5
SPinch-Kickbackcan oc cur when the wood
closes in and pinches the moving chain in
thecut along the top of the guide bar and the
chain is suddenly stopped. This sudden
stoppingof the c hain results in a rev ersal of
the chain force used to cut wood and
causes the pruner to move in the opposite
directionof the chain rotation. The pruner is
driven straight back toward the operator.
SPull-In can occur when the moving chain
contacts a foreign object in the w ood in the cut
along the bottom of the guide bar and the
chainis suddenly stopped. Th is sudden stop-
ping pulls the pruner forward and away from
theoperat or andc ould easily cause the oper-
ator to lose control of the pruner.
REDUCE THE CHANCE OF
KICKBACK
SRecognizethat k ickback can happen. With
abasic understanding of kickback , you can
reduce the element of surprise which con-
tributes to accidents.
SNeverlet the moving chain contac t any ob-
ject at the tip of the guide bar.
SKeepthe w orking area free from obstructions
suchas ot her trees, branches, roc ks, stumps,
etc. Eliminate or avoid any obstruction that
your chain could hit while you are cutting.
When cutting a branch, do not let the guide
bar contact branch or other objec ts around it.
SKeep your chain sharp and properly ten-
sioned. A loose or dull chain can increase
the chance of kickback occurring. Follow
manufacturer’s chain sharpening and
maintenance instructions. Check tension
atregular intervals, but never w ith the motor
running. Make sure the bar clamp nut is se-
curely tightened after tensioning the chain.
SBegin and continue cutting at full speed. If
thechain is moving at a slower speed, there
is greater chance of kickback occurring.
SCut one branch at a time.
SUse extreme caution when re-entering a
previous cut.
SDo not attempt cuts starting with the tip of
the bar (plunge cuts).
SWatchfor shif ting ofw ood orot her forces that
could close a cut and pinch or fall into chain.
SUse the Reduced--Kickback Guide Bar and
Low--Kickback Chain specified for your unit.
MAINTAINCONTROL
SKeep a good, firm grip on the pruner with
both hands when the unit is running and
don’tlet go. Afirm grip will help y ou reduce
kickback and maintain control. Keep the fin-
gers of your left hand encircling and your
left thumb under the assist handle. Keep
your right hand completely around the trig-
gerhandle whether your are right handed or
left handed.
SStandwith your weight ev enly balanced on
both feet.
SStandslightly to the lef t side of the pruner to
keep your body from being in a direct line
with the cutting chain.
KICKBACK SAFETY FEATURES
WARNING : The following features
areincluded on your pruner to help reduce the
hazard of kickback; however, such features
will not totally eliminate this danger. As a
pruner user, do not rely only on safety de-
vices. You must follow all safety precautions,
instructions, and maintenance in this manual
tohelp avoid kick back and other forces w hich
can result in serious injury.
SReduced--Kickback Guide Bar, designed w ith
a small radius tip which reduces the size of
the kickback danger zone on the bar tip.
SmallRadius Tip
ReducedKickback SymmetricalGuide Bar
SymmetricalGuideB ar
LargeR adius Tip
SLow--KickbackChain, designed with a con-
toured depth gauge and guard link which
deflect kickback force and allow wood to
graduallyride into the cut ter. A low kickback
chainhas met kick back performance requir e-
ments when tested on the representativ e
sample of the chain saws spec ified in ANSI
B175.1.
Low---Kickback
Chain
Nota Low---Kickback Chain
CanObstruct Material
Contoured Dep th Gauge
Elongated Guard Link
Deflects
kickback force
andallows wood
togradually ride
intocutter
LINE TRIMMERSAFETY
DANGER: Never use blades with line
trimmer attachment. Never use flailing de-
vices with any attachment. This attachment
(whenused with s uppliedline trimmer attac h-
ment) is designed for line trimmer use only.
Use of any other accessories with line trim-
merattachment will incr ease the risk of injury.