This International Standard specifies safety requirements, and measures for their verification, for the design and construction of portable, hand-held, internal combustion engine-driven, cut-off machines, intended to be used by a single operator in the cutting of construction materials, such as asphalt, concrete, stone and metal. It is applicable only to those machines designed purposely for use with a rotating, bonded-abrasive and/or super-abrasive (diamond) cut-off wheel having a maximum outer diameter of 430 mm, centre-mounted on, and driven by, a spindle shaft, where the top of the wheel rotates away from the operator (see Figure 1). This International Standard deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events significant to these machines when they are used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer. (See Annex F for a list of significant hazards.) This International Standard specifies methods for the elimination or reduction of hazards arising from their use, as well as the type of information on safe working practices to be provided with the machines. Cut-off wheel specifications are not considered in this International Standard; for such specifications, see, for example, ISO 603-7?1?, ISO 13942?12? and ISO 22917?15?. This International Standard is not applicable to machines manufactured before the date of its publication.