5
KICKBACK SAFETY FEATURES
WARNING:
The following features
are included on your saw to help reduce the
hazard of kickback; however, such features
will not totally eliminate this danger. As a
chain saw user, do not 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.
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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 to significantly re-
duce the number and seriousness of kick-
backs when tested in accordance with
safety requirements for gasoline powered
chain saws as set by ANSI B175.1.
Small Radius Tip
Symmetrical Guide Bar
Reduced Kickback Symmetrical Guide Bar
Large Radius Tip
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Low--Kickback Chain, designed with a
contoured depth gauge and guard link
which deflect kickback force and allow
wood to gradually ride into the cutter. Low--
Kickback Chain has met kickback per-
formance requirements when tested on a
representative sample of chain saws be-
low 3.8 cubic inch displacement specified
in ANSI B175.1.
Low--- Kickback
Chain
Not a Low--- Kickback Chain
Can Obstruct Material
Contoured Depth Gauge
Elongated Guard Link
Deflects
kickback force
and allows wood
to gradually ride
into cutter
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Front Hand Guard, designed to reduce the
chance of your left hand contacting the chain
if your hand slips off the front handlebar.
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Position of front and rear handlebars, de-
signed with distance between handles and
“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.
CHAIN BRAKE AND CKA ANGLE
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Chain Brake, designed to stop the chain in
the event of kickback.
WARNING:
WE DO NOT REP-
RESENT AND YOU SHOULD NOT AS-
SUME THAT THE CHAIN BRAKE WILL
PROTECT YOU IN THE EVENT OF A
KICKBACK. Kickback is a lightning fast ac-
tion which throws the bar and rotating chain
back and up toward the operator. Kickback
can be caused by allowing contact of the bar
tip in the danger zone with any hard object.
Kickback can also be caused by pinching the
saw chain along the top of the guide bar. This
action may push the guide bar rapidly back
toward the operator. Either of these events
may cause you to lose control of the saw
which could result in serious injury or even
death. DO NOT RELY UPON ANY OF THE
DEVICES BUILT INTO YOUR SAW. YOU
SHOULD USE THE SAW PROPERLY AND
CAREFULLY TO AVOID KICKBACK. Re-
duced--kickback guide bars and low--kick-
back saw chains reduce the chance and
magnitude of kickback and are recom-
mended. Your saw has a low kickback chain
and bar as original equipment. Repairs on a
chain brake should be made by an autho-
rized servicing dealer. Take your unit to the
place of purchase if purchased from a ser-
vicing dealer, or to the nearest authorized
master service dealer.
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Tip contact in some cases may cause a
lightning fast reverse REACTION, kicking
the guide bar up and back toward the oper-
ator.
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Pinching the saw chain along the top of the
guide bar may push the guide bar rapidly
back toward the operator.
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Either of these reactions may cause you to
lose control of the saw which could result
in serious injury.Do not rely exclusively
upon the safety devices built into your saw.
WARNING:
Computed kickback
angle (CKA) listed on your saw and listed in
the CKA table below represents angle of
kickback your bar and chain combinations
will have when tested in accordance with
CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and
ANSI standards. When purchasing replace-
ment bar and chain, considerations should
be given to the lower CKA values. Lower
CKA values represent safer angles to the
user, higher values indicate more angle and
higher kick energies. Computed angles rep-
resented in the non-activated column indi-
cate total energy and angle associated with-
out activation of the chain brake during
kickback. Activated angle represents chain
stopping time relative to activation angle of
chain brake and resulting kick angle of saw.
In all cases lower CKA values represent a
safer operating environment for the user.
The following guide bar and chain combina-
tions meet kickback requirements of CSA
Z62.1, Z62.3, & ANSI B175.1 when used on
saws listed in this manual. Use of bar and
chain combinations other than those listed is
not recommended and may not meet the
CKA requirements per standard.
