Troy-Bilt TB24HT Operator's Manual page 9

USING THE HEDGE TRIMMER
Use the hedge trimmer for trimming and forming hedges,
shrubs and bushes that have a branch diameter of up to
3/8 of an inch.
WARNING: Do not operate your trimmer
until any missing, damaged, or broken
parts have been replaced. Failure to do so
could result in serious personal injury.
WARNING: To prevent serious personal
injury, always use both the front handle and
rear handle to hold the hedge trimmer
during operation.
For your protection, there is a blade guard between the
front handle and the blade.
WARNING: Never use guard as a handle.
Never grasp the unit by the guard. Failure
to heed this warning can result in serious
personal injury.
WARNING: Clear the area to be cut before
each use. Remove all objects like cords,
lights, wire, or string which can become
entangled in the cutting blade.
Follow these general trimming techniques:
• Keep from trimming too much at one time. This can
cause the blades to bind and slow, reducing the
cutting efficiency.
• Do not force the unit through dense growth. If the
blades slow down, reduce your pace.
WARNING: To prevent serious personal
injury, keep hands away from blades. Do not
attempt to remove cut material or hold material
to be cut when blades are moving. Make sure
unit is unplugged and the switch is off when
clearing jammed material from blades. Do not
grasp the exposed cutting blades or cutting
edges when picking up or holding the unit.
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
• Use hedge trimmer properly. Before starting hedge
trimmer, hold the unit with both hands and face the
cutting blade away from you.
• Always keep the cord behind the hedge trimmer when
in use. Do not place it over the hedge where it may be
cut by the blade.
DANGER: If the blade jams on any electrical
cord or line, DO NOT TOUCH THE BLADE. IT
CAN BECOME ELECTRICALLY LIVE AND
VERY DANGEROUS. Continue to hold your
trimmer by the insulated handles and
immediately disconnect the damaged
electrical cord or line from the power source.
Failure to heed this warning will result in
serious or fatal personal injury.
• If desired, you can use a string to help cut your hedge
level. Decide how high you want the hedge. Then,
stretch a piece of string along the hedge at this height.
Trim the hedge just above this guide line of string. Trim
the side of a hedge so that it will be slightly narrower at
the top (Fig. 10). More of the hedge will be exposed
when shaped this way, and it will be more uniform.
• Wear gloves when trimming thorny or prickly growth.
When trimming new growth, use a wide sweeping
action, so that the stems are fed directly into the
cutting blade. Older growth will have thicker stems and
will be trimmed easiest by using a sawing movement.
• Do not try to cut stems that are larger than 3/8 inch
thick, or those obviously too large to feed into the
cutting blade. Use a non-powered hand saw or
pruning saw to trim large stems.
Fig. 10
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