Black & Decker BT1400 instruction manual Operation

Guard Actuation and Visibility

The blade guard on your saw has been designed to automatically raise when the arm is brought down and to lower over the blade when the arm is raised. The guard can be raised by hand when installing or removing saw blades or for inspection of the saw. NEVER RAISE THE BLADE GUARD MANUALLY UNLESS THE SAW IS TURNED OFF.

NOTE: Certain special cuts will require that you manu - ally raise the guard. To do this, simply place your right thumb on the upper side of the guard and roll the guard up just enough to clear the workpiece. Never tie up or otherwise prevent the guard from operating normally.

OPERATION

Plug the saw into any power source. Refer to the name- plate for voltage. Be sure the cord will not interfere with your work.

Switch

To turn the saw on, depress the trigger switch (16). To turn the tool off, release the switch. There is no provision for locking the switch on.

Body and Hand Position (See figure 7)

Proper positioning of your body and hands when oper- ating the miter saw will make cutting easier, more accu- rate and safer. Never place hands near cutting area.

Place hands no closer than 6" from the blade. Hold the workpiece tightly to the table and the fence when cut - ting. Keep hands in position until the trigger has been released and the blade has completely stopped.

ALWAYS MAKE DRY RUNS (UNPOWERED) BEFORE FINISH CUTS SO THAT YOU CAN CHECK THE PATH OF THE BLADE. DO NOT CROSS HANDS, AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 7.

Cutting With Your Saw

NOTE: Although this saw will cut wood and many non- ferrous materials, we will limit our discussion to the cut- ting of wood only. The same guidelines apply to the other materials. DO NOT CUT FERROUS (IRON AND STEEL) MATERIALS OR MASONRY WITH THIS SAW. Do not use any abrasive blades.

Crosscuts

NOTE: Cutting of multiple pieces is not recommended, but can be done safely by ensuring that each piece is held firmly against the table and fence.

A crosscut is made by cutting wood across the grain at any angle. A straight crosscut is made with the miter

arm at the zero degree position. Set the miter arm at zero, hold the wood on the table and firmly against the fence. Turn on the saw by squeezing the trigger switch. When the saw comes up to speed (about 1 second) lower the arm smoothly and slowly to cut through the wood. Let the blade come to a full stop before raising arm.

Miter crosscuts are made with the miter arm at some angle other than zero. This angle is often 45 degrees for making corners, but can be set anywhere from zero to 47 degrees left or right. After selecting the desired miter angle, be sure to tighten the miter clamp handle (4). Make the cut as described above.

Bevel Cuts

A bevel cut is a crosscut made with the saw blade at a bevel to the wood. In order to set the bevel, loosen the bevel clamp knob (17) and move the saw to the left as desired. Once the desired bevel angle has been set, tighten the bevel clamp knob firmly.

Bevel angles can be set up to 45 degrees left and can be cut with the miter arm set between zero and 47 degrees right or left.

Quality of Cut

The smoothness of any cut depends on a number of variables. Things like material being cut, blade type, blade sharpness and rate of cut all contribute to the quality of the cut.

When smoothest cuts are desired for molding and other precision work, a sharp (60 tooth carbide) blade and a slower, even cutting rate will produce the desired results. Ensure that material does not creep while cutting, clamp it securely in place. Always let the blade come to a full stop before raising arm.

If small fibers of wood still split out at the rear of the workpiece, stick a piece of masking tape on the wood where the cut will be made. Saw through the tape and carefully remove tape when finished.

Keep both feet firmly on the floor and maintain proper balance. As you move the miter arm left and right, follow it and stand slightly to the side of the saw blade. Sight through the guard louvers when following a pencil line Clamping the Workpiece

Turn Off and Unplug Saw

If you cannot secure the workpiece on the table and against the fence by hand (irregular shape, etc.) or your hand will be within 6” of the blade, a clamp or fixture must be used.

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