5
KICKBACK SAFETY FEATURES
WARNING: The following features
are included on your saw to help reduce the
hazard of kickback; however , such features
will not totally eliminate this danger. As a
chain saw user,do notrely onlyon safetyde-
vices. Yo u must follow all safety precau-
tions, instructions, and maintenance in this
manual to help avoid kickback and other
forces which can result in serious injury.
S Reduced--Kickback Guide Bar, designed
with a small radius tip which reduces the
size of the kickback danger zone on the
bar tip. A Reduced--K ickback Guide Bar
has been demonstrated to significantly re-
duce the number and seriousness of kick-
backs when tested in accordance with
safety requirements for gasoline powered
chain saws as set b y ANSI B175.1.
Small Radius Tip
Reduced Kickback Symmetrical Guide Bar
SymmetricalGuide Bar
Large Radius Tip
S Low--Kickback Chain, designed with a
contoured depth gauge and guard link
which deflect kickback force and allow
wood togradually rideintothecutter.Low--
Kickback Chain has met kickback per-
formance requirements when tested on a
representative sample of chain saws be-
low 3.8 cubic inch displacement specified
in ANSI B175.1.
Low--- Kickback
Chain
Not a Low---Kickback Chain
Can Obstruct Material
Contoured Depth Gauge
Elongated Guard Link
Deflects
kickback force
and allows wood
to gradually ride
into cutter
S Front Hand Guard, designed to reduce the
chance of your left hand contacting the chain
if your hand slips off the front handlebar .
S Position of front and rear handlebars, de-
signed withdistancebetweenhandlesand
“in-line” with ea ch other . The spread and
“in-line” position of the hands provided by
this design work together to give balance
and resistance in c ontrolling the pivot of
the saw back toward the ope rator if kick-
back occurs.
CHAIN BRAKE AND CKA A NGLE
S Chain Brake, designed tostopthe chainin
the event of kickback.
WARNING: WE DO NOT REP-
RESENT AND YOU SHOULD N OT AS-
SUME THAT THE CHAIN BRAKE WILL
PROTEC T YOU IN T HE EV ENT OF A K IC K-
BACK. Kickback is a lightning fast action
which throws the bar and rotating chain back
and up toward the operator . Kickback can be
caused by allowing contact of the bar tip in the
danger zone with any hard object. Kickback
canalsobecausedbypinchingthesawchain
along the top of the guide bar . T his action may
push the guide bar rapidly back toward the op-
erator. Either of these events m ay cause you
to lose control of the saw which could result in
serious injury or even death. DO NOT REL Y
UPON ANY O F T HE DEVI CES BUILT INT O
YOUR SAW. YOU SHOUL D USE THE SAW
PROPERL Y AND CAREFULLY TO AVOID
KICKBACK. Re duced--kickback guide bars
and low--kickback saw chains reduce the
chance and mag nitude of kickback and are
recommended. Your saw has a low kickback
chain and bar as original equipment. Repairs
on a chain brake should b e made by an autho-
rized servicing dealer. Take your unit t o the
place of purchase if purchased from a servic-
ing dealer, or to the nearest authorized master
service dealer.
S Tipcontact insomecases may cause alight-
ning fast reverse REACTION, kicking guide
bar up and back toward operator .
S Pinching the saw chain along the top of the
guide bar may push the guide bar r apidly
back toward the operator .
S Either of these reactions may cause you to
lose control of the saw which could result in
serious injury. Do not rely exclusively upon
devices built into your saw .
WARNING: C omputed kickback
angle (CKA) listed on your saw and listed inthe
CKA table below represents angle of kickback
your bar and chain combinations will have
when tested in accordance with CSA (Cana-
dian Standards A ssociation) and ANSI stan-
dards. When purchasing replacement bar and
chain, considerations should be given t o the
lower CKA values. Lower CKA values repre-
sent safer angles to the user , higher values in-
dicate more angle and h igher kick e nergies.
Computed angles represented indicate total
energy and angle associated without activation
of the chain brake during kickback. Activated
angle representschain stoppingtime relative to
activation a ngle o f chain break and resulting
kick angle of saw . In all cases lower CKA val-
ues represent a safer operating environment
for the user .
The f ollowing guide bar and chain c ombina-
tions meet kickback requirements of CSA
Standards Z62.1, Z62.3, & ANSI B175.1 when
used on saws listed in this manual. Use of bar
and chain combinations other than those l isted
is not r ecommended and may not meet the
CKA requirements per standard.