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GUARD AGAINST KICKBACK
Follow all safety rules t o help avoid kick-
back and other for ces which can r esult in
serious injury.
Kickback Path
A
v
oid Obstructions
Clear The W orking Area
WARNING: Avoid kickback which
can result in serious injury. Kickback is
the backward, upward or sudden for-
ward motion of the guide bar occ urring
whenthes aw chainnear theuppertip of
the guide bar contacts any object such
as a log or branch, or when the wood
closes in and pinches the saw chain in
the cut. Contacting a foreign object in
the wood can also result in loss of chain
saw control.
S Rot ationa l Kickb ack can occur wh en
the moving chain contacts an object at
the upper ti p of the guide bar. This con-
tactcancausethechaintodigintothe
object, which stops the chain for an
instant. The result is a lightning fast, re-
verse r e actionwhich kicksthe guide b ar
up and back toward the operat or.
S Pinch- Kickback can o ccu r when th e
the wood closes in and pi nches the
movi n g saw chain in the cut along the
topof theguide barand the saw chain i s
suddenly stopped. This sudden stop-
ping of the chain result s in a reversal of
the chain force used to cut wood and
causes the saw to move in the opposite
dir ecti on of t he chain rotati on. The saw
is driven st r ai ght back towar d the opera-
tor.
S Pull- I n can occur when the moving
chain cont acts a foreign object in the
wood in the cut al ong the bottom of the
guide barand the saw chain is suddenly
stopped. This sudden stopping pulls t he
saw f or war d and away f r om t he opera-
tor and could easil y cause the operator
to lose contr ol of the saw.
REDUCE THE CHANCE OF
KICKBACK
The f oll owi ng pr ecauti ons shoul d b e f ol-
lowed to minimize kickback:
S Recognize that kickback can happen.
Wit h a basic understanding of kickback,
you can re duce the ele m ent of surp rise
which cont r i butes to accident s.
S Never let t he moving chain contact any
object at t he tip of the guide bar.
S Keep working area f ree from obstruc-
tions such as other trees, branches,
rocks, fences, stumps, etc. Eli minat e or
avoid any obstr ucti on t hat your saw
chain could hit while cutt i ng.
S When cutting a branch, do not let the
guide barcontactanotherbranch oroth-
er objects around it.
S Keep saw chain sharp and properly
tensioned. A loose or dull chain can in-
crease the chance of kickback. Fol l ow
manufacturer’s chain sharpeni ng and
mai ntenance inst ruct ions. Check ten-
sion at r egular intervals, but never wi th
engi ne running. Make sur e bar cl a mp
nuts are securely tightened.
S Begin and cont inue cutti ng at ful lspeed.
If t he chain is moving at a slower speed,
there is gr eater chance of kickback oc-
curri ng .
S Use e xtreme caution when re-enter ing
acut.
S Do not att empt cuts st ar ti ng with the tip
of the bar (plunge cut s) .
S W atch for shift i ng logs or other obj ect s
that could c l ose a cut and pinch or fall
onto chain .
S Use the specifi ed Reduced-Kickback
Guide Bar and Low Kickback Chain.
Avoid Pinch- Ki ckback:
S Be extremely aware of sit uat i ons or ob-
str u cti ons that can cause mat e rial to
pinch the to p of o r o therwi se stop the
chain.
S Do not cut more than one log at a t im e.
S
Do not twist t he saw as t he bar is wit h-
drawn fr om an undercut when bucking.
A voi d Pull-I n :
S Always begi n cut t i ng wi t h the saw at full
speed and the saw housing against
wood.
S Use wedges made of plast i c or wood.
Never use m etal to hold the cut open.
MAINTAIN CONTROL
S A good, fir m grip on the saw with both
hands wil l help you maint ai n control.
Don’ t let go. Grip the re ar handle w it h
your r i ght hand whether you ar e ri ght or
left hand e d. W rapthe fi ng ers o fyour l e ft
hand over and ar ound t he fr ont handle-
bar, and your l ef t thumb under the front
handlebar. Keep your left arm str ai ght
with the elbow locked.