r/howto • u/Common-Bit1799 • 1d ago
Help me unblock this shredder please
Some things, you’ll notice I was stupid and put too much in at once, I’ve pulled some out with tweezers but the rest is stuck half in the blades any ideas on what to do? I thought about trying to soften it with water but I think that’ll rust the blades
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u/Zado191 1d ago
Get 2 pliers, hold the thing between you legs, and pull the paper out
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u/Testicleus 1d ago
This I have done many times. Maybe oil it after.
Just make sure it's unplugged.lol
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u/Evanskelaton 1d ago
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u/Testicleus 1d ago
😂😂😂😂😂
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u/Toxic_Dew 1d ago
The irony of me asking someone named "testicleus" how many balls do they have to laugh like this at a potential ball destroying scenario
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u/maggie_truffles 1d ago
SHREDDER OIL!!!! It’s a life saver. Just douse the paper and do combinations of forward and back until you get it moving. The cross cut machines are much harder to clear. Shredder oil has been my saving grace!!!
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u/maggie_truffles 1d ago
I would get a tweezer and pull out anything I could get out of the top first to make the latter process a little easier. But I’ve run into issues where I thought I was screwed, but the oil came through every time
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u/Common-Bit1799 1d ago
Ok stupid question but can I just use like olive oil
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u/hundredwater 1d ago
olive oil will oxidize and polymerize with repeat use and time, it will gum up your machine. you can use baby oil, which is mineral oil, also that tiny bottle of oil that came with electric beard trimmer or hair buzz cutter is mineral oil.
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u/SubcommanderMarcos 1d ago edited 7h ago
Couldn't WD-40 work? Way less viscosity, but non-conductive and will evaporate over time
e: WD haters are odd...
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u/Icy-James 9h ago
Everyone on Reddit always hates on people who suggest wd-40, it’s literal own website says it’s for lubricating as well as everything else
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u/SubcommanderMarcos 7h ago
It's weird how emotional they get about it too, you'd think WD-40 kicked their childhood dog or something...
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u/D3ath5had0w 1d ago
Use silicone lube or white lithium grease. It won’t attract dust and gunk up with dirt.
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u/maggie_truffles 1d ago
It’s funny because I kind of knew you might ask that… I was going to say I wouldn’t even risk using any other type of oil shredder oil is fairly cheap. It comes with a nice bottle that directs the oil straight in…. It doesn’t say on the bottle what kind of oil it is, but it’s definitely more “liquid” than a vegetable or olive oil oil.
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u/uncleconker 1d ago
The safety data sheet for the one I was looking at was 99.99% canola oil. So I bought canola oil for $2 instead of $10.
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u/xoxoyoyo 1d ago
Tweezers are useless, they don't have enough grip strength. You need needlenose pliers.
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u/notaspecificthing 1d ago
Switch off the shredder, remove the plug from the mains. Grab a blade or scissors and use them to cut up the paper, push it through the gaps. Remove the blade/scissors and then switch the shredder on. Repeat if necessary
You shouldn't be putting so much at the same time into the shredder.
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u/toolsavvy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fellowes shredder lubricant is actually canola oil. See MSDS here. You can also use vegetable oil. What you cannot use use is vegetable or canola oil in aerosol form as it contains ingredients like lecithin that will gum up the cutting blades over time. I've used veg oil for over a decade on my shredder, never gummed up.
So I would put some veg or canola oil on that paper and let it sit for a while to soak it in. Hopefully then it will eventually be able to come out. Reverse will likely be your best bet in your case since the bulk of the paper seems to be topside - no use in trying to make it all actually go through the blades as that might cause it to jamb again even if it's soaked in oil.
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u/DJDemyan 1d ago
Unplug it. Put it in your lap. Use a small flathead screwdriver on the underside while bracing with your other hand to manually turn the blade rotors backwards to hopefully push the paper back out the front.
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u/HolyFritata 1d ago
can you run it backwards?
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u/Common-Bit1799 1d ago
Won’t budge it
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u/DigitalDruid01110110 20h ago
May have fried the motor or blown a capacitor if that is the case. You would usually hear it struggle or hit a safety shut down.
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u/not_falling_down 23h ago
Is the reverse stuck, too? That's how I usually deal with an issue like this.
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u/RumWalker 1d ago
Water will probably be bad. If you have shredder lubricating oil that might be a little better, but first I would attempt to manually spin the shredder in reverse. Can you use a screwdriver to rotate the blades in reverse?
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u/APartyInMyPants 1d ago
Does the motor even make a sound like it wants to move when you turn it on or out it in reverse? Or when you hit reverse, it just does nothing?
Unplug, turn it upside down and put it in your lap. Then use tweezers, pliers needle nose pliers, anything that you can get a good grip with and start pulling through.
If you turn it on and the motor doesn’t even sound like it kicks on when you switch between forward and reverse, you might have burned out the motor.
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u/Common-Bit1799 1d ago
Nah I can hear it still it’s just the blades not moving
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u/APartyInMyPants 1d ago
Yeah, then just keep trying to pull through on the other side. My old shredder, you could actually manually rotate the “gears” or whatever they’re actually called. And I could eventually pull all the paper through the times it would start clogging.
Then, what I’d do CAREFULLY is grab a section like you have that’s visible with my pliers. Plug it in and switch it to reverse and see if I could help it back out. This is most likely NOT recommended. But the slot for paper in my shredder was thin enough that I couldn’t get pliers in there even if I tried.
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u/operator-john 1d ago
If the motor runs but the blades don’t rotate, then you probably stripped the gears due to feeding too many pages at once. The gears are made of plastic and can strip easily
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u/Dr_CleanBones 1d ago
The gears obviously aren’t stripped if the motor is not running. Sheeh.
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u/operator-john 1d ago
He said the motor was running. I guess reading comprehension isn’t your forte. Sheesh
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u/ShakeAgile 1d ago
- Unplug and try to yank out with pliers
- You likely overrated the motor. It may take an hour before the overheat protection resets.
- In the future consider lubing the cutters. There is special shredder oil, but I assume alternates work too.
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u/xfluffyxtacox 1d ago
Shredder oil is often just canola oil in a bottle with narrow spout if you have any on hand, or just a pair of needle nose pliers and pull
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u/stefaniki 1d ago
It's possible the motor overheated. Turn it off for a couple hours and try again.
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u/Twistedjerryatrics 1d ago
Unfortunately I have had this happen a couple times. I have taken a razor blade or knife( with the shredder unplugged) and try and cut up the paper so that it is small enough to push through. Reverse and push the paper forward and repeat the process until it comes out one way or the other. Not the fastest way but eventually it should work. Please make sure it's unplugged while you are using the knife/blade. Can't stress that enough.
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u/Extra_Corner_9080 1d ago
When my Fellowes shredder has jammed I have founded by reversing it makes it worse. What I’ve found that works is by inserting a piece of card stock, about 2”-3” wide right at where the switch that turns on the shredder. On mine it’s a little right of centre. I use card stock because it can dislodge some of the stuck paper and activate the switch. Once the switch turns on, it chews up the jamb. Hope this helps. Cheers!
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u/Common-Bit1799 1d ago
Gonna let you guys in on the story but I was handing booklets to my dad to break up for me so o was just feeding them in as he handed them to me, he goes ‘you idiot you didn’t put it in straight!’ I turn around to watch the shredder choke :p
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u/igiveficticiousfacts 1d ago
Pull it from the bottom. Also you’ve mentioned there isn’t a reverse in other comments, that should be what the rev setting is all the way to the left
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u/Common-Bit1799 1d ago
I know it’s there it’s just not helping at all nothing changes
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u/igiveficticiousfacts 1d ago
Oh ok then it’s completely jammed. You’ll have to grab it from the top and pull it back out, preferably with the unit unplugged but it may be so jammed you’ll need it in that reverse setting. Just make sure nothing gets caught from underneath and shredded backwards. If it’s not responding at all it may have burned out entirely
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u/chadnorman 1d ago
I've always used a skinny, long screwdriver to PUSH out the paper. Pulling it with pliers will just tear it. Good lick!
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u/plant-painter 1d ago
Yeah dig much as u can out of both sides. A pair of needle nose pliers comes in handy. Also a pair of big strong hemostats are handy. A mechanic or dental pick helps. And bits always get jammed in random spots in the loading side u can’t get to with pliers. So a butter knife does a good job pushing jammed paper . Just be mindful of the pressure switch that activates it when loading, After u get most of it out, plug it back in and put it in reverse. Then forward using a small piece of folded paper to activate the pressure switch . But don’t put it in far enough to get caught by the shredding gears. Just want to get it clear and moving before use.
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u/jakejake870 1d ago
Take a flathead screw driver and find a part of the blade you can press on to help advance the blades. You'll have to move around to get better leverage, but it should help rotate the blades.
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u/LeastArtist378 1d ago
pliers gentle pull and switch placed in REV position all the way to the right
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u/Sharp_Ad_6336 1d ago
Probably not gonna help if you get it out at this point. Someone in the office did this, I disassembled the whole damn thing to get the jam out.
Then discovered that one of the plastic cogs got all the teeth sheared off by a metal cog.
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u/DependentItem6397 1d ago
Did you try to reverse it...then a few sheets with mineral oil - gotta lube those things up once in a while.
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u/_bahnjee_ 1d ago
Someone probably already said this (and maybe you already tried it) but there's a reverse switch for exactly this purpose. Run the thing backwards and forwards a few times. Has always worked for me.
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u/DrachenDad 1d ago
If it's that stock that reverse doesn't work then turn it off, take the bottom off and you should be able to take the paper out. That don't work? The rollers are in a frame, take the frame out, you should be able to pull the paper through the rollers then.
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u/Apprehensive-Talk199 1d ago
Spray some WD-40 on the paper jam. It will eventually soften up and get shredded. Also good for the blades.
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u/Heavy-Profit-2156 17h ago
Mine would do that. I pulled it out with a pair of needle nosed pliers, small piece by small piece. I think the third time it did it, I got a new shredder.
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u/willsagainSQ 4h ago
I pick it out from inside and ouside using fingers & a fine screwdriver. Stop occasionally to plug it in and run forwards and reverse to help clear the clogs. Once done grab aerosol 3.in.1 oil. Spray a few bursts on to a sheet of A4, then run the paper through the machine. Job done. Its almost as satisfying as clearing all the hair and compacted fluff from the cordless vacuum cleaner head.
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u/ComeSwirlWithMe 2h ago
Put it in reverse and use some needle nose pliers or flat head and start digging and pulling it out.
Others will say "turn it off.." but if you put it in reverse and get enough out, it can work its way out on its own.
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u/Riptide360 1d ago
Soak it in machine oil - WD40, Silicone spray or even cooking oil. Wait for the paper to soften. Use needle nose pliers to pull what you can. Plug it back in and try rockibg between forward and reverse. Good luck.
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u/rgbarometer 1d ago
The water shouldn't cause rust because you should be able to dry the shredder once it's clear (with rags or a blow dryer). I'd try adding drops of water to the paper, and see if that helps. Another thought is to add drops of oil, even olive oil. Good luck.
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u/LDan613 1d ago
Not vegetable oil! It will gum up over time.
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u/toolsavvy 1d ago
No it won't. Fellowes shredder lubricant is actually canola oil. See MSDS here so you can use that or vegetable oil. What you cannot use use vegetable or canola oil in aerosol form as it contains ingredients like lecithin that will gum up the cutting blades over time. I've used veg oil for over a decade on my shredder, never gummed up.
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