SPECIFIC SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
CIRCULAR SAW SAFETY WARNINGS
1. DANGER! Keep hands away from cutting area and the blade. If both hands are holding
the saw, they cannot be cut by the blade.
2. Do not reach underneath the workpiece. The guard cannot protect you from the blade
below the workpiece.
3. Adjust the cutting depth to the thickness of the workpiece. Less than a full tooth of the
blade teeth should be visible below the workpiece.
4. Never hold piece being cut in your hands or across your leg. Secure the workpiece to a
stable platform. It is important to support the work properly to minimize body exposure,
blade binding, or loss of control.
5. Hold power tool by insulated gripping surfaces when performing an operation where the
cutting tool may contact hidden wiring or its own cord. Contact with a ″live″ wire will also
make exposed metal parts of the power tool ″live″ and shock the operator.
6. When ripping always use a rip fence or straight edge guide. This improves the accuracy
of cut and reduces the chance of blade binding.
7. Always use blades with correct size and shape (diamond versus round) of arbor holes.
Blades that do not match the mounting hardware of the saw will run eccentrically,
causing loss of control.
8. Never use damaged or incorrect blade washers or bolt. The blade washers and bolt
were specially designed for your saw, for optimum performance and safety of operation.
9. Causes and Operator Prevention of Kickback:
• Kickback is a sudden reaction to a pinched, bound or misaligned saw blade, causing an
uncontrolled saw to lift up and out of the workpiece toward the operator;
• When the blade is pinched or bound tightly by the kerf closing down, the blade stalls and
the motor reaction drives the unit rapidly back toward the operator;
• If the blade becomes twisted or misaligned in the cut, the teeth at the back edge of the
blade can dig into the top surface of the wood causing the blade to climb out of the kerf
and jump back toward the operator.
Kickback is the result of saw misuse and/or incorrect operating procedures or conditions
and can be avoided by taking proper precautions as given below:
a. Maintain a firm grip on the saw and position your arms to resist kickback forces. Position
your body to either side of the blade, but not in line with the blade. Kickback could cause
the saw to jump backwards, but kickback forces can be controlled by the operator, if
proper precautions are taken.
b. When blade is binding, or when interrupting a cut for any reason, release the trigger and
hold the saw motionless in the material until the blade comes to a complete stop. Never
attempt to remove the saw from the work or pull the saw backward while the blade is in
motion or kickback may occur. Investigate and take corrective actions to eliminate the
cause of blade binding.
c. When restarting a saw in the workpiece, center the saw blade in the kerf and check that
saw teeth are not engaged into the material. If saw blade is binding, it may walk up or
kickback from the workpiece as the saw is restarted.
d. Support large panels to minimize the risk of blade pinching and kickback. Large panels
tend to sag under their own weight. Supports must be placed under the panel on both
sides, near the line of cut and near the edge of the panel.
e. Do not use dull or damaged blades. Unsharpened or improperly set blades produce
narrow kerf causing excessive friction, blade binding and kickback.
f. Blade depth and bevel adjusting locking levers must be tight and secure before making
cut. If blade adjustment shifts while cutting, it may cause binding and kickback.
g. Use extra caution when making a ″plunge cut″ into existing walls or other blind areas.
The protruding blade may cut objects that can cause kickback.
