DIY
OFFICE
LED PAPER CUTTER ASSIST
Modify an el-cheapo paper cutter to
make it way more accurate. By Larry Cotton
Take one el-cheapo paper cutter. Drill some holes,
add a linear scale and some weight. Presto: you now
have one very good paper cutter. What happened?
8½"× 11" sheet of photos into smaller ones, as it
makes penciled guidelines virtually unnecessary.
1. Drill the holes.
Each LED requires two
5" holes for its leads. Use
3 or 4 LEDs to disperse the light along the blade’s
length. I used 4, which required 8 holes.
The holes must be near the bottom edge, in order
for the LEDs to clear the moveable blade when it’s
all the way down (Figure A).
I had a rotary SPST switch lying around, which
was easy to mount in a
7" hole on the front surface
(Figure B). Your modifications may vary depending
on the switch you use.
The last hole simply clears a screw for attaching
the LED power supply to the bottom (Figure C). If
you use a 9V battery, you may not have to drill this
hole — or build a power supply either.
133 Make:
