5
Thumb on underside of
handlebar
Elbow locked
S Keep agood, firm gripon thesaw withboth
hands when the engine is running and
don’t letgo. A firmgrip willhelp you reduce
kickback and maintain control of the saw.
Keep the fingers o f your left hand encir-
cling and your left thumb under the front
handlebar. Keep your right hand com-
pletely around the rear handle whether
your are right handed orleft handed. Keep
your left arm straight with the elbow
locked.
S Position your left hand on t he front handle-
bar so it is in a straight line with your right
hand on the rear handle when making
bucking cuts. Never reverse r ight and left
hand positions for any type of cutting.
S Standwithyourweight evenly balancedon
both feet.
S Stand slightly to the left side of t he saw to
keep your body from being in a direct line
with the cutting chain.
S Do not overreach. You could be drawn or
thrown off balance and lose control of the
saw.
S Do not cut above shoulderheight. I tis diffi-
cult to maintain control of saw above
shoulder height.
KICKBACK SAF ETY FEATURES
WARNING: The following features
are included on your saw to help reduce t he
hazard of kickback; however, such f ea tures
will not totally eliminate this danger. As a
chain saw user, donot rely only on safety de-
vices. You 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--Kickback Guide Bar
has been demonstrated t o significantly re-
duce the numberand seriousness of kick-
backs.
Small Radius Tip
Reduced Kickback Symmetrical Guide Bar
Symmetrical Guide Bar
Large Radius Tip
S Low--Kickback Chain, designed with a
contoured depth gauge and guard link
which deflect kickback f orce and allow
wood to gradually ride into the cutter.
Low ---
ickback
Chain
Contoured Depth Gauge
Elongated Guard Link
Deflects
Kickback Force
And Allows Wood
ToGradually
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 with distancebetween handlesand
“in-line” with each other. The spread and
“in-line” position of the hands provided by
this design work together to give balance
and resistance in controlling the pivot of
the saw back toward the operator if kick-
back occurs.
WARNING: DO NOT RELY U PON
ANY OF THE DEVICES BUIL T INTO YOUR
SAW. YOU S HOULD USE THE SA W PROP-
ERL Y AND CAREFULL Y T O AVOID KICK-
BACK. Reduced--kickback guide bars and
low--kickback saw chains reduce the chance
and magnitude of kickback and are recom-
mended. Y our saw has a low kickback chain
and bar as original equipment. Repairs on a
chain brake should be m ade by an authorized
servicing dealer. Take your unit to the p lace of
purchase if purchased from a servicing d ealer ,
or to the nearest authorized master service
dealer .
S Tipcontact in some cases may cause a light-
ning fast reverse REACTION, kicking the
guide bar up and back toward the operator .
S Pinching the saw chain along thetop ofthe
guide bar may push the guide bar rapidly
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
uponthe safety devices built intoyour saw.
CHAIN BRAKE
S Chain Brake, designed to stop the chain in
the event of kickback.
WARNING: Your chain saw is
equipped with a chain br ake that is designed
to stop the chain immediately if you get a
kickback. The chain brake reduces the risk
of accidents, but only you can prevent them.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE CHAIN
BRAKE WILL PROTECT YOU IN THE
EVENT OF A KICKBACK.
