Apparatus and process for shearing long units, such as nuclear fuel bundles, into pieces of predetermined length for further processing. The apparatus comprises a sealable magazine for receiving the bundles, means for urging the bundle forward, a vertical and horizontal gag, or alternately two parallel-acting horizontal gags operated in conjunction with a vertical restraint, for compressing the front portion of the bundle, and a shear blade adjacent to the gags, whereby the nuclear fuel bundle may be urged forward in increments, compressed and sheared into pieces.