Ryobi HT920Dr - Manual (Page 8)

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
USING THE HEDGE TRIMMER TO TRIM A HEDGE
A
WARNING: If any parts are missing, damaged,
or broken do not operate your trimmer until they
have been replaced. Failure to do so could result
in possible serious personal injury.
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WARNING: To prevent serious personal
injury, always use both the front handle and
rear handle to hold the hedge trimmer during
operation.
Use the hedge trimmer for trimming and the forming of
hedges, shrubs, and bushes with a branch diameter of
up to 3/8 inch.
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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.
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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.
For your protection there is a blade guard between the
front handle and the blade.
1. Cord secured to unit and plugged in.
2. With the blade directed away, hold the unit by the
front and rear handle (Fig. 6).
3. Start the unit with the blades away from the hedge to
be trimmed.
General Tips:
• 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.
Fig. 6
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WARNING: Clear the area to be cut before
each use. Remove all objects such as cords,
lights, wire, or string which can become
entangled in the cutting blade.
1. Use hedge trimmer properly. Before starting hedge
trimmer, hold the unit with both hands and face the
cutting blade away from you (Fig. 6).
2. 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.
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DANGER: If 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 Danger will result in
serious personal injury and possibly death.
2. 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. 7). More of the
hedge will be exposed when shaped this way, and it
will be more uniform.
3. 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. 7