Can Crusher Build Log
We drink entirely too much Wegman’s Seltzer, and as a result, our recycle bin is always overflowing with empty cans. I figured I could make a quick stand for a can crusher that would also hold a bag for the crushed cans. In the winter, the shop is too cold for glue to dry in it, so I’m more limited to screw-based industrial projects. This one I threw together in a day (it’s much faster to build things when you don’t have to glue them or put finish on anything). Apart from the crusher itself, I just used a bunch of wood I had on hand.
All the slats are pine flooring scraps I got from a friend. In order to turn them into more proper boards, I ran them through the table saw to cut off the tongue and grooves, and then through the planer to get rid of the ridges on the bottom. As you can see, I was left with some pretty reasonable boards! I ran the proper edges of the slats through a roundover router bit for just a touch of class.
I made the sides that would have the 2 risers on them first. I made sure a bag would fit, and then screwed everything together. The risers themselves were made from a giant slab of wood in the garage that had split a bit, so I cut away the crappy parts and had some decent wood left.
Laid out the front slats to make sure they’d line up and be square and a bag would fit, then screwed them on. I ran out of floorboards for the back slats, so those were bits of another board that was slightly thicker than the floorboards.
Lastly, I just added the bottom (some cheap clipboard material). The screw heads aren’t flush, but I added furniture pads over them, as I was too lazy to drill proper countersinks. It’s a one day project, we do what we can. I screwed the can crusher to a 2x4, and then screwed the 2x4 onto the back of the bag crate. And that’s that! It’s very satisfying to crush cans with it.