Husqvarna 135 Operation Manual - Page 13

GENERAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WARNING! Never use a machine with ! defective safety components. Safety equipment must be inspected and maintained. See instructions under the heading Checking, maintaining and servicing chain saw safety equipment. If your machine does not pass all the checks, take the saw to a servicing dealer for repair. Chain brake and front hand guard Your chain saw is equipped with a chain brake that is designed to stop the chain if you get a kickback. The chain brake reduces the risk of accidents, but only you can prevent them. (3) Take care when using your saw and make sure the kickback zone of the bar never touches any object. (4) • The chain brake (A) can either be activated manually (by your left hand) or automatically by the inertia release mechanism. (5) • The brake is applied when the front hand guard (B) is pushed forwards or when the right-hand brake trigger (E) is pushed up and forwards. (6) • This movement activates a spring-loaded mechanism that tightens the brake band (C) around the engine drive system (D) (clutch drum). (7) • The front hand guard is not designed solely to activate the chain brake. Another important feature is that it reduces the risk of your left hand hitting the chain if you lose grip of the front handle. • The chain brake must be engaged when the chain saw is started to prevent the saw chain from rotating. (46) • Use the chain brake as a "parking brake" when starting and when moving over short distances, to reduce the risk of moving chain accidentally hitting your leg or anyone or anything close by. Do not leave the chain saw switched on with the chain brake activated for long periods. The chain saw can become very hot. • The chain brake is released by moving the front hand guard marked "PULL BACK TO RESET" back, towards the front handle. (38) • Kickback can be very sudden and violent. Most kickbacks are minor and do not always activate the chain brake. If this happens you should hold the chain saw firmly and not let go. (51) • The way the chain brake is activated, either manually or automatically by the inertia release mechanism, depends on the force of the kickback and the position of the chain saw in relation to the object that the kickback zone of the bar strikes. If you get a violent kickback while the kickback zone of the bar is farthest away from you the chain brake is designed to be activated by the inertia in the kickback direction. (8) 1155296-49 Rev.4 2013-06-20 If the kickback is less violent or the kickback zone of the bar is closer to you the chain brake is designed to be activated manually by the movement of your left hand. • In the felling position the left hand is in a position that makes manual activation of the chain brake impossible. With this type of grip, that is when the left hand is placed so that it cannot affect the movement of the front hand guard, the chain brake can only be activated by the inertia action. (9) Will my hand always activate the chain brake during a kickback? No. It takes a certain force to move the hand guard forward. If your hand only lightly touches the front guard or slips over it, the force may not be enough to trigger the chain brake. You should also maintain a firm grip of the chain saw handles while working. If you do and experience a kickback, your hand may never leave the front handle and will not activate the chain brake, or the chain brake will only activate after the saw has swung around a considerable distance. In such instances, the chain brake might not have enough time to stop the saw chain before it touches you. There are also certain positions in which your hand cannot reach the front hand guard to activate the chain brake; for example, when the saw chain is held in felling position. Will my inertia activated chain brake always activate during kickback in the event of a kickback? No. First your brake must be in working order. Testing the brake is simple, see instructions under the heading Checking, maintaining and servicing chain saw safety equipment. We recommend you do before you begin each work session. Second the kickback must be strong enough to activate the chain brake. If the chain brake is too sensitive it would activate all the time which would be a nuisance. Will my chain brake always protect me from injury in the event of a kickback? No. First, the chain brake must be in working order to provide the intended protection. Second, it must be activated during the kickback as described above to stop the saw chain. Third, the chain brake may be activated but if the bar is too close to you the brake might not have enough time to slow down and stop the chain before the chain saw hits you. Only you and proper working technique can eliminate kickback and its danger. Throttle lockout The throttle lockout is designed to prevent accidental operation of the throttle control. When you press the lock (A) (i.e. when you grasp the handle) it releases the throttle control (B). When you release the handle the throttle control and the throttle lockout both move back to their English - 13