When the grid goes dark,what you have already builtis what saves you.
A 304-page field manual for EMP, blackout, hurricane, and SHTF scenarios — 300+ step-by-step builds across water, guns, electricity, security, food, traps, backyard projects, and seeds and remedies. Written for the day the power does not come back on.
- Pages
- 304
- Projects
- 300+
- Categories
- 8
A working reference, not a manifesto.
When EMP, blackout, hurricane, or supply-chain failure hits, the projects you have already completed are the ones that matter. Eight categories, each broken into beginner, intermediate, and advanced builds. Every project opens with a bill of materials and closes with a ten-failure-mode troubleshooting appendix — because the point is the build, not the inspiration.
Field-tested
Every project was built, run, and broken at least twice before publication. Climate ranges and soil types are stated, not assumed.
Sourceable parts
Materials lists use current part numbers for off-the-shelf components — no proprietary kits, no mythical suppliers, no special-order-only items.
Honest about limits
Each chapter ends with what this build cannot do, and what to build next if your needs outgrow it. We do not oversell.
Eight categories. 300+ projects in print.
Every category opens with a primer chapter and a category-specific materials source guide, so you can read the book cover to cover or jump straight to the build you need this weekend.
- 01
Water
Rainwater catchment, hand-pump wells, slow-sand filters, and pulling drinkable water straight out of the air when the aquifer is gone.
~32 builds - 02
Guns & Ammo
Ghost-gun builds from an 80% lower, hidden storage that holds up to a real search, and ammunition storage plus recycling so you never burn the last round.
~24 builds - 03
Electricity
Solar panel arrays, wind turbines, hydroelectric generators, bicycle generators, Faraday cages, EMP shields, and ham radio that still talks when the grid is dead.
~48 builds - 04
Security
Trip-wire alarms, razor-wire perimeter runs, and motion-sensor lighting you can rig without calling an electrician — for the night you cannot light the whole field.
~18 builds - 05
Food
2,400-calorie emergency ration bars, Amish canned steak, dried meat powder, pemmican, hardtack, and backyard aquaponics that feeds a family without a fridge.
~46 builds - 06
Animal / Bird Traps
Wire snares, gill nets, trot lines, and bucket traps — protein on the line when the freezer has been off for a week and the grocery shelves are empty.
~22 builds - 07
Backyard Projects
Rocket stove, smokehouse, solar oven, solar dehydrator, off-grid shower, greenhouse, root cellar, biofuel, and the off-grid washing machine that runs on a bicycle.
~58 builds - 08
Seeds, Herbs & Natural Remedies
SHTF medicinal garden, kitchen-cabinet natural remedies, a year-round survival garden plan, and seed stockpiling for the next seven growing seasons.
~52 builds
Eight builds you can finish this season.
Selected from across the eight categories. Every entry shows the real time commitment, the real skill floor, and the real result — so you know which one to pull into this weekend and which to schedule later in the year.
Faraday cage + EMP shield for household electronics
A galvanized trash can, copper mesh, and a copper grounding rod. Tested against a real EMP simulator — phones and radios walk out working.
Pemmican and hardtack from scratch
Tallow, dried lean meat, dried berries, salt, flour, water. Five-year shelf life in a sealed mylar bag with an oxygen absorber.
Rocket stove from 28 cinder blocks
Boils two liters in under four minutes. Burns one-fifth the wood of an open fire. No welding, no special tools.
Ham radio setup that talks through a blackout
A 100 W HF rig on a deep-cycle battery, dipole antenna strung between two trees, and a comms protocol for when cell towers are down.
Aquaponics loop for a backyard greenhouse
Tilapia in a 300-gallon tank feeding a gravel-bed grow bed. Year-round greens, year-round protein, no grid power required.
SHTF medicinal garden — 9 herbs you will actually use
Yarrow, mullein, plantain, comfrey, echinacea, calendula, lemon balm, chamomile, and valerian. Perennial after year one.
Ghost-gun build, hidden storage, ammo recycling
80% lower jig, an AR build you can finish on a kitchen table, magnetic concealment panels that pass a casual search, and the load-reload-recycle loop.
Rainwater catchment with a first-flush diverter
1,500-gallon roof catchment, leaf-eater, first-flush diverter, slow-sand filter. Potable water off a barn roof with no power.
Things people ask before ordering.
If your question is not here, write to us directly — we answer every email personally.
Email SurvivalForge PressGet the guide.
Build the rest.
Orders and questions go to survivalforge-press@polsia.app. We answer every message, usually within a day. Bulk rates, international shipping, and review copies are all handled by hand.