Completely lame project, but necessary

[twistsol]

My paper shredder is 15 years old or so and a couple of years ago the plastic bin inside cracked. Since then, every time I pull it out, it seems that another small piece breaks off. It now has a crack all the way to the bottom



15 minutes in the shop with stuff from the scrap bin, glue, and a 23 gauge pinner and it's slightly less good as new.

[LCHIEN]

$15-25 worth of plywood at todays prices. Would have been cheaper to buy a new shredder if you didn't have scrap.

[twistsol]

Contractually, I need to use a crosscut shredder for clients' financial data, and for my own sanity I need to shred 20-30 pages at a time. Shredders in that category start in the $600 range and I'd still end up with a plastic bin. I was disappointed that Fellowes doesn't supply parts for anything other than their large commercial shredders. Since this one doesn't need a room of its own, it isn't included in that category.

[leehljp]

Looks good! Better than the original plastic!

[dbhost]

Wow, the motors on your shredders last long enough for the bin plastic to break away? Impressive!

[capncarl]

Must have a Dyson digital motor! ….. what is a digital motor?

[Jim Frye]

Nice fix! We have a Fellows micro cross shredder with a plastic tub. I paid $80 for it at Target. I shred everything that comes in the mail. The tub has a stupid design "feature" with a smoked window in the side that is supposed to show when the tub is getting full. A smoked window in a black tub completely covered when in operation. Of course the window is completely opaque with the top on, covered in shred dust, and no interior light when the unit is in operation. The window could have been clear, but the designers went for stylish dark smoke. BTW, the shredded material composts incredibly fast.

[LCHIEN]

Chr's, you really need to inset the shredder mechanism in your new desktop, then have a cabinet under that with a bin and bag that catches the confetti and you can bag and empty it as needed.

[daughterofgirl]

I would first look for a trash can of the right size at Walmart and similar stores, I think it would be cheaper.
And I would make a similar box in the case described by LCHIEN - if you are going to make a completely crafted structure.

[capncarl]

Oh my, an air cleaner pleated filter with an internal wire expanded metal screen full of shredded paper shards would possibly be the end of that filter!

[capncarl]

I think incorporating the shredder into the new desk is a great idea! That gets one more thing off the floor, one less thing to accidentally kick over. While you are brainstorming it, make the shred catch container removable from the front or side of the desk with one side of it a pleated filter with a fan that runs when the shredder operates, IE, it’s own dust collection system.

[Dedpedal]

Some of the most satisfying projects are the ones that keep you from spending a lot of money.

[LCHIEN]

The ones that are satisfying to me are the ones that solve a problem perfectly when you can't find something ready at a reasonable price, made to do that.

[dbhost]

Here's a thought. Connect the shredder to the dust collector...

[twistsol]

I've actually done that and found that the paper pieces don't separate out in the cyclone very well and about 1/4 of them end up in the filter. that was with a previous cyclone so maybe I'll try it again, but I'm not looking foward to cleaning out a pleated filter if it fails. My old one just had a felt bag.