Working In Winter; Sharpening The Saw Chain - Makita DCS431 Owner's And Safety Manual

Working in winter

In order to prevent carburetor icing in conditions of low temper-
ature combined with high humidity, and in order to get up to
operating temperature faster in subfreezing temperatures,
heated air can be taken from the cylinder.
At temperatures above freezing the carburetor must NOT be
fed heated air.
Failure to follow these instructions can lead to damage
to the cylinder and piston!
- Remove the filter cover and air filter (see "Cleaning the air
filter").
- To enable hot-air induction from the cylinder, remove the
plug (A/1) using the universal wrench.
NOTE:
Keep the plug in the saw's tool kit. You must put the plug back
in at temperatures above 0° C / 32° F.
- Reinstall the air filter and filter cover.
MAINTENANCE

Sharpening the saw chain

CAUTION:
Before doing any work on the guide bar or chain, always
switch off the engine and pull the plug cap off the spark
plug (see "Replacing the spark plug"). Always wear pro-
tective gloves!
C
The chain needs sharpening when:
- The sawdust produced when sawing damp wood looks like
wood flour.
- The chain penetrates the wood only under great pressure.
- The cutting edge is visibly damaged.
- The saw is pulled to the left or right when sawing. This is
caused by uneven sharpening of the chain.
Important: Sharpen frequently, but without removing too
much metal!
Generally, 2 or 3 strokes of the file will be enough.
Have the chain resharpened at a service center when you
have already sharpened it yourself several times.
D
Proper sharpening:
CAUTION:
Use only chains and guide bars designed for this saw
(see the Extract from the spare-parts list)!
- All cutters must be of the same length (dimension a).
Cutters with different lengths result in rough running of the
chain and can cause cracks in the chain.
- Minimum cutter length: 0.11" (3 mm). Do not resharpen the
chain when the minimum cutter length has been reached;
at this point, the chain must be replaced (see the Extract
from the spare-parts list and "Replacing the saw chain").
- The depth of the cut is determined by the difference in
height between the depth limiter (round nose) and the
cutting edge.
- The best results are obtained with a depth-limiter depth of
.025" (chain: 085 / .325") or .030" (chain: 094, 102 / 3/8").
CAUTION:
Excessive depth increases
the risk of kickback!
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