Working Technique; Tips On Trimming Hedges; Environmental Protection Information - Makita UH 4540 Instrucciones De Manejo

Working technique

- Work only in good lighting and visibility.
- Never work on an unstable surface. Pay attention to
obstacles in the work area - risk of stumbling! Pay constant
attention to good footing.
- Never work while standing on a ladder.
- Do not bend too far over while working.
- Guide the trimmer away from your body, with the cutter
pointing away and at a safe distance from your body.
- Use the hedge trimmer only for trimming hedges! Do not
use it for cutting grass or brash.
- Always keep the ventilation slots unobstructed, to ensure
proper cooling of the electric motor.
- Do not allow the cutter to touch the ground when running.
Foreign objects will damage the cutter and may lead to
injury.

Tips on trimming hedges

The procedure described here can be used very often and makes working easier. If a hedge has to be cut back very substantially,
it should be trimmed in two passes.
1
- First cut the hedge to the desired height (1). With practice,
it is possible to remove cut material from the hedge with a
swinging motion. To get a straight cut, stretch a string along
the hedge at the desired height.
3
- Round off the top edges of the hedge (3), and finally trim the
bottom edges back somewhat (4).

Environmental protection information

Do not use the hedge trimmer during times when people are likely to be resting.
Before trimming a hedge, check to make sure that no birds are nesting in it. If they are, wait until the young have left the nest before
trimming near that part of the hedge.
Dispose of cut material in an environment-friendly way, or compost it.
- Do not use the trimmer to lift, lever, or sweep away cut
material or other objects.
- While the trimmer is rated for twigs up to 20 mm / 3/4"
diameter, actual cutting ability will depend on the species,
age, moisture content and hardness of the wood.
- Cut thick branches to length with pruning shears before
trimming the hedge.
- Do not start working until you have made sure that:
a) No other persons or animals are within the working
area.
b) The trimmer operator can step back unhindered in the
event of an emergency.
c) The ground is free of all foreign objects, brush, and
branches. The operator must have a sure footing (risk
of stumbling).
2
- Trim the hedge to a trapezoidal shape (about 10 cm / 4" in
at the top for every 1 m / 3'3" of height), cutting from bottom
to top (2). In this way you avoid cut material falling down into
the area not yet cut.
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The best times to trim hedges are:
Broad-leaf hedges: June and October
Coniferous hedges: April and August
Fast-growing hedges: About every 6 weeks starting in May
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