Poulan 2300 AV - Manual (Page 12)

TYPES OF CUTTING
A. BASIC CUTTING TECHNIQUE
1. IMPORTANT POINTS
a. Cut wood only. Do not cut metal, plastics,
masonry, non-wood building materials, etc. Do not
use your saw to pry or shove away limbs, roots or
other objects.
b. Stop the saw if the chain strikes a foreign object.
Inspect the saw and repair or replace par+s as
necessary.
c. Keep the chain out of dirt and sand. Even a
small amount of dirt will quickly dull a chain and
thus increase the possibility of kickback.
A KICKBACK WARNING
Kickback can occur when the moving chain contacts
an object at the upper portion of the tip of the guide bar
or when the wood closes in and pinches the saw chain
in the cut. Contact at the upper portion of the tip of the
guide bar can causethe chain to dig into the object and
stop the chain for an instant. The result is a iightning
fast, reverse reaction which kicks the guide bar up and
back toward the operator, if the saw chain is pinched
along the top of the guide bar, the guide bar can be
driven rapidly back toward the operator. Either of
these reactions can cause loss of saw control which
can result in serious injury.
2. UNDERSTAND REACTIVE FORCES
Pinch-Kickback and Pull-In occur when the chain
is suddenly stopped by being pinched, caught, or
by contacting a foreign object in the wood. This
results in a reversal of the chain force used to cut wood
and causes the saw to move in the opposite direction of
chain rotation. Either reaction can result in loss of con­
trol and possible serious injury.
• Pinch-Kickback —
—occurs when the chain, on top of the bar is
suddenly stopped when the top of the bar is used
for cutting.
—rapidly drives the saw straight back toward the
operator.
• Pull-In —
— can occur when the chain on the bottom of the
bar is suddenly stopped.
—pulls the saw rapidly forward.
3. PROCEDURE
Practice cutting a few small logs using the following techni-4
que to get the ‘‘feel" of using your saw before you begin a
major sawing operation.
a . Accelerate the engine to full throttle just before
entering the cut by squeezing the throttle trigger.
b . Begin cutting with the saw frame against the log.
Figure 18.
c . Keep the engine at full throttle the entire time you
are cutting.
d. Allow the chain to cut for you; exert only light
downward pressure. If you force the cut, damage to
the bar. chain, or engine can result.
e . Release the throttle trigger as soon as the cut is
completed, allowing the engine to idle. If you run the
saw at full throttle without a cutting load, unnecessary
wear can occur to the chain, bar, and engine.
f . Do not put pressure on the saw at the end of the cut
to avoid losing control when the cut is complete.
g . Stop the engine before setting the saw down after
cutting.
TREE FELLING TECHNIQUES
1, PLAN YOUR SAWING OPERATION CARE­
FULLY IN ADVANCE
a Clear the work area. You need a clear area ail
around the tree where you can have secure
footing
b Study the natural conditions that can cause
the tree to fall in a particular direction.
1 ) The WIND direction and speed.
2 ) The LEAN of the tree.
3 ) WEIGHTED with BRANCHES on one side.
4 ) Surrounding TREES and OBSTACLES.
c Look for decay and rot. If the trunk is rotted, it can
snap and fall toward the operator.
Check for broken or dead branches which can
fall on you while cutting.
Make sure there is enough room for the tree to
fall. Maintain a distance of 2Уг tree lengths from the
nearest person or other objects. Engine noise car
drown out a warning call.
Remove dirt, stones, loose -bark, nails,
staples, and wire from the tree where cut^
are to be made.
(
Plan to stand on the up-hill side when cut-"
ting on a slope. Figure 18.
Plan a clear retreat path to the rear and
diagonal to the line of fall.
Figure 19.
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