CHAINSAWS. 1. READ YOUR OWNER S MANUAL AND ALL SUPPLEMENTS (if any enclosed) thoroughly before operating your saw.

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1 CHAINSAWS 1. READ YOUR OWNER S MANUAL AND ALL SUPPLEMENTS (if any enclosed) thoroughly before operating your saw. 2. Operation of a chainsaw should be restricted to mature, properly instructed individuals. DO NOT ATTEMPT OPERATIONS BEYOND YOUR CAPACITY OR EXPERIENCE. No one may operate a chain saw before being approved by his/her supervisor. 3. WEAR CLOSE-FITTING AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING including safety hat, goggles, shoes, gloves, ear plugs or sound barriers, and chain saw chaps. Keep your shirt tucked-in and button/zip jackets and sleeves. 4. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER FUEL THAN THAT RECOMMENDED IN YOUR OWNER S MANUAL. 5. REFUEL IN A SAFE PLACE. OPEN FUEL CAP SLOWLY to release any pressure that may have formed in fuel tank. DO NOT start a saw where you filled it or where fuel has been spilled. DO NOT refuel a hot saw allow it to cool off. Be certain the saw has dried thoroughly before starting if fuel has been spilled on the unit. 6. NEVER SMOKE while fueling or operating the saw. 7. DO NOT WORK ALONE. Always have a spotter when felling to watch for widow makers and shifts from the intended direction of fell. Position the spotter where he/she can warn you of immediate dangers, but not be in the direction of the fell. 8. START YOUR SAW WITHOUT HELP. DO NOT start a saw on your leg or knee. Always start the saw with it sitting on level ground. With the chain break locked, put your left foot inside the handle and pull straight up on the crank rope. Never operate a chain saw when you are fatigued. 9. KEEP ALL PARTS OF YOUR BODY AND CLOTHING AWAY FROM THE SAW CHAIN when starting or running the engine. Before you start the engine, make sure the saw chain is not contacting anything. 10. DO NOT FELL A TREE during high or changing winds. 11. USE WEDGES TO HELP CONTROL FELLING and prevent binding the bar and chain in the cut. 12. Beware of the kickback. Hold the saw firmly with both hands when engine is running; use a firm grip with thumbs and fingers encircling the chain saw handles and watch carefully what you cut. Kickback (saw jumps or jerks up or backwards) can be caused by: A. STRIKING LIMBS or other objects accidentally with the tip of the saw while the chain is moving. B. STRIKING METAL, cement, or other hard material near the wood, or buried in the wood. C. RUNNING ENGINE SLOWLY at start of, or during cut 1

2 D. DULL or LOOSE CHAIN E. CUTTING ABOVE SHOULDER HEIGHT F. INATTENTION in holding or guiding saw while cutting. 13. DO NOT ALLOW a moving chain to come into contact with the ground. This will dull the chain and increase the chance of kickback. 14. BE SURE OF YOUR FOOTING and pre-plan a safe exit or escape route from a falling tree or limbs. Make sure the escape route is free of debris and trip hazards and if necessary, that there is enough room for you and the spotter to safely escape. 15. DO NOT SET A HOT SAW DOWN in areas where flammable material is present. 16. WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND you do not attempt to operate the saw while IN A TREE, ON A LADDER, or ON ANY OTHER UNSTABLE SURFACE. If you elect to do so, be advised that these positions are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, and you do so at your own risk. 17. DO NOT CUT IN AWKWARD POSITIONS (off-balance, outstretched arms, one-handed, etc.) If using a limbing saw, do not stand directly under the limb that you are cutting. 18. WHEN CUTTING A LIMB THAT IS UNDER TENSION be alert for spring back so that you will not be struck when the tension is released. 19. USE EXTREME CAUTION when cutting small size brush and saplings because slender material may catch the saw chain and be whipped toward you, or pull you off balance. 20. VIBRATION Avoid prolonged operation of your chain saw and rest periodically, especially if your hands or arms start to have a loss of feeling, swell or become difficult to move. These conditions can reduce your ability to control a saw. 21. EXHAUST FUMES Do not operate your chain saw in confined or poorly vented areas. 22. OBSERVE ALL LOCAL FIRE PREVENTION REGULATIONS. A fire extinguisher/shovel should be kept close at hand at all times when a chain saw is being used. 23. NOTE: Spark arrester screens are available for installation in your muffler where fire regulations require them. Check local regulations for your special requirements. 24. Never operate the chain saw without a muffler. 25. DO NOT CARRY THE SAW BY THE CHAIN BRAKE LEVER. 26. TURN OFF your saw when moving between cuts and before setting it down. Always carry the chain saw with the engine stopped, the guide bar and saw chain to the rear, and the muffler away from your body. 27. DO NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER PERSON or ANIMAL close to a running saw or where a tree is being cut down. Make sure all persons are at a safe distance before beginning the cut. When cutting 2

3 near roads or trails, have enough staff present to effectively stop all vehicle and pedestrian traffic until the tree has been felled. 28. DO NOT TOUCH or try to stop a moving chain with your hand. 29. DO NOT TOUCH or let your hand come in contact with a hot muffler, spark arrester, or a spark plug wire. DO NOT run the saw without a muffler, exhaust stack, or a spark arrester. Keep screens and baffles clean. 30. KEEP THE CHAIN SHARP AND SNUG on the GUIDE BAR. 31. DO NOT ALLOW DIRT, FUEL OR SAWDUST to build up on the engine or outside of the saw. 32. KEEP ALL SCREWS and FASTENERS TIGHT. Never operate a chain saw that is damaged, improperly adjusted, or is not completely and securely assembled. Be sure that the saw chain stops moving when the throttle control trigger is released. Keep the handles dry, clean and free of oil or fuel mixture. 33. DO NOT OPERATE YOUR CHAIN SAW unless the chain stops when the engine idles. (Have corrected.) 34. All equipment should be inspected before each operation. DO NOT OPERATE the saw if the chain break does not work properly. Before cutting, lock the chain break and accelerate the saw. If the chain moves, have the saw repaired before using. GENERAL CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS 1. Before using your saw, you should review the safety precautions listed in your owner s manual, and all local regulations for the operation of your saw. These precautions and regulations are for your protection. 2. Test the operation of the CHAIN BRAKE before cutting. 3. Pre-plan a safe exit or escape route from a falling tree or limb (widow maker). 4. For all types of cutting, always hold saw firmly with both hands, with thumbs and fingers encircling saw handles. 5. Cut at high engine speeds (full throttle) only. Do not run the engine slowly at the start or during the cut. 6. Cut wood only. 3

4 Felling a Tree 1. Estimate the Felling Zone - Trees are taller than you think and reach farther on the ground than you'd expect. You can estimate where a tree will fall by using the ax handle trick. Hold an ax handle at arm's length, close one eye, and back away from or move toward the tree until the top of the ax is even with the treetop and the bottom is even with the base. Your feet should be about where the treetop will rest after falling. It's just an estimate, though, so allow extra room if there's something it might fall on! 2. Clear a Cutting Zone - Even when you're sure which way the tree is going to fall, you're still not ready to fell it. Cut away any brush around the trunk and clear two escape routes on the nonfalling side of the tree. They should be about 45 degrees away from each other in opposite directions. The last thing you want is to trip while walking away from a falling tree. 3. Size Up the Tree - Start by studying the tree. Don't cut it down if you see: Dead branches that are broken but attached, or that are actually broken off and supported by other branches. You're bound to knock a branch loose and have it fall on you. It is obviously leaning in one direction or heavily loaded with branches on one side. It will fall in the direction of the lean or load despite your best efforts. There are buildings, fences, power lines or other things you care about in the felling zone. If so, skip the felling and call a pro. 4. Anatomy of a Proper Notch - The rule of thumb is to make the depth of the notch one-fifth of the tree trunk's diameter. The goal is to make the angles as shown in the diagram (or as close as you can). The felling cut should meet the point of the notch. When the tree starts to fall, the hinge will help guide the tree to fall in the desired direction. 5. Plan the Notch - You're going to be cutting a notch on the fall side of the trunk. Sight along the handle and adjust the saw until it's pointing toward your fall direction. The spot where the bar touches the bark will be the center of the notch. Before cutting, lay out the notch by marking with chalk or by scoring the bark with the chain saw. Make the notch at a comfortable working height. (You can always shorten the stump later.) 6. Cut the Notch - Make the top cut first and then the bottom. When you're making the bottom cut, adjust your hand to control the throttle with your thumb. If you meet the top notch perfectly, the wedge will drop out of the notch. But most likely you'll have to extend the cuts from either the top or the bottom so the wedge can drop free. 7. Use Wedges on Big Trees - If you have a tree that's more than 18 in. in diameter, go ahead and make your notch cut and begin the felling cut. Stop cutting as soon as you've penetrated far enough to pound wedges behind the bar. Leave the bar in the cut with the saw running, but lock the chain brake and tap in the wedges. Then finish the cut. Wedges will keep the saw from getting pinched in the cut if the tree leans back. 8. Make the Felling Cut - Score a line connecting the apex of the notch on both sides for a cutting guide. The back cut should be parallel and even with the apex of the notch. Then make the 4

5 felling cut. The instant the tree begins leaning, pull the saw free, set the chain brake and walk away along one of your escape routes, keeping an eye on the tree so you can react if it doesn't fall the way you planned. Never take your eye off a falling tree. 9. A Lookout Might Save Your Life - You'll be a lot safer if you have a trusted assistant standing a few feet behind you watching the top of the tree for falling branches and letting you know when the tree starts to fall. Have your assistant tap you on the shoulder with a stick to alert you when it's time to vacate the area. If it's early in the cut and you get the tap, leave the saw and walk away immediately. That means a branch is falling. Near the end of the cut, a tap means the tree is beginning its descent. Estimate the Felling Zone Cutting a Proper Notch Limbing a Tree Once the tree is down, remove the branches called limbing. 1. Work carefully, starting at the base of the tree. You can cut downward with the bottom of the bar known as cutting with a pulling chain since the chain pulls the saw out from you or upward with the top of the bar known as cutting with a pushing chain, since the chain pushes the saw toward you. 2. Offsetting cuts cuts you make by partially cutting on one side of the limb and then completely cutting through an inch or so closer to the trunk keep the chain from binding. 3. Limbs on the underside can be cut if you have a good working height. 4. Limbs under tension those that are bent under the tree and can spring back can be cut later when you can turn the tree and relieve the tension. 5. Large branches can be under great tension from their weight and should be cut starting from the outside, working toward the trunk. 5

6 Bucking a Tree When you've removed the limbs, it's time to cut the trunk called bucking. 1. Look for where the wood might compress as it's cut where two sections of trunk could fall together and pinch (bind) the saw. Cut a third of the way through the side where compression might take place. Then cut completely through from the opposite side with a cut offset by 1 inch. This technique helps keep the saw from binding and gives you more control. You can also use a wedge to hold the gap open. Just make sure the chain doesn't contact it. 2. For logs on the ground, cut through most of the way, then turn the log and finish the cut so the blade doesn't contact the ground. 3. For logs supported on one end, cut up from the bottom, then finish the cut on top. 4. Cut the pieces into manageable sizes and stack them away from the work area. NOTE: Research shows that chain brakes stop the chain within milliseconds, or more rapidly than the operator can react to consciously control the saw motion when kickback occurs. Reaction time for the average person is 0.75 seconds, but a saw bar can kick upward over 90 degrees in less than 0.3 seconds. According to statistics 77% of chain saw injuries are caused by non-kickback incidents. Research finds that a chain brake can address up to 70% of non-kickback situations as well, because it stops the chain. DO NOT OPERATE THE SAW IF THE CHAIN BRAKE DOES NOT FUNCTION PROPERLY. 6