Before you begin mowing, make sure you are holding your machine correctly to maximise comfort and avoid strains or other injuries. The shoulder strap must sit snugly so the machine is balanced and effortless to operate.
If you are using a brushcutter for the first time, read below to learn the best way to hold your machine. Or skip to Mowing Techniques, further down the page, if you're already happy with holding a machine.
Bike handle type
- Put on the harness. The spring hook should be about a hand's width below your right hip.
- Suspend the machine from the eyelet using the spring hook
- Adjust the handles and push the carrying ring along the shaft until the brushcutter is balanced. The cutting attachment should be just above the ground. The optimum cutting angle is automatically achieved when the machine is balanced.
The correct brushcutter position is with your arms slightly bent and your wrists straight. Please refer to your Instruction Manual for specific tips on using the circular saw blade.
Loop handle type
- Put on the shoulder strap and attach the hook to the carrying ring on the machine. The hook should be about a hand's width below your right hip.
- Hold the brushcutter with both hands. Your left hand should be on the loop handle and your right on the shaft handle.
- The cutting attachment should always just touch the ground.
Mowing techniques
How do you mow with a brushcutter for the best results? The right mowing technique can achieve amazing results. If this is the first time you have picked up a brushcutter, you will soon get the hang of it.
Here are a few of the basic techniques and some ways of mowing even large areas, achieving great results.
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Basic technique
Because the cutting attachment rotates anti-clockwise, a right-to-left cutting action is commonest when mowing. The advantage of this method is that the cuttings drop on to the cut area. - Basic tequnique for long grass
When working in very long grass or tough weeds it is advisable to mow in two directions of movement: a movement to the right first of all cuts off the top of the growth, then the counter movement to the left deals with the rest. As usual, the cuttings are discarded to the left.
- Large flat areas
The best way to cut large areas is to use the square method. Divide the area to be mown into squares, then work along the outsides into the centre.
- Along a slope
The strip method is a very good way of working on a slope: cut a strip parallel to the slope and then return along the swath. Then cut the next strip above that. Here too, the cut grass always falls onto the cut area.
- Overcoming obstacles
The mowing line is the best way of mowing right up to trees or bushes without damaging branches or stems. Where several plants are growing close together it is advisable to clear round them before mowing. To do that, use the guard on your brushcutter as a guide. Place it up against the trunk of the tree or bush and use it to guide you as you move around the tree. That protects the trunk while mowing the area around it.
*Images from www.stihl.co.uk
