Altrad ATIKA HSC 60-400 Mode D'emploi page 18

Scare animals off the hedge before starting to cut in order

to prevent them from being injured.
Provide for a safe and cleaned workplace. Remove from

the working area objects which might be thrown off.
Do not overreach. Keep at any time the balance. Do not

work with the upper part of the body leaned forward.
Operate the hedge trimmer only with safe standing position.

Stop the hedge trimmer when moving to another work

place.
Keep hands and feet away from the cutting device when it

moves.
Do not use the hedge trimmer to pick up or remove wood

pieces or other objects.
Remove unconditionally any foreign objects out of the

hedge (e.g. wires) as these can damage the knives of the
hedge trimmer.
Hold the hedge trimmer always firmly with both hands,

left hand on the front handhold (11) and right hand on the
rear handhold (3). Never work with only one hand.
Start trimming with the cutting device moving.

Never touch the cutting device with your hands during

operation.
Never work

− with stretched arms
− on hardly accessible places
− too far bent forward
Never work with the hedge trimmer above shoulder height.

Never get in contact with the running cutting device with

metallic fences or the ground.
Release on switch button when

− the cutting tool hits a foreign object,
− abnormal operating noise is noticed,
− the machine causes abnormal vibration.
Remove the battery and take the following actions:
⇒
check the machine for damages,
−
check for loose parts and tighten them if necessary,
−
replace damaged parts by equivalent parts or have
−
them repaired.
Switch off the device and remove the battery

− to remove jammed material,
− to eliminate faults,
− for work breaks,
− before leaving the hedge trimmer,
− before checking the hedge trimmer,
Before starting your work make sure that:

− no other persons or animals stay within the working
area,
− you can always step back without any barriers,
− your standing area is free from foreign objects,
brushwood and branches,
− you have always a secure standing position.
When may I cut?
Follow the country-specific or communal legal regulations for
cutting hedges (including hedge banks, shrubbery, reed bed
and reeds). It may deviate from the following.
For the protection of animals and breeding birds, the cutting
(radical cutting) of hedges, but also bushes, reed bed and
reeds is not permitted from 1 March to 30 September.
18
During this time, gentle shaping and pruning are permitted, in
which only the fresh growth of the plants is removed or cuts to
maintain the health of trees.
A radical cutback or grubbing-up is only possible from October
to March without violating the law.
When is the right time for cutting?
Observe the right time for cutting to prevent harming your
hedge unnecessarily.
Depending on the type of your hedge, the time for cutting
differs.
Recommendations:
 Deciduous hedges are pruned shortly before winter or until
the end of February.
 Evergreen hedges or conifers are pruned before the first
shoots in spring (end of March) or in autumn before the first
frost.
 Hedges of flowering shrubs should, if trimming is required,
be cut immediately after flowering.
 Shaping and pruning can always be carried out between
March and September for all varieties.
Observe also the weather conditions:
 Spring pruning should not be done at freezing
temperatures, since the cuts produced heal very poorly. In
addition, branches
temperatures. A good day for cutting is therefore a dry and
sunny day without frost.
 Summer pruning should not be carried out when it is too hot
and the sun is too bright; the freshly cut shoots dry out and
die off. Cut early in the day therefore, in the late afternoon
or on a cloudy day.
 Do not cut either during heavy rain; the moisture will
promote the growth of fungi and pests.
Simply ask a specialist who can tell you about the right time for
cutting your hedge and provide you with useful tips.
Working with the hedge trimmer
Before cutting, make sure that there are no breeding birds or
wild animals in the hedge. With breeding animals you should
shift the cutting, in order not to drive away the old animals.
Hold the hedge shear with both hands on a safe
distance from the body.

The maximal diameter to cut depends on the wood's type,
age, moisture and hardness.
Therefore cut very thick branches using branch shears to
your desired length before trimming the hedge.
Due to its double sided knives the hedge shears

can be guided forward and backward or by oscillating
movements from one to another side.
 Cut the sides of the hedge first.
 Cut the hedge from the bottom up.
 While cutting, slightly tilt the cutting device in the direction
of the cutting movement.
 Move forward slowly and in a controlled manner.
break off easily at freezing