OPERATION
PROPER CUTTING STANCE
See Figure 19.
WARNING:
Always use the proper cutting stance described in this section. Never kneel when using the chain saw, except when felling a tree as illus- trated in Figure 20. Kneeling could result in loss of stability and control of the chain saw, resulting in serious personal injury.
■n Balance your weight with both feet on solid ground.
n Keep left arm with elbow locked in a “straight arm” position to withstand any kickback force.
n Keep your body to the left of the chain line. n Keep your thumb on underside of handlebar.
WORK AREA PRECAUTIONS
See Figure 20.
nCut only wood or materials made from wood; no sheet metal, no plastics, no masonry, no
■n Never allow children to operate the saw. Allow no person to use this chain saw who has not read this operator’s manual or received adequate instructions for the safe and proper use of this chain saw.
■n Keep everyone – helpers, bystanders, children, and animals, a SAFE DISTANCE from the cut- ting area. During felling operations, the safe distance should be a least twice the height of the largest trees in the felling area. During bucking operations, keep a minimum distance of 15 feet between workers.
■n Always cut with both feet on solid ground to prevent being pulled off balance.
■n Do not cut above chest height as a saw held higher is difficult to control against kickback forces.
■n Do not fell trees near electrical wires or build- ings. Leave this operation for professionals.
■n Cut only when visibility and light are adequate for you to see clearly.
THUMB ON | CHAIN LINE | STRAIGHT | |
ARM | |||
UNDERSIDE OF | |||
|
| ||
HANDLE BAR |
|
|
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
BASIC OPERATING/CUTTING PROCEDURES
Practice cutting a few small logs using the following technique to get the “feel” of using the saw before you begin a major sawing operation.
nTake the proper stance in front of the wood with the saw idling.
nAccelerate the engine to full throttle just before entering the cut by squeezing the throttle trigger.
nBegin cutting with the saw against the log.
nKeep the engine at full throttle the entire time you are cutting.
nAllow the chain to cut for you; exert only light downward pressure. Forcing the cut could result in damage to the bar, chain, or engine.
nRelease the throttle trigger as soon as the cut is completed allowing the engine to idle. Running the saw at full throttle without a cutting load can result in unnecessary wear to the chain, bar, and engine.
Page 19 — English