Paper shredder stops

I have an old Royal JS1 paper shredder that has worked pretty well for most of its life. However, now after I put the paper in, it starts to shred and then the motor continues but the gears stop turning.

I have opened it up and have watched what is happening. It looks like one of the gears on the side gets stuck. If I tap the gear gently with a hammer, it will continue shredding.

I think it looks like maybe when the gear gets stuck, it is somehow closer to the gear turning it and maybe it is getting caught on that, but I am not sure.

Does anyone have any experience with this and any guesses on how to fix this? If need be, I have a video camera and could put up a youtube video of the gears if that would help.

Thanks!

I could be the sensor,you can jump the sensor,

No, I think the sensor is fine, since I can routinely activate it when I need it. The noticeable part is that all the gears are spinning, then suddenly two of them, the ones connected to the blades, stop while the others keep going.

Hi Arphahat, welcome to the forum here

It would be helpful indeed if you could upload a clip to youtube showing the malfunctioning gears.

It sounds like something goes wrong with the mechanism itself but I don't want to say anything before I know completely what it is we are talking about, so I look forward to seeing it

OK, I finally got around to recording my broken shredder. Hopefully this footage is sufficient for determining what is wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi4_65yB5vQ

Can you safely take it apart? I cannot really see what is obstructing the normal movement but I am quite sure this is something to do with the part itself.

I'll take a look at disassembling it at lunch and report back afterward.

I hope you will find the problem then. Let me know

It looks like it is not possible to disassemble the gears: they are held on with either flat bolts or are crimped together with no way to take it apart.

I did tinker with the one screw I saw: the one holding the small gear on the right. I tried loosening and tightening it, and I don't think it is the smaller gear that is the problem anymore. I noticed that the larger gear, on the left, has lots of give; I applied pressure with a screwdriver along the side of this gear and could feel the part push closer to me (away from the axle it was turning) and then back away from me. I am guessing that something is bent, but trying to figure out what is not easy.

If you've worked with gears before, are there any things I can test to figure out what might be going on?

Well if you cannot release them I think it is pretty hard fixing them. How else would you be able to see and- if necessary- repair the problem?