How do you lubricate your paper shredders?

[balloonshark]

How do you lube your paper shredders? I understand they make pre-lubed sheets but I was wondering if I could get by oiling my own paper or oiling the blades themselves. If so what type of oil do you use?

 

[KLin]

3 in 1 oil would probably do the trick. Few drops on a couple sheets of paper then run them through.

Bought these for my shredders almost 2 years ago.

 

[manly]

You can just drip a bit of sewing machine oil onto the blades.
You're supposed to do this regularly, but I think I've already waited at least five years since the last time LOL.

 

[esquared]

How do you lube your paper shredders? I understand they make pre-lubed sheets but I was wondering if I could get by oiling my own paper or oiling the blades themselves. If so what type of oil do you use?

IIRC, my Fellowes shredder came with a bottle of oil that you put several drops into, every "X" amount of hours of use.

How to Oil Your Fellowes Shredder: A Step-by-Step Guide

Fellowes shredders are the ultimate tools for destroying crucial information on necessary documents. They are a valuable addition to your office equipment for shredding paper, credit cards, optical media, and classified documents. However, like any other machine, a shredder requires proper...

www.fellowes-shredder.com

12 oz bottle for cheap here.

https://www.amazon.com/Fellowes-35250-Powershred-Performance-Extension/dp/B00006I58N

 

[Chaotic42]

Is it just... canola oil?

https://assets.fellowes.com/msds/35250.pdf

 

[brianmanahan]

i bought special paper shredder lube sheets

 

[lxskllr]

Is it just... canola oil?

https://assets.fellowes.com/msds/35250.pdf

Not really familiar with shredders, but off the shelf canola will tack up when exposed to oxygen. I use it in my chainsaws as bar oil, but if I'm not using a saw much, or am going to park it for awhile, I use an oil free bio lubricant. My poulanpro lost an oil pump I suspect was due to seizing from oxidized canola. It's a crappy saw with a crappy plastic oil pump, but still...

 

[tcsenter]

Anything lubey man. Silicon grease or spray, those oils that come with electric clippers or shears. I bought a few 1oz bottles of this for anything general purpose:

https://www.lucasoil.com/product/extreme-duty-gun-oil/

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks for your replies. Strangely enough my shredder's manual doesn't mention lubricating. I've heard of some folks using canola oil but like lxskllr mentioned I worry about it solidifying. Those pre-lubed sheets are so pricey but they are convenient and look easy to use.

 

[lxskllr]

I wouldn't buy any special sheets for it. If it were me, I'd keep a can of 3in1 near the shredder, and every do often, dribble some on some sheets you're gonna shred anyway. Minimal waste, and not much to think about.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Never occurred to me to lube it but I guess it couldn't hurt. Probably want to use an oil that is fairly thin and not tacky or it will cause bits of paper dust to stick to the cutters and accumulate.

I actually modded my shredder so when I turn it on it's just continuous run, when I insert stuff it just goes, no need to hit the little switch inside. Receipts and other thin paper were kinda tedious to shred before that.

Now days I just use the wood stove for any paper stuff I would normally shred, so the shredder doesn't get much use anymore.

 

[Chaotic42]

Not really familiar with shredders, but off the shelf canola will tack up when exposed to oxygen. I use it in my chainsaws as bar oil, but if I'm not using a saw much, or am going to park it for awhile, I use an oil free bio lubricant. My poulanpro lost an oil pump I suspect was due to seizing from oxidized canola. It's a crappy saw with a crappy plastic oil pump, but still...

Apparently something like hydroquinone can inhibit that. You'll need a few thousand dollars worth of equipment to get it going, but over two to three hundred thousand years, you'll come out ahead financially.

Or you could just use WD-40 or 3-in-1 like they want you to.

 

[IronWing]

I'm 99 and 94/100% positive that the paper shredder in my office has never been lubed in its 20+ year life. The thing is designed to eat CDs* as well as paper.


* That the shredder is designed to eat an obsolete storage medium should be taken as an indication of advanced age. Also note that we don't use it to shred CDs as that would surely annoy the paper recycler.

 

[Chaotic42]

Most office shredders I've used have tanks of lube hidden inside them and they shoot out a little bit every so often. Definitely have to lube the ones at home though.

 

[BoomerD]

i bought special paper shredder lube sheets

Yeah, me too. It's just easier.

 

[Hans Gruber]

Use motor oil or mineral oil. If you think new motor oil is a bad idea. Use mineral oil. Sewing machine oil is mineral oil. You want to put more than a few drops on a sheet of paper. Draw a line in lube across a sheet of paper and run 5 or 6 individual sheets. I have a zoom spout bottle of mineral oil. You can use a dropper or anything that drops the lube on the paper.

I think bar and chain oil would work well. I have not tried it. I would avoid using cooking oils. Those are messy and would leave a stick residue. Any oil that is designed to lubricate metal would be a good lubricant.

 

[tcsenter]

Probably just mineral oil with some additives:

Hair Clipper Blade Oil (4 fl oz. 120 ml)

Shop Wahl's Oil, which is specially formulated to work best with Wahl hair clippers. Just a few drops is all it takes to extend the life of clipper blades.

wahlusa.com

 

[Brainonska511]

Never bothered with the cheap paper shredder I bought from Amazon like 8 years ago. Still works fine, except for the auto turn-on feature being broken (stays on all the time).