Chipper stopped pulling branches into chipper blades

[305]

Hi.
The model is:

247.775862 (24B-485B099) - Craftsman Chipper Shredder (1998) (Sears)​

Branches stopped self feeding into both the chipper hopper. I have to force them down or they sit in the hopper and bounce around. It used to feed fine. The issue started small to where i had to push branches in with a little force and got worse over time to the point its almost impossible to push a branch through.

My question is do I need new chipper blades or is there an adjustment somewhere I can make?

Thanks guys. This forum is invaluable.

 

[Rivets]

Chipper blades can be sharpened. I would check the condition of the drive belt. May be worn or tension loose allowing for slippage. If belt is more than 3 years old I would replace it.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Side chute chipper not feeding in will be because the blade is blunt or warn too far .
It must have a knife edge sharpness and after a few sharpenings it wears short so will need some STEEL shims to return the working clearance
If it is a hammer mill style shredder then the hammers are either suck on the shafts or the holes are worn oval
The spacers between the hammers also wear so they may also need replacing
The order of the blades & spacers IS IMPORTANT so photograph them and label each one , even if each one goes into a snack bag they must got back in the correct order

If the holes they swing on are good and the striking face has worn to a curve that can simply be put in backwards

 

[305]

Thank you. That'd the exact info I needed. I'm going to tear it down later this week and see what's what.