The Shredder!

Greetings all, I am writing today to show you how to make a really useful tool for those that need to distress and weather their costumes and props. I present to you the shredder! It is a straight forward and no-nonsense tool that is pretty cheap to do.

 Here is what you need:
Cheap modular hole saw (I found mine for $3)
JB weld
Sandpaper
Acetone or denatured alcohol

 Optional:
File handle


   


The first step here is to open it up and degrease everything with the acetone or denatured alcohol. This is an important step as any grease will interfere with the next steps.


Next up you will want to unscrew the central drill bit and here is the optional bit. You can either leave it off entirely or turn it around with the twist portion sticking out the back. I opted to turn it around to glue into the file handle, providing a nice grip for heavy use.


Take the JB Weld and slather it on the drill bit, filling the handle. Stick the handle in, being sure to wipe away the excess.




 Set this aside now and let it cure a while. While you are waiting, take sandpaper to the bottom of the saw blades. Coarse grade paper is fine as it will give the glue a bit of tooth to hold on to for the next step.


Slather the slotted handle with JB Weld and slot the blades into the handle. Wipe away any excess glue and let it cure.


Next up, using it!

Getting started, making tools.

CoreCon in Fargo is coming up ( http://www.fargocorecon.org/ ) and I am working on a few things. The big thing is a party room suite that is post apocalyptic themed along the lines of MadMax, Borderlands, or Fallout. I will be making various props and costumes for this and to accomplish this will require various tools and supplies, some of which I will be making. I will be documenting projects and progress for this and other projects. The first thing coming down the pipe is a home brew tool for distressing and shredding clothes for that post apocalyptic, lived in and scrapped together from the remnants of society feel. That shredder will subsequently be used on pants, shirts, wood tables, and all manner of things. So what is planned? The consuite will be a post apocalyptic themed dive bar called The Hole. I still need to source some old corrugated tin to face a folding workbench that will be used for the bar itself and to hopefully make a false wall to really give it that shanty town feel. I want to make a pair of tables from a 55 gallon plastic barrel and a wooden cable reel for the table tops. The floor will be covered by a canvas tarp to protect the hotel room carpet and really add to the feel. I really want to get camouflage netting to suspend from the ceiling to really bring everything together. The suite will have drinks, loud music featuring Savage Aural Hotbed prominently, snacks, and hourly cockroach races. The costuming will be documented in an effort towards presenting a panel on budget costuming. I will be having a focus on weathering and distressing found and salvaged objects and clothes into a full blown costume fit for the apocalypse. I want to share my knowledge and my experiences in the hopes that it will inspire people to make costumes and props of their own. Create your dreams and shape your world around you.