Spoiler Saver & Riddle Riddle: You walk into a room with a pig eating slop, a rabbit nibbling a carrot and a chimp devouring a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?
Hi vince, I recommend you do a revisit. But next time make a silicone mold. Then you can use resin to make the new gear. I've seen many people do that with great success. Kind regards. Paul.
The resin is weaker than the already weak plastic gears Rexel used here, a 3D printed wheel will likely be destroyed fairly quickly, though I guess it would demonstrate that it was the real issue. There are several 3D printing methods that would work for this but they all require extremely expensive hardware (basically metal 3D printers). Basically, ALL cheap shredders use plastic gears which is pretty much always the first thing to give, it's pretty much a question "you want it to last - buy a more expensive model which will have proper metal gears". And since we could hear the motor running but the shredder part didn't move it was pretty much guaranteed as soon it was turned on. The auto function can sometimes break first, but usually there's ways to bypass that (most have separate "on" and "auto" functions) OR it fails "open" like this, so it's really planned obsolence, the plastic wheel WILL break at some point, sooner or later someone will feed it too many papers at the same time. The metal gear ones usually stall out the motor (insufficient torque), the cheap plastic ones... loose one or more cogs.
That gear repair looked amazing, I was as sure as you that it was going to work! A valiant effort either way, Vince. I would definitely have given up way before you did! 😊
@@Mymatevince probably this gear are nylon reinforced with glass fiber and this do not like glue (weak bound) and this gear have no reason at all to be nylon other than breaking to make the consumer buy an new one this nylon gear can also cost more than a metal one sometimes I wonder why they do waste so much resources for this kind of devices 1 metal gear and this last the life of the cutting devices like 5-10 year because the paper is abrasive and will sand to death the cutting element too bad but we have cool video to look ;p
I knew when you said lets try to fold it like 4 pages, that was when it was going to break. Like you said, you could have stopped the video then and we wouldn't have known. I like your honesty.
Hi Vince, thanks for a very informative video. I had a different problem with my Rexel (working only in reverse). But after watching your video I decided to have a go. I especially liked the fact that you showed exactly how to open it up and where all the bits had to go. I am now very happy that I have yet again a working shredder and didn't have to throw it away. Keep up the good work. Regards, Sylvia
Thanks Vince, tried fixing mine today after watching your video. Same problem in the end. Broken teeth on the wheel. Had to give up. But thanks for your help anyway! I call that planned obsolescence!
Hi Vince, I discovered you approx. 1-2 months ago and I've seen about 80% of your videos(I'm addicted). As a child I used to teardown my toys etc to see how they functioned and still do as an adult. Never seem to be able to fix/put them back together but it's fun nonetheless. Your videos inspire me both to save costs and to save the environment. Keep up the good work Vince 👍
Thank you SOOOOO much for the entertaining fun! I had one of these strip the gear just like yours years ago. (I never bought a replacement when the rep told me they don't sell the gears) When you decided to attempt to repair that gear, I just can't describe my reaction! I just loved it! Thank you again for making my day! Absolutely brilliant!!
It’s not always about the fix, I really enjoyed this video great entertainment value. I have learnt so much from watching your videos Vince, the losses can be as valuable as the wins
That looked perfect, I was on your side with giving it a bath. Thought it would have lasted longer than just a few sheets. Such a shame but still much appreciated for the video and the views on the guts inside of these.
The point where you inserted the magazine cover and the tooth snapped was just golden, very funny. Well you clearly learn a lot from these repairs and we can learn a lot too. Do you ever try to teach your children or other members of your family how to fix things?
Great video, one of my favourites. A top notch effort. I had a similar shredder with a similar fault that turned out to be a stripped cog. I didn't make any attempt to fix it, but when I saw your fix I thought "dam he's fixed it!". Dremel is a great tool I have had one in one shape or another for 20+ years, I'm sure you'll get lots of use from it. Another great try to fix video. Thanks for keeping us entertained.
@@Mymatevince You certainly have some patience and persistence (See Andy Pandy). I think that is one of the many reasons you are so popular. Lesson for me to learn there. I hope to get a storage locker soon, so i can keep some of my failures for later revisits too. I have run out of room in the flat.
Great effort, I was certain you had it! Well, you did briefly :) You can still salvage it with some work; clean the gear, mold and cast a new proper one. More effort than it's worth perhaps. Are you certain the new shredders don't use the same gearing?
Vince, you should find a big gear that has the teeth the same size, chop off a slice(just like a cake) and splice that in. Worked for me on a model helicopter.
I enjoyed it immensely every time the shredder shouted at you for putting in 4 sheets 😂 I learnt a lot though, I think our work shredder needs a new gear. It was under warranty and they've replaced the shredder for new and let us keep the old one. I'm going to try and fix it so we have an extra, fingers crossed. Learnt some important stuff here, thank you.
Be careful with your new tool Vince! I winced a little bit when you were using it so close to your hand. One slip and you would have severely hurt yourself. Might be worth getting a little vice grip or at least some heavy duty gloves when doing stuff like that. Too bad about the gear. Perhaps some proper 2-part epoxy would have been strong enough to last?
Using it close to your hand may be necessary at times BUT WEAR SAFETY GLASSES! Those cut off wheels can EXPLODE and cause really bad eye injury. Little worse than cutting your finger.
Great effort. I think they have to put plastic gears as a safety mechanism in case you get your tie caught in the machine. Very amusing dialog in this one. Thumbs up.
Definitely, they design similar linkages on petrol & diesel engines to protect damage to the transmission parts. Do wish Vince would look into getting a 3d printer, so many of the failed repairs could potentially be fixed with a printed plastic part. Though equally the quirky hacks he then resorts to are quite entertaining. With what Vince mentioned in the video, the cog is quite chunky so printed one should be fine, the metal centre bit can be pushed in using the heat from the soldering iron to heat up the metal part.
@@benwainwright2314 I gotta agree with Vince that the print medium might be too weak to hold up to the forces put on the gears. Though I don't have any experience with it personally. It seems like a big investment to create a few plastic parts once in a while.
I'm afraid you encountered the Planned Obsolescence Gear (tm) that is installed into all consumer products. This one is just more obvious than others. Love the channel, thanks for the honesty. Cheers!
Like you said, can't win them all. Thanks for showing us that "rock hard" stuff, might not have worked in that case but it might do very well in stuff I thought was otherwise, not recoverable.
I was given a non-working Fellowes professional office confetti shredder about a year ago, with exactly the same problem (along with a similar plastic gear rather than a nice machined metal one - so much for high-end products - they're just as crap quality as the cheap consumer stuff). Anyway I designed and 3D printed a replacement in PLA with 60% infill for strength, which worked just as well as your repair did Vince - that is to say that it worked perfectly with one or two sheets of paper, but shredded the teeth when faced with anything thicker (so no credit cards or CDs with 3D printed gears) So I printed a another replacement and that's still working fine as long as I only ever feed single sheets of paper into it (I'm sure it will fail eventually, but it's easy enough to print a new one I guess) so to answer your question as to whether 3D printing is a viable means of repairing this sort of product, the answer is a definite "yes", but only for the lightest duty home use, definitely not for a busy office.
Despite your failures this was one of your most entertaining videos! To be honest i was sure it was going to work when you q-bonded the gear. Your videos are better for their honest approach to fixing.
DUDE!!!! That was the best. Please try to mold a new gear from epoxy, or shape one out of a solid surface material like Corian. You are such a blessing sir!
How did I miss this =O Nice surprise watch =D And for Vince's next trick - walking on water!!! I spoke too soon lol! Amazing work on that gear! In something that doesnt have so much torque that would have been a lasting fix for sure!
just a thought vince, drive needles deep into the gear with heat cut the top to level it out, then use that thingamabob putty you use to encase it. then use the dremel to shape new teeth.
Did you know there are places called repair cafes and there all over appently? Was driving through Epson and saw one there. it seems like once a month the doors open and you bring in broken stuff. When I looked online it seemed like bird tables, prams, lawnmowers etc.
first time I’ve seen you mate,obviously I’d a problem with my rexel so tracked you down,really enjoyed your vid so informative,and more impressive because you really tried everything,such a pity it still stripped the gear,I’ve subscribed so keep up the great work!,kindest regards Derek….
After many years of use I finally jammed mine to the point I need to open it up to clear the blockage. This video seems the way to go. Interestingly I have never oiled the shredder and one of the "Do Not Do" symbols on my unit is do not oil? In this video the symbols are visible at the 40 second time point. I am assuming oiling would help my old unit. If I unjam the thing I'll give it the canola treatment.
Somewhere there in England there is a retired machinist that would love to mill you a new cog/gear. As others have said - the nylon set is a safety mechanism but these consumer devices usually thermally protected as well so if it does get jammed up and won't stop the fuse link will blow or the fuse itself in the plug... 3D printers can print some pretty robust stuff these days - especially the ones pros use so that's an option too. I'd like to see a follow up here when you buy another one of these or find someone who can reproduce that part.
Very well done sir, enjoy your videos and attempts to repair items. Think worth another attempt to reconfigure, mould, shape new teeth from some of the suggestions below eg liquid metal (jb weld or heavy gorilla weld), reform the teeth then coat all teeth with liquid metal for extra strength? that itself could/would make an interesting video. Keep up the good work Vince!
If your not done yet Vince try contacting HPC gears. They stock double gears and may have a direct replacement if you can give them some dimensions etc.
Vice, You can try to repair it with an epoxy stick that behaves like blue tack . You cut a piece of the bar and knead it to a uniform color , score some grooves in the gear so that the epoxy has a good bite, and apply like blue tack, put the gear in place mesh it with the other gear to form the teeth take the gear back of and let it harden use some sandpaper or a little file to trim the sides of the gear where the epoxy has been squeezed out and done. (or trim the sides with a knife while it is still soft ) Just Google for "epoxy putty" JBweld and Pattex are two of which I have worked and have good results even on plastics.
Fantastic and interesting video as usual, love your videos. With regard to the fix, it’s a shame they make these things to break, if all the gears were metal it wouldn’t have broke in that way. Like you said though, it’s cheap and disposable which is a shame in today’s world. Anyway, it made for great viewing and your repair was excellent, a great effort.
Ah, that sweet, sweet music (the bugle, not the shredder). :( Pity about that gear, though. If you're up for it, I'd love to see some for-science gear-repair experiments in a follow up video. Also, now I can add "As seen on My Mate Vince" on my CV. Haha
Spoilers below. . . . . . . . My oh my, too bad it didn't last :( For me getting to know about that Q-Bond thingy was worth the video. And I really thought it would last as well but it seems to me it's a bad design having the metal gear against the plastic one like that, I think that if they were both plastic there's a chance it would last a bit more, not so sure. Amazing video and I would have given up before trying the metal pins. All in all, I had a lot of fun watching it!
I was heading down to the gym to lose 10Lbs and get shredded but stopped to watch this video. Glad I did. InTeReStiNg and Vince is a real loveable cutup. I really ended up in pieces. I didn't have the power to resist. Thanks for the memories! Cheers p.s. With all due respect to the Co. that has to be a design problem to have collected that much Confetti insided the mechanism yes? Just saying. Good Fix BTW. (except for the last EXTREAM TEST) And Dremel™? How posh.
Is JB Weld available in the UK? They make a "steel putty" that starts off just like that Blu Tack, but once you let it set it's as hard as metal! I've fixed car parts with it lol
Try typing 'plastic gears' or 'metal gears' into Ebay and see what comes up. Cheap and plentiful. The same problem occurs with Video and Audio Cassette Decks and the like, Especially the old Philips gears that appear to be made of Cheddar Cheese!
The nylon gear is there as a safe point of failure. Imagine dropping a fork in the shredder if it only had metal gears (shrapnel everywhere or motor catching fire over a box of shredded paper). It also is pliable so it is somewhat forgiving of overloading with paper. The repair was simply too brittle to be effective. A for effort though. It's a shame they don't sell spares for parts designed to fail.
Nice video, the 2 rollers need oiling once in a while and maybe if you had oiled them they had maybe spinned a bit easier and there for get less strain on the gears, just a thought 👍
You would need to clean and degrease the plastics first then use the dremel to scuff up the the plastic. that would give a better bond, Thanks for the mention 😊 still a great video 👍👍👍👍
Great try Vince. Those gears were almost art. I assumed you cleaned the 1st gear of all the metal filing greasy swarf. I wonder if you could use the parts of a small metal bull dog clip cut down as replacement teeth (surface) over the bit that you created.
You need to cast a section of the teeth then cut the affected section out in the same style as a keyway and insert the cut to size cast section . The beveled edge will lock in place and hold firm either direction choose a hard material like the bottle tops of milk bottle (hdpe) there are videos on melting it in the oven so with the right mold material you could actual cast straight into the mold. Hope I've made sense. Hope you give it a go and do a revist.
You may try JounJip plastic welding kit with 80w iron on Amazon or eBay - suggestion - the box comes with screen and plastic strips and a wire brush hand brush
when the gear snapped I was like the time I thought I fixed the VCR player and it disconbobbulaits again half way through the film during class in highschool! I told my teacher I could fix it and it worked the day before I brought it back! It was back to how it was before I took it home to fix it!
Only vince would attempt a repair On a item like this! 😂 I was so sure that gear would work your repair looked amazing! Nevertheless awesome job as usual vince regardless of the outcome
This is the point where you find a machining or CNC channel to collab with on making a new gear for a £50 paper shredder. Alternatively RS, and presumably other places, do plastic gears, provided there's one with the correct dimensions and number of teeth, you could enlarge the centre hole and file out a tooth pattern to take the hub gear off the broken one, and epoxy the whole lot together, the tricky part would be keeping everything concentric.
You mentioned this in your dialogue but I would like to reinforce it. I had this problem with a FELLOWES shredder and it was the same intermediate gear. If you're going to compete a plastic gear against a metal gear we all know what will win. I wonder how much more it would cost for a metal one? I contacted FELLOWES about a replacement but was advised that it was an obsolete machine and no spares where held. I also tried eBay but nobody appears to make replacement gears. I scoured the Internet for gear/ cog makes but could not match the dimensions. So this is what happens! For the lack of a simple cog a perfectly good motor and cutting blades are cast into the tip. How can we save the planet with situations like this?
You have to cover the wheel. This will thicken the impeller and increase its resistance. You can use metal. It is simple to draw and easy to cut. Or you can make sealant with sunfix.
nice try. I thought maybe only one sheet at the time is allowed bit according to the manual it is max 7. I once fixed something like this by taking a bigger part of the gear out, clued some plastic part in it, and shaping it as you did.
Nice try! If you really wanted to fix it I'd suggest dremeling out the whole broken area into a V shape, then getting some suitable chunk of hard nylon, brass or aluminium that you can splice and epoxy into the V shaped cut-out, then dremel teeth into that. I don't think 3D printer material would be hard enough anyway. Great try though.
Maybe worth putting the dimensions of the gear out there so one or some of us can have a crack at 3d printing a spare, abs is pretty strong stuff right? Or if there's enough rough room, maybe glueing or screwing a thinner metal cog on top of it to do the gripping where the teeth are missing?
Vince, I am wondering if there is another fault where the motor should stop if the paper jams. If this was not working then it would always strip the gear, metal vs plastic, plastic will always lose?
Im wondering if you could cut out a small section and reform it with epoxy. I think what is failing is the adhesion, especially considering the grease and that the original is probably nylon, which is proper adhesion resistant.
