Crosscut Paper Shredders: Oiling?


Well...

Scissors operate on the principle of negative clearance (the blades are slightly cambered and rub against each other at the point of cutting) linear blades operating in single shear. Cutting foil may act like a crude whetstone on the side you would normally hone smooth(the inside) during sharpening- until you do it enough to round over the actual cutting surface.

A paper shredder operates with a set of rotary, rather than linear blades operating in double shear, but because they rotate, they are designed with a slight positive side clearance between the blades, if they overlapped they would heat up, gall and seize during use. (The clearance is very small, hence the need for occasional lubrication) These blades are not designed the same as scissors, they are sharpenened on the single lateral cutting surface, but ground flush on the sides like slitter knives, and assembled with the proper side clearance for the rated number of sheets; it is a combination of dulling on the contact points and opening up the side clearance between the hundreds of tiny blades that causes the shredder to begin to bog down and not cut cleanly.

Running abrasive materials through any rotary shear wears the blades and increases blade clearance; eventually compromising performance. It would be like thinking that you could tune up your garbage disposal by running a bucket of sand through it.
 
Hey, your idea of using mineral oil worked anyway.:D Westernskies, I think what you are saying--bottom line--is if you run aluminum foil thru the machine over and over it will eventually ruin the blades. KISS.
 


What Westersky's said.....


But, the video said it removed the 'bards' or something like that from the scissors... they were NOT sharpened...

Just because there are a lot of people out there stating it is so, does not make it so...

Remember way back when... if you were burned you were supposed to put butter on the burn:confused: It was common knowledge... but wrong... unless you can show me where a manufacturer of scissors or paper shredders say you can sharpen with aluminum foil.... I will not believe it...
 
Do shredders even need sharpening?

I've been using shredders since the early 80's - from home models to some that are as big as cars and larger - and I've never heard of anybody sharpening them....


...until yesterday, right here on e-r.org...


There once was a man named O'Boyle
who sported a big hat made of foil
He fell into a shredder
It cut so much better
that the motor no longer toiled.
 
Do shredders even need sharpening?

I've been using shredders since the early 80's - from home models to some that are as big as cars and larger - and I've never heard of anybody sharpening them.


I kept my crosscut shredder from when I had a business ($200 Fellowes model) and, yes, you could tell that it was dragging some when it was cutting lately. Seems that running the foil thru and a very, very liberal use of mineral oil has that baby purring again. Definite difference from how it was running before.

Good poem, Westernskies...good one..ha!
 
I kept my crosscut shredder from when I had a business ($200 Fellowes model) and, yes, you could tell that it was dragging some when it was cutting lately. Seems that running the foil thru and a very, very liberal use of mineral oil has that baby purring again. Definite difference from how it was running before.

The very, very liberal use of mineral oil may have helped it pass the aluminum foil appetizer you served earlier in the day...:whistle:
 
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