Harbor Freight Tools 68298 - Manual (Page 4)

Page 4 For technical questions, please call 1-800-444-3353. SKU 68298
Tile Saw Safety Warnings
1. DANGER: Keep hands away from cutting
area and the blade. If both hands are holding
the saw, they cannot be cut by the blade.
2. Do not use to cut metal.
3. Do not use for curve or angle cutting.
Doing so may damage Tile Saw blade.
4. Do NOT use with a “wet” attachment
or attempt to lubricate blade.
5. Do not use with a grinding wheel attachment;
only use a diamond cutting disc.
6. Do not use damaged or cracked cutting disc.
7. Do not start Tile Saw with cutting blade
already set against tile surface.
8. Do not reach underneath the workpiece. The guard
cannot protect you from the blade below the workpiece.
9. Adjust the cutting depth to the thickness of the
tile being cut. Less than a full tooth of the blade
teeth should be visible below the workpiece.
10. Never hold tile being cut in your hands or across
your leg. Secure the tile to a stable platform. It is
important to support the work properly to minimize
body exposure, blade binding, or loss of control.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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:
a.
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.
b. 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.
c. When restarting a saw in the workpiece, center
the saw blade in the kerf and check that saw
teeth are not engaged into the material. If
saw blade is binding, it may walk up or kickback
from the workpiece as the saw is restarted.
d. Support large panels to minimize the risk of
blade pinching and kickback. Large 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.
e. Do not use dull or damaged blades.
Unsharpened or improperly set blades
produce narrow kerf causing excessive
friction, blade binding and kickback.
f. Blade depth and bevel adjusting locking
levers must be tight and secure before
making cut. If blade adjustment shifts while
cutting, it may cause binding and kickback.
g. Use extra caution when making a ″plunge cut″
into existing walls or other blind areas. The
protruding blade may cut objects that can
cause kickback.
15. Check lower guard for proper closing before each
use. Do not operate the saw if lower guard does
not move freely and close instantly. Never clamp or
tie the lower guard into the open position. If saw is
accidentally dropped, lower guard may be bent. Raise
the lower guard with the retracting handle and make
sure it moves freely and does not touch the blade
or any other part, in all angles and depths of cut.