Broken Yoke Assembly on Body Clippers

Oster Clipmaster body clipper showing broken yoke assembly springs due to impacted hair and over tightening the blade tensioner.

Recently several body clippers came into my shop with broken yoke assemblies. After looking them over I found the blade tensioners were adjusted too tight and they were packed full of hair so I would like to address that problem here.

Reasons Why Yoke Assemblies Break

• Too much blade pressure from tensioner. 
• Too much hair packed in the assembly.
• No oil on moving parts.
• Improper grease/oil applications.

Too much hair in the yoke assembly along with excessive grease/oil will saturate the hair and cause it to pack in tighter around the blade and yoke assembly. This will cause the clipper to slow and the blades will not cut properly. At this point people want to tighten the blade tensioner to get the blade to cut better but this will cause more blade friction, heat and excessive pressure on the yoke assembly causing it to fail.

Periodic cleaning will prevent down time and repair, Also use oil in the oil ports, not grease.

Items that will be helpful in dislodging the clipped hair from the yoke assembly are an air compressor or a can of compressed air, shop vac, and an old narrow toothbrush. Excessive amounts of grease, oil, or WD-40 will seep into the motor and cause fouling and burn out the armature.

Always use caution when using cans of compressed air. Some may flash and ignite if the clipper is running or if sprayed near anything that can generate a spark. Make sure clipper is off and unplugged when using cans of compressed air, safety glasses are also needed when using these types of products.

If you have any questions or need a repair don't hesitate to give me a call.

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