Craftsman Rotary Lawn Mower 917.379120 Owner's Manual page 7

The operation of any lawn
mower can result in foreign
objects thrown into the
eyes, which can result in
severe eye damage. Always
wear safety glasses or eye shields while
operating your lawn mower or performing
any ad just ments or repairs. We recom-
mend a standard safety glasses or wide
vision safety mask worn over spectacles.
HOW TO USE YOUR LAWN MOWER
ENGINE SPEED
The engine speed was set at the factory
for optimum performance. Speed is not
adjustable.
ENGINE ZONE CONTROL
CAUTION: Federal regulations re quire
an engine control to be installed on this
lawn mower in order to minimize the
risk of blade contact injury. Do not un der
any circumstances attempt to de feat the
func tion of the operator con trol. The blade
turns when the engine is running.
• Your lawn mower is equipped with an
operator pres ence control bar which
requires the operator to be positioned
behind the lawn mower handle to start
and operate the lawn mower.
DRIVE CONTROL
• Self-propelling is controlled by hold ing
the operator presence control bar down
to the handle and push ing the drive
control lever forward until it clicks; then
releasing the lever.
• Forward motion will stop when the op-
erator presence control bar is re leased.
To stop forward motion without stop ping
engine, re lease the operator presence
con trol bar slight ly until the drive control
dis en gag es. Hold op er a tor presence
control bar down against handle to con-
tin ue mowing without self-pro pel ling.
• To keep drive control engaged when
turning corners, push down on han dle
and lift front wheels off ground while
turning lawn mower.
Operator presence control bar
TO ENGAGE
DRIVE
CONTROL
TO ADJUST CUTTING HEIGHT
Raise wheels for low cut and lower wheels
for high cut, adjust cutting height to suit
your requirements. Me di um position is
best for most lawns.
• To change cutting height, squeeze
adjuster lever to ward wheel. Move wheel
up or down to suit your re quire ments. Be
sure all wheels are in the same setting.
NOTE: Adjuster is properly positioned
when plate tab inserts into hole in lever.
Also, 9-position adjusters (if so equipped)
allow lever to be positioned between the
plate tabs.
LEVER BACKWARD
TO LOWER MOWER
LEVER FORWARD TO RAISE MOWER
TO CONVERT MOWER
Your mower was shipped ready to be used
as a mulcher. To convert to discharging:
• Open mulcher door and install dis-
charge defl ector under door as shown.
• Mower is now ready for discharging
operation.
• To convert to mulching operation, dis-
charge defl ector must be removed and
mulcher door must be closed.
Drive
control
Discharge
defl ector
DRIVE
CONTROL
DISENGAGED
7
Plate tab
Lever
Open mulcher door