17- Before performing any maintenance work on the pole hedge trimmer (blade cleaning, etc.), always stop the engine and wait until the enginehas cooled down.As an additional safety precaution, also remove the spark plug cap.- Do not try to straighten or weld bent or broken cutting blades. Always replace damaged blades.- Stop the engine at regular intervals to check the cutting blades for possible damage (perform a tapping-resonance test to detect hard-to-seehairline cracks). Always make sure that the teeth of the blades are sharp.- Clean the pole hedge trimmer regularly. During cleaning also check all screws, nuts and bolts are well tightened.- To reduce the risk of fire, never service or store the pole hedge trimmer in the vicinity of open fires.- Always wear rugged protective gloves when handling the cutting blades.- Contact your dealer for replacement cutting blades.- Never use gasoline, benzine, thinner, alcohol or the like for cleaning.Discoloration, deformation or cracks may result.Sharpening the bladeIf the cutting blades have become blunt and cutting performance is poor, have the blades sharpened by an authorized service agent.Adjusting blade clearanceThe upper/lower blades wear out gradually after operations. If you cannot get a clean cut though the blades are sharp enough, adjust theclearance as follows.The tightness of the hex bolt decides the clearance of the blades. The nut holds the hex bolt with certain tightness. Too loose clearance causesblunt cut, but too tight clearance causes unnecessary heat and sooner worn-out of the blades.1. Loosen the nut (1) with a box or open-ended wrench.2. Tighten the hex bolt (2) with a hex wrench lightly till it stops. And then, screw it back between a quarter turn and a half turn to gain necessaryclearance.3. Tighten the nut (1), holding the hex bolt (2).4. Apply light oil on the friction surface of the blades.5. Start the engine, operate the throttle on and off for a minute.6. Stop the engine and touch the surface. If they are not too hot to touch, you have made a proper adjustment. If they are too hot to touch, turnthe hex bolt (2) back a little and repeat the step 5 to 6.NOTE: Before making the adjustment, stop the engine and wait for the blades to stop.The blades have a slot around the hex bolt (2). In case you find dust in the end of any of the slots, clean it.312 345612 334756EN4950HEN4951SH1 Hexagonal U-nut2 Hex bolt3 Plate4 Blade guide5 Upper blade6 Lower blade7 Blade guardMAINTENANCE