbage would also be required.

In no particular order,here are the most needed skills…

Dr’s,optometrists,dentists,radiolgists,etc. and the techs for the various fields.

Nurses

EMT’s/combat medics

Engineers- architectural,electrical,civil,mechanical,computer/IT,structural,aerospace. (I may have missed a few-but you get the idea)

Chemists

Welders/fabricators

Mechanics

Machinists/CNC machinists/tool and die makers

Carpenters

Riggers

Masons/concrete finishers,plasterers.

Plumbers/pipefitters/HVAC

Operating engineers-(heavy equipment operators)

Draftsmen

Electricians/Electronics repairs

Butchers

Farmers/livestock producers/ranchers

Seamstresses/tailors

Chefs/dieticians/others in food service that have training in food safety

Physicist/biologist,those in biotech,nanotech fields/anyone with solid STEM knowldege.

The more of those fields you have covered within your tribe,group,team-the better off you will be.

Not only will your tribe be more self-sufficient-you will have people with much needed skills,and be in a position to trade that knowledge for stuff your tribe needs or may need-or exchange one of your people’s expertise for the expertise your tribe is lacking.

That is the kind of thing that leads to building networks/alliances.

Something else your tribe needs to have is as all of the tools and/or machinery needed for the various areas/skillsets.

No one can repair anything without tools,no one can build or make anything without the tools and/or machines required.

Just a small shop,if set up properly,can repair or make almost anything-granted a lot of stuff does require special tools or machines-but many of those tools or machines-or a version of them can be made on site.

At the minimum you should have in your shop the following-I’m going by what I have-might explain why I’m always broke…

Drill-electric,cordless,and brace&bits,drill press-with plenty of bits for wood and metals.

Saw-circular,table,miter and/or cutoff,bandsaw,sawzall,jigsaw,hacksaw,coping saw,hand saws for wood,both rip and crosscut. Specialty and spare blades for all that require them.

Sanders-palm and belt+ lots of sand paper.

Air compressor and air tools,including impact driver,cutoff tool,chisel,framing and brad nailers *helpful to have*-sander,paint sprayers.

Angle grinder-plenty of grinding wheels,wire wheels, and cutoff wheels.

Welder-wire feed,arc,cutting torches.

Router and bits *router tables help a lot*

Files,round,flat,half round,triangle,wood rasps,wire brushes.

Hammer-framing,claw,ball peen,engineers,sledge.

Prybars-flat bars,crowbars,spud bars

Chisels-metal and wood-a good variety of shapes and sizes.

Propane torch,plumbing solder+flux,plus tanks of MAPP gas for hotter heat.

Tubing cutters

Glass cutter

Mechanics tools-sockets,ratchets,good set of screwdrivers,combination wrenches-metric and SAE,breaker bars,assorted lengths-(8″-3′)-of 1/2″ steel pipe for increasing leverage when using breaker bars,floor jack,bottle jack,jack stands,creeper-(your back will thank you),double flaring tool,tubing bender,brake spoon,vise grips,channel locks,sidecutters,needlenose,straight and curved,linesman’s pliers,slip-joint pliers,wirecutter/crimper,electrical solder+soldering iron,torque wrench(es),bolt cutters,tin snips,aviation snips,pullers for removing pulleys,hubs,etc,punches,deadblow hammer,rubber mallet,plastic machinists mallet,allen/hex keys,torx keys or bits,inverted torx bits-metric and SAE,assorted specialty bits,fuel line disconnect tools-Ford,Chrysler,GM-and for any foreign shit you own,volt/Ohm meter,OBDII+III reader,C-clamps 1″- 12″,bar clamps,pipe clamps, at least a 6′ workbench with 6″ vise bolted to it. machinists square-4″,6″,micrometers,calipers,machinists scales,X-acto knives,razor knife,putty knives/scrapers,bondo spreaders,Come along+ chain,ratchet straps,recovery straps,rope,tie wire,plumbers tape,teflon tape,duct tape,electrical tape,masking tape,oil cans+oil,penetrating oil,gasket material,RTV sealant-blue and black,engine hoist-(cherry picker to us old guys).

That’s all I can think of for now in the way of wrenching on shit tools.

Other  stuff you need for outdoor work/home repairs…

Shovels-garden, flat,edging,posthole.

Picks,mattock.

Rakes,garden and leaf.

Garden hoe-flat and pointed.

Axes,hatchets,splitting mauls,splitting wedges.

Chainsaw

Concrete saw

Wheelbarrow.

Fencepost driver-*bonus*-does double duty as battering ram.

Floats, trowels, brick hammer,string line,chalkline+chalk.

Staple gun-squeeze and hammer tacker.

Drywall knives/sanding blocks/pole sander/sanding screens.

Paint trays/roller frames/roller covers/paintbrushes-1″ angle,1 1/2″ angle,2″ angle,painters 5 in 1.

Level-2′,4′,linelevel.

Framing square,speedsquare-6″ + 12”

Tape measures-25′,50′,100′.

Toolbelt (s)

Ladders-6′ and 8’stepladder,24 and 32′ extension ladders.

Roof jacks.

*Nice to have*-ladder jacks and aluminum plank(s), pipe threader.

Roofing torch.

I know that’s a big list-it took a whole lot of years to accumulate-and I also know there’s a whole bunch of shit I forgot-pool your resources,and you’ll find out that between the members of your tribe/group-you already have most of this stuff.

Just put the tools together a little at a time,don’t buy cheap made in China garbage-buy good tools and they’ll last a lifetime-you can pay once or pay every time one of the cheap pieces of shit breaks.

Once you have the basics-which is the above list-then you can get other stuff like benchtop lathes and milling machines,plasma cutters,a lift to wrench on cars and trucks,TIG welders,and who knows-before long a 3D printer.

Read.

Learn.

Train.

Do More PT !