An eccentric shaft for a compacting machine is rotatable about a rotational axis and includes a fixed and movable eccentric mass where the movable eccentric mass cooperates with the fixed eccentric mass in one of the directions of rotation of the eccentric shaft to partly balance the fixed eccentric mass in the other rotation direction of the eccentric shaft. At least one section of the fixed eccentric mass shows a maximal radial extension (UB) in relation to the rotational axis, limited by an arc-shaped curve, which extends to a circle shape, with the diameter (D) showing a distance (A), between the point (P) on the circle-shaped curve that is located closest to the point of intersection of the rotational axis and the section plane, and the point of intersection, from 0 up to 0.1(D).