Porter-Cable METAL CUTTING SAW 440 - Manual (Page 6)

6
ADDITIONAL SPECIFIC SAFETY RULES
a) Keep hands away from cutting area and the blade. Keep your second
hand on auxiliary handle, or motor housing. If both hands are holding the
saw, they cannot be cut by the blade.
b) Do not reach underneath the workpiece. The guard cannot protect you
from the blade below the workpiece.
c) Adjust the cutting depth to the thickness of the workpiece. Less than a
full tooth of the blade teeth should be visible below the workpiece.
d) Never hold piece being cut in your hands or across your leg. Secure
the workpiece to a stable platform. It is important to support the work
properly to minimize body exposure,blade binding, or loss of control.
e) Hold power tool by insulated gripping surfaces when performing an
operation where the cutting tool may contact hidden wiring or its own
cord. Contact with a "live" wire will also make exposed metal parts of the
power tool "live" and shock the operator.
f) When ripping always use a rip fence or straight edge guide. This
improves the accuracy of cut and reduces the chance of blade binding.
g) Always use blades with correct size and shape (diamond versus round)
of arbor holes. Blades that do not match the mounting hardware of the
saw will run eccentrically, causing loss of control.
h) Never use damaged or incorrect blade washers or bolt. The blade
washers and bolt were specially designed for your saw, for optimum
performance and safety of operation.
Kickback Safety Instructions
Causes and Operator Prevention of Kickback:
– Kickback is a sudden reaction to a pinched, bound or misaligned saw blade,
causing an uncontrolled saw to lift up and out of the workpiece toward the
operator.
– When the blade is pinched or bound tightly by the kerf closing down, the
blade stalls and the motor reaction drives the unit rapidly back toward the
operator.
– If the blade becomes twisted or misaligned in the cut, the teeth at the back
edge of the blade can dig into the top surface of the wood causing the
blade to climb out of the kerf and jump back toward the operator.
Kickback is the result of saw misuse and/or incorrect operating procedures or
conditions and can be avoided by taking proper precautions as given
below:
i) Maintain a firm grip with both hands on the saw and position your arms
to resist kickback forces. Position your body to either side of the
blade, but not in line with the blade. Kickback could cause the saw to
jump backwards, but kickback forces can be controlled by the operator, if
proper precautions are taken.
j) When blade is binding, or when interrupting a cut for any reason,
release the trigger and hold the saw motionless in the material until the
blade comes to a complete stop. Never attempt to remove the saw
from the work or pull the saw backward while the blade is in motion or
kickback may
occur. Investigate and take corrective actions to eliminate
the cause of blade binding.