SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
•Take great care when removing small branches and avoid cutting bushes (i.e. cutting many small branches at the same time). Small branches can be grabbed by the chain and thrown back at you, causing serious injury.
•Make sure you can move and stand safely. Check the area around you for possible obstacles (roots, rocks, branches, ditches, etc.) in case you have to move suddenly. Take great care when working on sloping ground.
•Take the utmost care when cutting through branches or logs that are in tension. A log or branch that is in tension can suddenly spring back into its natural position before or after you cut it. If you stand on the wrong side or start cutting in the wrong place it may strike you or your chain saw, so that you lose control. Both situations could cause serious injury.
•Before moving your chain saw switch off the engine and lock the chain using the chain brake. Carry the chain saw with the bar and chain pointing backwards. Fit a guard to the bar before transporting the chain saw or carrying it for any distance.
•Never put a chain saw down while the engine is running unless you have it in clear view and the chain brake is on. Switch the engine off before leaving your chain saw for any length of time.
Basic cutting technique
General
•Always use full throttle when cutting!
•Reduce the speed to idle after every cut (running the engine for too long at full throttle without any load, i.e. without any resistance from the chain during cutting, can lead to serious engine damage).
•Cutting from above = Cutting on the pull stroke.
•Cutting from below = Cutting on the push stroke.
Cutting on the push stroke increases the risk of kickback. See instructions under the heading How to avoid kickback.
Terms
Cutting = General term for cutting through wood.
Limbing = Cutting branches off a felled tree.
Splitting = When the object you are cutting breaks off before the cut is complete.
There are five important factors you should consider before making a cut:
1 Make sure the cutting equipment will not jam in the cut.
2 Make sure the object you are cutting will not split.
3Make sure the chain will not strike the ground or any other object during or after cutting.
4 Is there a risk of kickback?
5Do the conditions and surrounding terrain affect how safely you can stand and move about?
Two factors decide whether the chain will jam or the object that you are cutting will split: the first is how the object is supported before and after cutting, and the second is whether it is in tension.
18 – English