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Echo CHAIN SAW Safety Manual

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CHAIN SAW SAFETY MANUAL
Misuse may result in serious or fatal injuries. You must read, understand,
and follow these safety instructions and the instructions in your Chain
Saw Instruction Manual before operating a Chain Saw.
Chainsaw kickback can cause serious or fatal injuries. Read and follow the
instructions to avoid kickback. ECHO supplies an anti-kick back guard called a Kick
Guard
with every new chain saw. Read the Kick Guard
®
which cutting applications and conditions require the installation of the kick guard.
Always use the Kick Guard
To locate your nearest ECHO dealer visit our website, http://www.echo-usa.com, or call 1-800-
432-ECHO (3246). Ask how to obtain a FREE Safety Video. Echo's Supplemental Safety Video
provides helpful safety and cutting information.
X7523200201
DANGER!
DANGER!
where possible.
®
instructions to determine
®
X752000021
10/07

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  • Page 1 Always use the Kick Guard where possible. ® To locate your nearest ECHO dealer visit our website, http://www.echo-usa.com, or call 1-800- 432-ECHO (3246). Ask how to obtain a FREE Safety Video. Echo’s Supplemental Safety Video provides helpful safety and cutting information. X752000021 X7523200201...

  • Page 2: Key Safety Symbols And Major Warnings

    These important safety symbols are used throughout this manual and may also appear on your chain saw. They are provided to make you aware of potential hazards, and the precautions you must take to protect yourself from injury. You must read and understand the explanations, and obey the instructions.
  • Page 3 Always use proper positioning! WARNING! Keep your body out of cutting Carrying or transporting a chain saw with a moving plane at all times! chain is hazardous. Turn saw off, or allow the chain to stop, and engage the chain brake when carrying the saw.
  • Page 4 Never let a helper hold material you are planning to cut. Serious injury can occur. WARNING! Do Not cut overhead. The cut material or chain saw can fall on you, causing serious injury. WARNING! Use proper ground starting procedure. Do WARNING! Do Not use a chain saw with a not “drop start!”...

  • Page 5: Key Chain Saw Terms

    45-degree CKA requirement explained on page 13. handle. SKATING - When the chain saw fails to dig in during a cut, the GUIDE BAR - The grooved bar that supports and guides the guide bar can begin hopping or dangerously skidding along the saw chain.

  • Page 6: Table Of Contents

    If you need a copy of a chain saw safety or instruction manual, have product questions, are unsure about the safe use or maintenance of your saw, or would like to obtain a chain saw safety video, please visit our website at http://www.

  • Page 7: Forces You Must Control

    BAR PULLS SAW AWAY FROM YOU chain moving toward you, the chain saw will be pulled into the wood and away from you. PUSH - Cutting on the underside of a log pushes the chain saw toward you. PUSH CUTTING ON TOP OF GUIDE-BAR...
  • Page 8 FORCE OF GRAVITY & “FOLLOW THROUGH” – Gravity is always present and you must be prepared for it when you are operating a chain saw. During the cutting operation, the weight of the chain saw is supported by the material being cut.

  • Page 9: Kick Guard ® Installation

    ® homeowners, or chain saw novices. However, it is designed to be removable to allow the saw to be used without the device. Use of the saw without the Kick Guard device requires a higher level of caution on the part of the operator.

  • Page 10: Conditions Which May Require Removal Of Kick Guard

    Kick Guard in place. Even if you have prior experience with safe chain saw operation, or are trained in the prevention of kickback, please use extreme caution if you choose not to install the tip guard, or if you decide to remove it. If you plan to use the saw ®...

  • Page 11: Operating Saw With Kick Guard ® Device

    ® other chain saw mishaps. Always wear protective articles such as cut-resistant boots, gloves, and leg chaps, and proper attire for chain sawing. Use the correct two-handed grip on the saw handles at all times. Position the saw properly with the cutting plane away from the body, and maintain a balanced body position to the left of the saw.

  • Page 12: Operating Saw Without Kick Guard ® Device

    OPERATING SAW WITHOUT THE KICK GUARD DEVICE ® DANGER! IF YOU REMOVE THE KICK GUARD, BE AWARE OF THE INCREASED RISK OF KICKBACK DUE TO THE BAR NOSE NOT BEING PROTECTED. PREVENT KICKBACK YOURSELF. DON’T LET THE BAR TIP CONTACT ANYTHING! Study the following illustrations related to kickback, and never make these kinds of errors! COMMON CAUSES OF KICKBACK KICKBACK...
  • Page 13 Never over the top! Keep your left arm straight with the elbow locked to prepare for any sudden or unexpected reaction of the chain saw, and to maintain better control. WARNING! Do not let the tip or nose of the saw come near any solid object while the chain is rotating.

  • Page 14: Additional Safety Devices To Reduce Kickback

    ADDITIONAL SAFETY DEVICES DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE RISK OF INJURY FROM KICKBACK Your ECHO chain saw and its operator’s manual have been certified to meet the requirements of Voluntary Standard B175.1 of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). B175.1 sets forth the minimum safety requirements for the manufacture of gasoline-powered chain saws.
  • Page 15 ECHO chain brakes are designed to retain stopping times as close as possible to their original times, however periodic cleaning and or adjustment are required for the brake to perform properly.
  • Page 16 Linear kickback will be stopped if the device is drawn against the wood. Your ECHO chain saw may be equipped with either the more common symmetrical nose bar or an asymmetrical nose bar. The symmetrical nose bar can have a sprocket or welded tip.

  • Page 17: Operator Safety

    You should be in good physical and mental health in order to handle your chain saw safely. Errors in judgment can be serious or fatal. If you have any physical condition which strenuous work could worsen, check with your physician before using a chain saw.
  • Page 18 Maintain good blood circulation by performing vigorous arm exercises during frequent work breaks, and also by not smoking. • Limit the number of hours of chain saw operation. Try to fill a part of each work day with jobs other than chain sawing. •...

  • Page 19: Key Safety And Risk Prevention Guidelines

    As a chain saw user, you must take the steps necessary to keep your cutting jobs free from accident or injury. With a basic understanding of kickback, you can reduce or eliminate the element of surprise.
  • Page 20 When cutting a limb that is under tension, be alert for spring back so that you will not be struck by the limb or chain saw when the tension in the branch is released during the cut. BEWARE OF HIGH TENSION BRANCHES.

  • Page 21: General Safety Instructions

    All chain saw service, other than the items listed in the operator’s manual maintenance instruction, is to be performed only by competent chain saw service personnel. (For example, if improper tools are used to remove the flywheel, or if an improper tool is used to hold the flywheel to remove the clutch, structural damage to the flywheel could occur. This could cause the flywheel to shatter, resulting in serious injury to operator and bystanders.)
  • Page 22 Cover the chain and bar with a scabbard (protective sheath). CAUTION: When sharpening a chain saw, to prevent cuts to the hands, be sure to wear protective gloves when moving the chain or holding the bar. Use a tool to move the chain. Do not push against the sharp cutters, instead move the chain the same way it runs, from engine to bar tip direction.

  • Page 23: Rules For Safe Fueling

    If fuel leakage is discovered, do not start or run the chain saw until the leak is fixed and any spilled fuel has been wiped away. Move the chain saw at least 10 feet (3m) from the fueling point before starting the engine.

  • Page 24: Safe Wood Cutting Practices

    When felling a tree or any chain saw process, keep people and animals away a distance of at least twice the height of the tree.

  • Page 25: Pinching, Binding & Splitting

    PINCHING, BINDING & SPLITTING HINGE Wind bends trees. Gravity bends logs that are not flat on the ground. A log weakened by a cut over 1/3 the log diameter is like two logs hinged together. The cut may either close or open wider, depending on how the log is positioned. MOVING OPENED In bucking logs, always make the weakening cut from the direction (opposite the “hinge”...

  • Page 26: Pruning Shade Trees And Cutting Saplings

    PRUNING SHADE TREES AND CUTTING SAPLINGS Whippy growth, such as saplings and tree branches, may resist being cut. Be prepared for the saw chain to skate along the surface and the material to vibrate from side to side. This can result in a sharp sudden pull on the saw or can cause branches to snap back at the operator.

  • Page 27: Felling Trees

    FELLING TREES Please note that felling a tree is more complicated than often expected. Take time to plan cuts, fall path and escape route before felling the tree. Electric powered units may not be suitable for felling some trees. Consider such factors as tree size and location, circuit breaker capacity, and weather and ground conditions to determine if an electric powered saw is appropriate.
  • Page 28 Clear the work area. You need a clear area all around the tree so you can have secure footing. The chain saw operator should keep on the uphill side of the terrain as the tree is likely to roll or slide down hill after it is felled.

  • Page 29: Limbing And Bucking

    LIMBING AND BUCKING WARNING! Do not walk on the trunk or in a log pile, or cut while standing on it. WARNING! Take extra care when walking around a log pile, especially if logs are debarked or wet and slippery. Determine how the log or limb is tensioned.
  • Page 30 LIMBING AND BUCKING WARNING! Be alert for spring poles and stay clear of them during cutting. A spring pole can spring back suddenly when cut, or when the wood holding it down is cut away. A spring pole can strike you or deflect the moving saw chain into your body.

  • Page 31: Felling Very Large Trees

    FELLING VERY LARGE TREES Pertains to gasoline-powered saws only. Small gas powered saws and electric powered saws should not be used to fell very large trees. Only those that have been trained to cut very large trees should attempt these techniques.

  • Page 32: Bow Saw Warning

    WARNING! ECHO does not recommend the use of bow saws. If you choose to attach a bow guide to an ECHO chain saw, and thus create a bow saw, you do so at your own risk. A bow guide attachment increases the risk of severe kickback and serious injury.
  • Page 33 ELECTRIC CHAIN SAW SAFETY The electric chain saw unit is made of a molded dielectric material that reduces the risk of electric shock to the operator. Broken or cracked housings or guards may not protect you. Do not operate the unit if housings or guards are damaged. Use only identical ECHO replacement parts when service is required.

  • Page 34: Glossary Of Chain Sawing Definitions

    DANGER! ECHO warns against the use of a bow guide THROTTLE TRIGGER LATCH BUTTON - The control used to set on your ECHO chain saw. A bow guide increases the risk of the throttle for a fast idle speed, required to start a cold engine.
  • Page 35 “bar tip guard.” SKATING - When the chain saw fails to dig in during a cut, the LIMBING - The process employing cuts to remove limbs from guide bar can begin hopping or dangerously skidding along the a tree.
  • Page 36 ECHO, INCORPORATED 400 OAKWOOD ROAD LAKE ZURICH, IL 60047 PHONE: (847) 540-8400 www.echo-usa.com...

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