Homelite UT10570 Operation, Understanding Your Chain Saw Safety Devices, Chain Brake, Guide Bars

OPERATION

WARNING:

The warnings and instructions in this section of the operator's manual are for your safety and to prevent serious personal injury.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CHAIN SAW SAFETY DEVICES

SAFE-T-TIP®ANTI-KICKBACK NOSE GUARD

See Figure 3.

The SAFE-T-TIP®prevents kickback because it covers the tip of the bar where rotational kickback is generated. Inexperienced persons should never attempt to cut when the SAFE-T-TIP®has been removed from the bar tip.

SAFE-T-TIP®

Fig. 3

Users, such as professional loggers who need to draw the tip through the cut, make boring cuts, or cut logs bigger than the bar length, should reinstall the SAFE-T-TIP®as soon as those cuts are complete. When cutting without the SAFE-T-TIP®, the user must use proper techniques as shown in the manual to avoid kickback.

Note: Refer to “Maintenance” later in this manual for instructions on reinstalling the SAFE-T-TIP nose guard.

LOW KICKBACK SAW CHAIN

The rakers (depth gauges) ahead of each cutter can minimize the force of a kickback reaction by preventing the cutters from digging in too deeply at the kickback zone. Only use replacement chain that is equivalent to the original chain or has been certified as a low kickback chain.

As saw chains are sharpened, they lose some of the low kickback qualities and extra caution is required.

GUIDE BARS

Generally, guide bars with small radius tips have some- what lower kickback potentials.

When making a replacement, be sure to order one of the Homelite bars listed for your saw in this operator's manual. The proper size SAFE-T-TIP®nose guard comes installed on the bar. Use only guide bars that have a provision for mounting the SAFE-T-TIP®.

CHAIN BRAKE

See Figures 4 and 5.

Chain brakes are designed to quickly stop the chain from rotating. When the chain brake lever/hand guard is

pushed toward the bar, the chain should stop immedi- ately. A chain brake does not prevent kickback. The chain brake should be cleaned and tested before each use. Refer to “Operation- Operating the Chain Brake” later in this manual for additional information.

WARNING:

Even with daily cleaning of the mechanism, the dependability of a chain brake to perform under field conditions cannot be certified. Keep the SAFE-T- TIP® nose guard on your saw's guide bar and use proper cutting techniques.

RUN POSITION

Fig. 4

BRAKE

POSITION

Fig. 5

WARNING:

KICKBACK occurs when the moving chain contacts an object at the upper portion of the tip of the guide bar or when the wood closes in and pinches the saw chain in the cut. Contact at the upper portion of the tip of the guide bar can cause the chain to dig into the object and stop the chain for an instant. The result is a lightning fast, reverse reaction which kicks the guide bar up and back toward the operator. If the saw chain is pinched along the top of the guide bar, the guide bar can be driven rapidly back toward the operator. Either of these reactions can cause loss of saw control which can result in serious injury.

Do not rely exclusively upon the safety devices built into your saw. As a chain saw user, you should take several steps to keep your cutting jobs free from accident or injury.

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