Jammed Paper Shredder

[PADemD]

Anyone have tips on how to unjam a paper shredder?

I managed to get out the paper from underneath the shredder, but the feed slot is so narrow that it's difficult to get the paper out of the top.

Any responses will be greatly appreciated.

[In_The_Wind]

1. Did you unplug it? Good. Now tug one piece of paper out at a time.

[PADemD]

4. Unplug, check. Pulled paper from bottom.

It's the paper on the top that is difficult to reach. The slot is so narrow that I couldn't use tweezers or a screw driver.

[femmocrat]

2. Did you try running it in reverse?

Sometimes that works.

[PADemD]

5. Tried reverse several times. Now the motor doesn't even hum.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I had a cheap one that jammed all the time...

and after yanking out what I could, trying "reverse" and using needlenose pliers and a small screwdriver to clean out what I could I finally gave up and got a better one.

And even with the better one-- don't assume it can handle as many pages as it says it can.

[Major Nikon]

8. At work we have one as big as a Volkswagen that can do entire volumes

Sometimes I think about what it would take to jam it and wonder aloud what would happen if I threw a brick in it.

[Fla Dem]

6. Had a shredder that jammed all the time. Finally got a new one.

As someone else said, you just have to pull as much of the small stuff out as you can using pliers, pointed knife, tweezers etc. There is no magic, just frustrating work.

The new one I got is an Office Ma OM9732. I love it. Rarely jams unless I let the shredded paper stack up close to the teeth. But I'm always careful not to put too much through it at once.

[PADemD]

7. Thanks

Haven't tried a knife yet. That may fit through the narrow feed slot.

I read a suggestion on line to drop some shredder or canola oil on the paper to soften or dissolve it. That may be my last resort.

There is only one Fellowes service repair location in PA, but the repair and shipping probably costs as much as a new shredder.

[Dont call me Shirley]

18. Try hair clipper oil, since the shredder works similarly to a hair clipper. One drop on each

end and one or two drops in the middle.

Also maybe a metal skewer would be thin enough to get the jammed paper out.

I've gotten mine so jammed and fixed it with time, patience and tweezers. It has a wide slot though.

[PADemD]

9. Thank you so much!

I used a pointed knife to dig out the paper jam from the top of the shredder. The paper was jammed against the feeder sensor.

[Fla Dem]

10. Glad you got it running.

back at ya!

[seveneyes]

11. rm / -rf

while (1) { echo 0xff >> /Cya; }

[antiquie]

13. ALERTER'S COMMENTS: Unintelligible

The review was completed at Fri May 15, 2015, 09:41 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: same as your reasoning
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: unintelligible is not a hide worthy alert
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Huh?
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I don't know what the heck the post says. It should be explained in the thread somewhere...
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Stupid alert, and an abuse of the jury system.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Ban the alerter, for being Unintelligle.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: when is unintelligible a criteria for an alert? It is Friday - chill out

[seveneyes]

15. Thanks for the intel. It was a software version of shredding

Maybe I should have done a shorthand of snowboarding.

Alert abuse is worse than substance abuse sometimes.

[antiquie]

17. Worse most of the time.

I hoped the alerter was joking.

[Special Prosciuto]

12. I can give you a tip on preventive...

Never shred paper or envelopes with adhesives. Glue kills personal shredders.

[progressoid]

14. I had to take ours apart.

Removed about a half dozen screws take apart the plastic housing on the top part. This exposed all the blades and nooks & crannies. Then spend about 20 minutes picking all the stuck paper out. Reassemble. Shred.

Caution: The blades are kind of sharp!

Also, unplug it.

[Paper Roses]

16. Don't forget to oil your shredder. I use sewing machine oil. See link:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=809905

[MH1]

19. Echoing the suggestion to oil.

I didn't know about that with my first shredder.

I know now.

Also, you might get some help clearing a jam if you drop just a few drops of oil into the jam before trying reverse over and over.

In this case, it sounds like you may have already killed it, so might as well try taking it apart, and price new shredders.

[PADemD]

20. I took FLADem's suggesion and used a sharp pointed knife to unclog the shredder.

It works now.