GENERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
•The front hand guard is not designed solely to activate the chain brake. Another important feature is that it reduces the risk of your left hand hitting the chain if you lose grip of the front handle.
•The chain brake must be engaged when the chain saw is started to prevent the saw chain from rotating.
•Use the chain brake as a ”parking brake” when starting and when moving over short distances, to reduce the risk of moving chain accidentally hitting your leg or anyone or anything close by.
•To release the chain brake pull the front hand guard backwards, towards the front handle.
•Kickback can be very sudden and violent. Most kickbacks are minor and do not always activate the chain brake. If this happens you should hold the chain saw firmly and not let go.
•The way the chain brake is activated, either manually or automatically by the inertia release mechanism, depends on the force of the kickback and the position
of the chain saw in relation to the object that the kickback zone of the bar strikes.
If you get a violent kickback while the kickback zone of the bar is farthest away from you the chain brake is designed to be activated by the inertia in the kickback direction.
If the kickback is less violent or the kickback zone of the bar is closer to you the chain brake will be activated manually by the movement of your left hand.
•In the felling position the left hand is in a position that makes manual activation of the chain brake impossible. With this type of grip, that is when the left hand is placed so that it cannot affect the movement of the front hand guard, the chain brake can only be activated by the inertia action.
Will my hand always activate the chain brake during a kickback?
No. It takes a certain force to move the hand guard forward. If your hand only lightly touches the front guard or slips over it, the force may not be enough to trigger the chain brake. You should also maintain a firm grip of the chain saw handles while working. If you do and experience a kickback, your hand may never leave the front handle and will not activate the chain brake, or the chain brake will only activate after the saw has swung around a considerable distance. In such instances, the chain brake might not have enough time to stop the saw chain before it touches you.
There are also certain positions in which your hand cannot reach the front hand guard to activate the chain brake; for example, when the saw chain is held in felling position.
8 – English