Electric hair clipper repair

2006 January 10
category: Electronics
by Rob

My Oster electric hair clipper died. It was time to fix it…


The thing has been my trusty friend for many years, allowing me to go far beyond the recommended 2-3 weeks between haircuts. A little neck trim, maybe the sideburns, no one would ever notice.

And then one day, Mr. Oster just quit. His sliding blade stopped sliding. It had power — that unmistakable sound as it “snapped” on.

At first, I thought the slider switch was too corroded over to be making contact. Nope.

Then, I thought there was too much hair and grime between the transformer halves. Nope.

It turned out this strange little anchor screw was merely too tight, such that the coil could no longer alternate back and forth with the AC line current.

Loosen it up, and eureka!

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29 Comments leave one →
2006 January 12
Jules permalink

I am James’ barber. I’ve been doing it for 15 years. Maybe I should start making him pay me! How much do they charge you for a haircut? Those look just like the Oster clippers I use on him.

2006 January 12
Carl V. permalink

I think you should try to get a little spending money for those haircuts Jules! Good job Mr. Fix-it.

2006 January 12
Rob permalink

$15, Jules! That’s some splurge money right there!

2006 January 13
Ciera permalink

$15 for a haircut? Wow. I only get charged $9! :P

2006 January 13
James permalink

Jules, do you take credit cards?

2006 January 14
Jules permalink

I’m a cash only girl. You should know that! ;)

2006 April 24
Doug Lauder permalink

Recommendation worked like a charm thanks

2007 January 1
Allen permalink

Hello! I stumbled across this page googling “how to fix hair clippers”, and your advice is pretty good. It worked for one set of clippers (I THINK I loosened the spring you’re talking about correctly), but the second set is giving me problems.

As I loosen the spring holding the mobile blade, the blade begins moving more and the vibrations are louder. The only thing is, it doesn’t move enough to start cutting, and I’ve already loosened the spring to the point where it falls out of the clipper! It just seems like there’s “something” holding back the blade, but I’m not sure what it is. Any suggestions?

I’m very curious – do you know why this happens to a set of clippers after use? I don’t have any electrician-background so my understanding of this is very basic, correct me if I’m wrong: The motor is an electromagnet and oscillates the magnet to move the blade. If that’s the case, I don’t see any reason why the magnet would “wear itself down” after time. Why do we need to move the spring at all? I’m just interested to understand the process and would appreciate any explanation. =)

2007 January 2
Rob permalink

Allen, good to hear that one of your pairs of clippers is fixed now. As to why this is happening, I’m not completely sure. When my clippers froze up, I assumed it was that anchor screw had just worked itself tight over the years.

If you have a pair of clippers in which you’ve loosened this screw and it’s still not oscillating, then there’s something wrong with the transformer which provides the magnetic field. It’s possible that the coils are corroded. Look for rust or damage on the coil.

2007 October 3
Dennis permalink

My clippers only work when turned in the right position (straight up and down usually). I checked for loose wires and the switch and they don't seem to be out of order. Also checked the big adjusting screw and it's the same story.
What can I do to fix them?

2007 October 3
Rob permalink

Dennis, When your pair doesn't work, do you hear any electric "buzz"?  If so, then you know there's power but the coil is binding in that orientation. If there's no power at all in the orientation that causes it to not work, then I'd say you have a cable intermittence. Rob

2007 October 3
Dennis permalink

Rob, There is no buzzing at all. They either come on or not. Usually when they are vertical.

I just checked them again. It's the cable.. Thanks for your help, I wouldn't have fixed them without you.

2007 December 20
Kim Sorensen permalink

I Have 2 pair of andis master clippers and 2 different trimmers they will not cut I have oiled cleaned them but nothing seems to work?

2009 February 18
Jack Sun permalink

Dear Sir/Madam,
 
I know about your company by internet today.And found that some of the photoes as like our product.Let me introduce of us.
We are Goldollar Co,real manufacturer and exporter of Razor,thinning razor,electric hair clippers and Scissors like Barber Scissors, Thinning Scissors.
 
We are in this line since last 21 years and exporting our quality instruments around the globe. Our main markets are USA, UK, EUROPE and many other countries around the world.
 
Our experts are ready to redesign any instruments according to the customer’s satisfactions.
 
Hope we can establish good bussiness relationship in future.
 
In the end we assure you that we will provide you our best attention and services at all the time.
 
Best regards and hope to hear from you soon further on this matter.
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
Jack Sun
 
(Sales Manager)
Goldollar Co.,Ltd
Website:www.gdl.cn 
E-mail:jy@goldollar.cn
MSN:sjkcnc@hotmail.com
Tel:086-0574-88858888   Fax:086-0574-88858555
333 East ZhongxingRd,Xikou,Ningbo,Zhejiang,China

2009 February 21
Rob permalink

Hmm, a sales call? I’m flattered you think I need a contract manufacturer for my mods, but alas I have not a sizable market for repairing electric hair clippers.

2009 May 7
veronica pagan permalink

hello.  i have a pair of andis styleliner2, they turn on, but the blade doesn’t move and if they do they barely cut.  This happens to a my clippers when i drop them.  There gotta be a way to fix them, I would greatly appreciate your advice.  I’m getting happy just thinking about being able to fix this problem.

2009 May 7
veronica pagan permalink

correction. I have oester t-finishers not the styliners.  The oester’s have no screw on the side of them like most clippers do.

2009 May 7
Rob permalink

There’s a good chance that you’re having the same problem I had as described in my post above. Have you tried taking them apart yet an loosening the transformer anchor screw?

2009 May 8
Rick permalink

Hey Rob.  I am glad to hear you are doing business with China now.  We all know that they need our business since it is such a small country.  How many thousand instruments are you going to buy from him? :)

2009 June 5
steve permalink

hi rob..hmmm im half way in 2 shaving my head n they have stoped cutting..they are just pulling on my hair and not realy cutting..ther non oil 1s but iv sprayed a bit of aftershave on as in the past this has worked,iv losend the 2 screws on the bottem plate and relined but still no joy..help me pleasssssseeee
steve

2009 June 5
Rob permalink

Yeah, your transformer could be dead.  If you want to send it to me for repair, I can take a look for you.

2009 June 5
steve permalink

no worrys m8,il just buy some new 1s
thanks for the replie

2009 July 27
Alex permalink

I took my Andis Styliners 2 apart and an oval ring with with two rectangular shapes (one flat and the other at 60 degrees all attached together) feel to th ground. I looked at both your diagrams but none illustrate where this piece goes. I’m sure this is important do you have an idea?
 

2009 July 28
Rob permalink

Alex, can you send me some pictures of what you have? I’ll send you an email too…

2009 September 2
Pablo permalink

Hey Rob,
I have the same clippers as you and have been using them for around 16 years now. Problem is, now they just started to sound horrible! They can still cut and work very good, but the sound is louder and really bad.
I took it apart and cleaned it, did a little maintenance with the rust and everything, and still sounds terrible. I don’t know if it’s the magnet hitting something or some other thing, curious thing is, they still cut perfectly. The screw on the side, I’ve already loosened and tightened it up and nothing seems to work. I’m just affraid that sound would mean they will reheat at some point or something.
Can you help me with this? Thank you

2009 September 3
Rob permalink

Hmm, it depends, Pablo. If you’ve already cleaned it and tried loosening and tightening that screw, that’s the extend of what I did to fix mine. Beyond that, you might have to replace the transformer, which could be hard to find. That’s something that I could help with finding, but it might not be all that cheap.

2009 September 3
Pablo permalink

Ok thanks for the help anyway. I will try and see what is that sound. I don’t think it’s the transformer,  but I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks. Hope it doesn’t break soon or in the middle of cutting my hair.

2009 September 3
Rob permalink

It might just be some other mechanical parts inside the clipper that loose now and vibrating. Feel around and see if anything is loose.

2009 December 26
James permalink

Dear Rob;
Peace be unto you.
Thank God for the internet. It is really good that you have a desire to help others. I have been a barber for thirty-seven years, and I really need to start fixing my own clippers. Where can I get replacement parts to do the work with? I will greatly appreciate any help you can give me.

Sincerely,
James

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