KICKBACK
SAFETY
FEATURES
WARNING:
The following
features
are included on your saw to he_p 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
ali safety
precau-
tions, instructions,
and maintenance
in this
manual
to help avoid
kickback
and other
forces which can result in serious h_jury.
• 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
h_ accordance
with
safety requirements
for gasoline
powered
chain saws as set by ANSi B175.1.
Reduced
Kickback
Symmetrical
Guide
Bar
Symmetrical
Guide
Bar
_._,_.
{
Large
Radius
Tip
• 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.
Contoured
Depth
Gauge
D Elongated
Guard
Link
Low-Kickback
_k and
allowswood
Chain
to gradually
ride
into
tufter
iLl'Can
Obstruct
Material
Not a Low-
Kickback
Chain
• Front Hand Guard, designed to reduce the
chance of your left hand contacting the chain
if your hand slips off the front handlebar.
• 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
• Chain Brake, designed
to stop the chain in
the event of kickback.
AI_,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
AN D
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 tow 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.
• Tip contact in some cases may cause a light-
ning fast reverse REACTION.
kicking the
guide bar up and back toward the operator.
• Pinching the saw chain along the top of the
guide bar may push the guide bar rapidly
back toward the operator.
• Either of these reactions
may cause you to
lose controi 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 and ANSI standards.
When purchasing
replacement
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
represented
in the non-activated
column
in-
dicate
total
energy
and angle
associated
without 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.