Operation - Stiga BC 636 Series Operator's Manual

6.4 OPERATION

NOTE Before starting any tasks for
the first time, get to know the machine,
learn the most suitable cutting techniques,
make sure your are wearing the harness
correctly, grip the machine firmly and make
the movements required by the job.
To use the machine proceed as follows:
• always keep the machine connected to the
correctly worn harness (see par. 6.1.1).
• when working, the machine must always
be firmly held in both hands, keeping the
power unit on the right of the body and the
cutting unit below the line of the belt.
6.4.1 Work techniques
6.4.1.a Cutting line head
Use ONLY nylon lines. The use of
metal lines, plastic coated metal lines and/
or lines that are not suitable for the head
can cause serious injuries and wounds.
Do not use the machine for sweeping,
tilting the cutting line head. The engine
is powerful enough to throw objects and
small stones 15 metres or more, causing
damage to objects and injury to people;
a. Cutting motion (Scything)
Proceed at a regular pace, with a circular motion
similar to a traditional scythe, without tilting the
cutting line head during the operation (Fig. 17).
First try cutting at the right height in a small
area, so as to then achieve a uniform cutting
height keeping the cutting line head at a
constant distance from the ground.
For heavier cutting it can be useful to tilt the
cutting line head to the left by about 30°.
Do not work in this way if there
is the possibility of causing objects
to be thrown, which could harm
people, animals or cause damage.
b. Precision cutting (Trimming)
Keep the machine slightly tilted so that the
lower part of the cutting line head does not
touch the ground and the cutting line is at the
required point, always keeping the cutting
means at a distance from the operator.
c. Cutting near fences/foundations
Move the cutting line head slowly
towards fences, posts, rocks, walls, etc.
without hitting them hard (Fig. 18).
If the line strikes a solid object it could
break or become worn; if it gets tangled
in a fence it could break suddenly.
In any case, cutting around pavements,
foundations, walls, etc. can cause
greater wear than normal to the line.
d. Cutting around trees
Walk round the tree from left to right, approaching
the trunks slowly so as not to strike the tree
with the line and keeping the cutting line
head tilted forward slightly (Fig. 19).
Remember that the nylon line could lop off or
damage small shrubs and that the impact of the
nylon line against the trunk of bushes or trees
with soft bark could seriously damage the plant.
6.4.1.b 3 point, 4 point and 8 point blades:
Start cutting from above the vegetation and then
descend with the mowing blade to cut branches
by chopping them into small pieces (Fig. 20).
6.4.1.c Saw blade (if allowed):
Where permitted, the saw blade
must be used with the specific guard
always fitted (section 4.4.2). The blade
should always be well sharpened
to reduce the risk of kickbacks.
When felling small trees, assess the
direction of fall of the tree when cut, taking
wind direction also into consideration.
To obtain good results when felling small
trees, make the cut with rapid movements
towards the branch or trunk to be cut
with the engine at maximum rpm.
Avoid using the right side of the blade since their
is a high risk of kickback or jamming the blade
in view of the direction of rotation (Fig. 21).
6.4.2 Adjusting the length of the
cutting line head during work
This machine is fitted with a semi-
automatic wire release head.
EN - 12