Can you sharpen shredder blades

They are used for home offices. They are very practical to use and they help you destroy confidential files before throwing them out. However with constant usage, shredder blades get dull and do not work as efficiently as before. Most people would simply throw their shredders away and simply replace it with a new one.

Here are the tools you will need: a disc sander fitted with a grit sanding disc, a vice, allen keys, spanners, monkey wrench adjustable spanner , impact driver, socket set, camera and a bowl for holding nuts, bolts and washers.

If the blades are beyond repairing through sharpening, then you will need to replace them. Just disassemble the shredder as above but instead of sharpening the blades replace them with new ones. As long as you take care with what you put into the shredder, you should get many years of service from it with no problems. Wood shredder blades last around 75 to hours runtime before they need replacing. The difference between a chipper and a shredder are, a chipper is designed to work on large pieces of wood and cut them into smaller pieces.

A shredder either crushes or pulls apart branches and twigs making it much easier to compost. We have now discussed the basics of garden shredders. So how do you actually sharpen chipper blades? There are several methods and a host of considerations.

Firstly, you must look at if self-sharpening is an option or if a machinist would be the better choice. Next, there are several different self-sharpening methods which are outlined below.

Part of my Hurricane irene prep is sharpening the blades of the chipper shredder so clean up will be easier. Firstly, you must look at if it is feasible to sharpen your own wood chipper blades. Admittedly, this process is not for everyone! If you have little DIY knowledge and confidence, it may be better to send your blades to a professional machinist. They can sharpen the blades for you and save you the hassle. The downside is that this is much more expensive and time-consuming.

Alternatively, if you are handy with tools and have DIY experience, removing the blades and sharpening them may be a walk in the park! You can see the basic process from our below guide.

You should bear in mind that you will need some specific tools , however. For example, depending on the method you choose, you will need a grinding wheel, angle grinder, sander, or even a belt sander. If you have to invest in something specific like a grinding wheel, it may not be cost-effective to sharpen your blades. Instead, a professional grinder could be the better option. Alternatively, if you have these tools already for other jobs, self-sharpening could be the perfect answer.

Finally, there is a point where you cannot sharpen the blades. When you start sharpening, you remove material from the blades. Eventually, there is no material left to remove without compromising the shape of the blade. At this point, sharpening is redundant, and new blades are required! The instruction manual of the wood chipper should state how long the wood chipper blades last and how far they can be sharpened.

Before you can do any work, you must remove wood chipper blades from the housing. It can be a tricky part. Therefore, you must understand how the blades are attached and how the mechanism works — read the instructions! The blades usually have bolts securing them in place. Depending on the design, these may be attached to a drum. Before doing anything, make sure there is no power source and that the device cannot be powered. You can then simply use a wrench or Allen key if provided to unscrew the housing bolts and remove the blades.

We would also advise taking note of the positioning of the blades once you have removed them. It is important to put them back in the correct alignment; otherwise, the cutting motion may not work. A common sharpening tool that many people will have is a disc sander or an angle grinder. Step 1 Power off your paper shredder and apply paper shredder lubrication oil directly to the shredder blades. Step 2 Turn the shredder on and allow it to run for 10 seconds before turning it off.

Step 3 Turn the shredder to its reverse setting and run for another 10 seconds before turning it off. Step 1 Turn your paper shredder on and set it to its lowest setting. Step 2 Place a paper shredder sharpening sheet into the shredder.

Step 3 Turn the shredder to its reverse setting and insert a new paper shredder sharpening sheet.