Rebuild

Spot annealing lets you soften metal at just one point

Hackett's trick to get even edges

Columnist Chris Hackett prepares for life after the apocalypse

Hackett demonstrates how to create the bonding agent sodium silicate

One man's scrap heap is another man's hardware store

Turn a junker into a favorite fire-hardened implement

Hackett distills some drinkable biofuel

When civilization collapses, this hand-built coin press could mint money to buy goats, grain, or even a spouse

Hackett relies on his ingenuity to turn spring steel into an edged blade.

Makeshift tools for the post-apocalypse