SAFETY INFORMATION
• 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.
• Never hold the workpiece in your hands or across your leg while cutting. Secure the
workpiece to a stable platform. It is important to support the work properly to minimize
body exposure, blade binding, and loss of control.
• Hold the power tools 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 give the operator an
electric shock.
• When ripping, always use a rip fence or straight edge guide. This improves the
accuracy of cut and reduces the chance of blade binding.
• 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-off center,
causing loss of control.
• Never use damaged or incorrect blade washers or bolt. The blade washers and bolt
were specially designed for your saw, for optimum performance and safe of operation.
Further Safety Instructions for All Saws
Kickback causes and related warnings
– Kickback is a sudden reaction to a pinched, jammed 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 jammed 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• When restarting a saw in the workpiece, center the saw blade in the kerf and check
that the saw teeth are not engaged in the material. If the saw blade is binding, it may
walk up or kickback from the workpiece as the saw is restarted.
• Support larger panels to minimize the risk of blade pinching and kickback. Larger
panels tend to sag under their own weight. Supports must be placed under the panel on
both sides: near the line of cut and near the edge of the panel.
• Do not use dull or damaged blades. Unsharpened or improperly set blades produce
narrow kerf, causing excessive friction, blade binding and kickback.
• Blade depth and bevel adjusting locking levers must be tight and secure before
making a cut. If blade adjustment shifts while cutting, it may cause binding and kickback.
• Use extra caution when sawing into existing walls or other blind areas. The protruding
blade may cut objects that can cause kickback.
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