Can problem crushed
02/04/2015
My can-crusher design is now fully realised, secured by two large screws into the wall and skirting, with spacers behind, just inside my laundry door, next to the recycling bin.
I tried three places but could not get oval head screws. I decided I could live with round or button headed ones thick enough to fill the holes in the plates.The aluminium guide plates were initially fitted with washers under the plates to give some play, but these proved unnecessary; there was too much play, and it worked fine with the screws tightened up, then backed off a little to ensure free sliding movement, helped by some waxing before assembly. I have fitted it with a return spring of bungy cord, so that once you have stamped on the foot rest and crushed the can, the top jaw rises back up nicely, ready to take another can. The ends of the bungy cord are secured with galvanised staples I still had left from building the fence around my property when purchased in 1975! The aluminium back cover proved to be a nice fit, with the pre-existing flanges on the source cover spaced exactly to match the dimensions I needed. All I had to do was make a cut to length and a cut to width, and insert screws in the back of the crusher so the screw heads acted as retainers and stops for the flanges to slide under sideways. Here it is in action, and to quote Jethro Tull's Stand Up album liner notes, ".....er, well yes! It really has turned out nicely."
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Update 07/12/2020
Slightly adjusted the mounting of the back cover about a year ago, otherwise still going strong!
Slightly adjusted the mounting of the back cover about a year ago, otherwise still going strong!
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