Starting your chainsaw must be done in the proper fashion to help avoid the damage that can occur in the starting process. Never start your chainsaw by drop starting it or throw starting it. There are two methods that are acceptable in starting your saw: one by starting your saw on the ground and the other by starting your saw in a standing position.
To start your saw on the ground, use the following procedures. First, find a firm, flat area, free of any obstacles where you can maintain balance and good footing and remember it cannot be any closer than 10 feet from where you fueled your chainsaw. Always make certain that there are no bystanders in the immediate area. Engage the chain brake and place the master control level in the full choke or cold start position. If your chainsaw comes with a decompression valve, decompress it at this time.
Insert your right foot through the opening of the rear handle with the bottom of your foot firmly placed against the wide flat portion of the handle. Stabilizing the left side of the saw, place your left hand on the top forward handle. Firmly grasping the handle with your fingers and thumb fully wrapped around the handle, your arm fully extended and elbow locked.
Grasp the starter handle with your right hand and pull up on the rope slow until you feel resistance. At this point, give the starter a sharp pull. At the end of this pull, slowly guide the starter rope back in the starter housing. Never release the handle and allow the rope and grip to snap back in the housing. Doing so could cause damage to the saw or injure yourself. Continue pulling on the start until the saw tries to start. Some people refer to the noise the saw will make as a burp. Once this has happened, it is critical you dont pull the rope again until you have moved the control level off choke into the warm-up position. If you fail to do so and give the rope just one more pull with the choke on, you can flood the saw and it wont start without performing minor service. If your saw does flood, check your owners manual for the procedure recommended to get your saw started.
The saw has burped and you have placed the control level to the warm up position. Continue pulling on the rope, usually only a few pulls are required at this time and the saw should begin to run. Pick the saw up and hold it in a safe manner with both hands. Then release the chain brake and accelerate the chainsaw. Accelerate the saw two times to warm it up until the saw accelerates without hesitation. Your chainsaw is now ready to use.
The proper way to turn off your chainsaw is to first engage the chain brake by rolling your left wrist forward, then slide the control lever to the off position with the thumb if your right hand, never letting loose of the saw.
Once your chainsaw has been warmed up and you shut it off, it should not be necessary to choke it to restart, if you are at least restarting it fairly soon after having stopped the saw. Use the same procedures we just discussed but start the saw with the control lever in the warm up position rather than the choke position.
The second method of starting your chainsaw is in the standup position. This can come in handy if you are in an area that doesnt have a great deal of flat, unobstructed surface for ground starting the chainsaw. The process of engaging the chain brake and operating the controls will be exactly the same as ground starting. The only difference will be the way you hold the chainsaw in the process. Again, make sure that you area is clear, you have solid footing and there are no bystanders nearby.
With the chain brake engaged and the controls in the proper position, grasp the forward handle with your left hand, thumb and fingers wrapped around the handle. Place the rear handle between your legs with the upper portion of the handle braced against your right inner thigh. With your left arm extended and locked, pull briskly on the starter handle with your right hand in the same manner as we have discussed in ground starting. Once you have started the saw, grasp the rear handle with your right hand and begin the warm up process.