Echo GRASS/WEED TRIMMER BRUSHCUTTER and CLEARING SAW, Safety Manual

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22
WARNING DANGER
Be sure you understand the reaction forces of push and pull,
and kickout (also called blade thrust), described in this
manual, and how these forces may affect your balance in the
operation of a bladed unit.
REACTION FORCES
PUSH. The operator feels the unit push toward him when he tries
to saw with the blade on the side where the teeth are moving away
from him. If he cannot hold the blade in the cut, a kickout may occur
when the blade is pushed out to where the teeth at the outside
furthest point from the operator are cutting. The blade will “kick out”
sideways.
KICKOUT. This blade-thrust reaction may occur when the moving
blade at the front of the blade circle contacts strong brush or trees.
The force that occurs pushes the entire unit and blade violently
away in an arc. Kickout is a danger to a bystander and also a jolting
force to the operator.
PULL. The opposite of push. When the part of the blade where the
teeth are moving toward the operator is used for cutting, the reaction
is a pull away from the operator. Although this pull type of cutting
may cause sawdust to be thrown back at the operator, it is recom-
mended for sawing of heavy brush because the cutting is smoother
and more stable than when the unit pushes.
NOTE
The direction of the kickout will depend on what unit model
you are using. A curved-shaft GT model employs a clockwise
rotation of its cutting head and will kickout to the left of the
operator. The straight-shaft SRM employs a counter-clock-
wise rotation of its cutting head and will kickout to the right
of the operator.
USING WEED BLADES
SCYTHING WEEDS. This is cutting by swinging the blade in a level
arc. It can quickly clear areas of field grass and weeds. Scything
should not be used to cut large, tough weeds or woody growths.
SCYTHING
WEEDS
CLOCKWISE KICKOUT COUNTERCLOCKWISE
KICKOUT
OBJECT
KICKOUT
(BLADE THRUST)
SRM SERIES
COUNTERCLOCKWISE ROTATION
PULL
PUSH
OBJECT ON LEFT
OBJECT ON RIGHT
GT SERIES
CLOCKWISE ROTATION
PULL
PUSH
OBJECT ON LEFT
OBJECT ON RIGHT
DO NOT TOUCH THESE TYPES OF
OBJECTS WITH THE BLADE
UTILITY WIRES
METAL STAKES
RUBBER
ROCKS
MASONRY METAL FENCE