The Paladin Podcast, Episode 12: James Ballou

In today’s high-tech society, even the most advanced devices and systems are not failsafe. Tools can break or wear out, batteries can go dead, and all sorts of malfunctions can render the modern conveniences we rely on totally useless. If quick replacements of failed items are not readily available, the ability to improvise and adapt in survival situations become very practical.

That is why James Ballou decided to write his new book, Makeshift Workshop Skills for Survival and Self-Reliance: Expedient Ways to Make Your Own Tools, Do Your Own Repairs, and Construct Useful Things Out of Raw and Salvaged Materials, released by Paladin Press in May 2009. Makeshift Workshop Skills provides precise instruction in makeshift metalworking, practical calculating skills, and resourceful salvaging, plus dozens of practical tips for the craftsman or handyman who might need this information in an emergency or who simply enjoys learning about alternative ways to handle home workshop projects.

In this podcast, Jim tells why he decided to expand on the home workshop material found in his first book, the best-selling Long-Term Survival in the Coming Dark Age. Featuring amusing and informative accounts of his experiences working with what most people would consider junk, Jim provides the listener with a wide range of remarkably creative ideas for becoming more self-sufficient, including how to set up the ideal home workshop. Jim, who is in the insurance business, explains why he calls his new book “an insurance policy for the future.” In addition, he discusses the information in Long-Term Survival and offers a compelling argument for why survivalists are making a positive contribution to themselves, their families and communities, and the nation.

Listen while we speak to James about his Paladin books, how he became so interested in makeshift projects, and what he has planned for his next Paladin project, which is he already hard at work on.

To purchase Makeshift Workshop Skills for Survival and Self-Reliance or Long-Term Survival in the Coming Dark Age, visit the Paladin Press online store.