The present invention relates to a portable saw bench for use with hand-operated power-driven circular saws.

There is a need in, for example, the building industry, for a relatively light, portable saw bench which can be used with hand-operated power-driven saws and which will enable a carpenter or like artisan to saw wood with precision to given sizes and given angles at different, widely spaced locations on a working site.

An object of the present invention is to fulfil this need, and accordingly this invention consists in a portable saw bench for use with hand-operated power-driven circular saws, comprising a base structure provided with clamping means operative to clamp said base structure to an element which is to form a temporary worktable for material to be sawn; a saw supporting and guiding means arranged to co¬ operate with the base structure; and first and second mutual¬ ly spaced fixing means by means of which the saw supporting and guiding means can be firmly attached to the base struc¬ ture in spaced, superimposed relationship therewith. Such an apparatus can be constructed so as to be easily carried by a workman from location to location on a working site, where wood is to be sawn into precise lengths and- at exact angles, and where the precision of the saw cuts -made is relatively important. Thus, the workman is able to carry the saw bench to a particular working location, and there select any piece of material suitable as a work surface, for example a rough wooden plank. The plank may then be placed onto some suitable support, such as trestles, and the base structure then clamped to the plank. The wood to be accurate-

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ly sawn can be placed on the plank, which now forms a temporary worktable with the wood located between the base structure and the saw supporting a guiding means. The wood can then be cut as desired. To enable the saw to be guided at an angle to the wood to be cut, hereinafter referred to as the workpiece, the first fixing means forms a pivot which permits the saw sup¬ porting and guiding means to be swung in a plane remote from the base structure to a selected position relative thereto. Conveniently, each of the first and second fixing means comprises a post and a co-acting socket member, the post and socket member of respective fixing means being arranged on either the base structure or the saw supporting and guiding means. The clamping means operative to clamp the base structure to the plank, i.e. to the temporary worktable, preferably comprises two mutually spaced clamping devices which are connected together by means of an elongate element, which has an abutment surface for one edge of a workpiece to be cut. This abutment surface will serve as a means against which the workpiece can be held firmly while sawing the same.

Preferebly, the elongate element is attached at each end thereof to a respective clamping device in a manner so as to be raisable and lowerable relative thereto. In addition, the post or the socket member of the first fixing means may be located on said elongate member, while the post or socket member of the second fixing means may be located on a rigid member spaced from the elongate element and rigidly connected ' said clamping devices together, the post and socket member of the second fixing means having mutually co-acting means which allow the post to be inserted into the socket member to a selected position and locked in said position. This arrange¬ ment of the elongate element and the first and second fixing means enables the saw supporting and guiding means to be raised and lowered relative to the temporary worktable, e.g. so that a plurality of workpieces can be placed on top of the other on the worktable and sawn together.

In order to provide good support for the portion of the saw supporting and guiding means adjacent the first fixing means, the elongate element preferably exhibits a support surface extending at right angles to the abutment surface intended for supporting one edge of a workpiece to be cut. The elongate element is also conveniently provided with a recessed portion through which the blade of a circular saw can pass while sawing a workpiece.

As beforementioned, the post or socket member of the second fixing means is located on a rigid member spaced from the elongate element and rigidly connected to said clamping devices. In order to enable the saw supporting and guiding surface to be swung about the first fixing means in a circu¬ lar path, so as to position the saw supporting and guiding means at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the work¬ piece, the aforementioned rigid member may have the form of a circular arcuate bar, with its geometrical centre on the first fixing means, while the post or socket member of the second fixing means is mounted for movement, preferably on rollers, along said rigid member. In this case, means are provided for locking said post or socket member to the fixed member at a selected position therealong, and stop means may be provided for stopping the saw supporting and guiding means in its pivot movement at given angles, e.g. 45°, to the longitudinal axis of the worktable.

So that the invention will be more readily understood and further features thereof made apparent, an exemplary of the embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a portable saw bench con¬ structed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is an end view seen in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 3 is an end view seen in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 1 , and

Fig. 4 is a side view seen from the left in Fig. 1.

The portable saw bench illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a base structure generally referenced 10 and a saw supporting and guiding means, which is generally referenced 11 and which is separable from the base structure 10. The base structure and the saw supporting and guiding means 11 are arranged to be connected together, one above the other, by mutually spaced first and second fixing means 12 and 13 in a manner hereinafter described.

The base structure 10 is provided with a clamping means, which in the illustrated embodiment has the form of two mutually spaced clamping devices 14 and 15. As best seen from Fig. 1, each clamping device 14, 15 is connected to a respective end of an elongate element 16 having an abutment surface 17, against which the workpiece or workpieces (indi- cated at 18 in Fig. 4) to be sawn can be supported during a sawing operation, and a support surface 19 which extends at right angles to the abutment surface 17, against which the saw supporting and guiding means 11 rests, as shown in Fig. 2. Each of the clamping devices 14, 15 of the illustrated embodiment comprises an elongate bar 20 which is provided at the end thereof adjacent the elongate element 16 with an upstanding, open-ended socket 21 arranged to receive a corres¬ ponding member 22 depending from a respective end of the elongate element 16, thereby to connect said element to each of the clamping devices 14 and 15. The other end of respec¬ tive bars 20 is provided with a housing 23 from which a spindle 24 extends in a direction towards the socket 21, said spindle being locked against axial movement in the housing

23 in a conventional manner. Arranged on each bar 20 at a distance from the housing 23 is a sleeve 25 which carries an upstanding housing 26 having arranged therein a screw- threaded device 27 which while meshing with the spindle 24 is locked against rotation therewith, so that when the spindle

24 is rotated by means of its handle 45, the housing 26 and sleeve 25 will move along the . respective bar 20. As will be understood, each housing 26 forms one jaw of a respective

clamping device 14, 15, the other jaw of said device being formed by a respective upstanding socket 21 on the end of bar 20, said jaws being arranged to grip a rough length of

« wood or the like material, such as an old plank, so as to attach the base structure, this plank then serving as a work¬ table, as indicated in chain lines at 28. As shown at 29, the jaws of the clamping devices 14, 15 may be provided with pegs arranged to penetrate into the worktable.

As beforementioned, it may be desired at times to saw a number of workpieces 18, placed one upon the other, at the same time, and to support these workpieces against the abut¬ ment surface 17 while sawing, thus making it necessary to raise the saw supporting and guiding means 11 accordingly. To facilitate this, each depending member 22 of the elongate element 16 is provided with a series of holes 30 , which can be brought into alignment with a hole on the upstanding socket 21. A fastener 31 is provided on respective sockets 21 for insertion through two mutually aligned holes, thereby to lock the elongate element at a selected height to respec- tive sockets 21, and therewith to respective bars 20.

In the illustrated -embodiment, the first and second fixing means 12, 13 each comprises a post 32 and a socket member 33, the posts 32 being arranged at distance from one another on the saw supporting and guiding means 11. The socket member 33 for the post 32 adjacent the elongate element 16 is arranged on said element and comprises a length of tubing. The socket member 33 remote from the elongate element 16 is carried by one of a pair of rigid members 34, 35 fixedly connected to the bars 20 of respective clamping devices 14, 15 and serving to rigidify the base structure 10. The rigid member 34 carrying a socket member 33 is of circular arcuate configuration with its geometrical centre on the longitudinal axis of the socket member 33 arranged on the elongate element 16. As will be seen more clearly from Fig. 3, the socket member 33 carried by the rigid member 34 comprises a length

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of tubing. The post 32 is provided with a series of holes 36, and a fastener 37 is provided for insertion through a selected one of said holes 36 and a hole aligned therewith in the socket member 33. This enables the portion of the saw supporting and guiding means 11 connected to the base struc¬ ture 10 by the fixing means 13 illustrated in Fig. 3 to be raised and lowered to the same extent as the elongate element 16, to permit ;the saw supporting and guiding means to be adjusted to a selected height above the upper surface of the temporary worktable 28. As beforementioned, the work¬ table 28 may comprise any suitable piece of material, such as a plank, which can be supported on, for example, trestles and clamped between the respective jaws of the clamping devices 14 and 15. To enable the saw supporting and guiding means 11 to be swung through given angles relative to the worktable 28, the post 32 inserted in the socket member 33 located on the elongate element 16 is arranged to function as a pivot means, while the socket member of the fixing means 13 is arranged on a carriage 38 which rests on the rigid member 34 via rollers 44 and which can be moved along said member 34. The fastener 37 is arranged to extend completely through socket member 33 and post 32 into locking engagement with the member 34 for locking the carriage 38 and hence the socket member 33 to the rigid member 34. Stop means 39

(shown only in Figure 1 ) are provided on the member 34 for stopping the carriage 38 in end positions in which the saw supporting and guiding means 11 is pivoted an angle of 45° to the longitudinal axis of the worktable 28. As clearly shown in Figure 1 , the saw supporting and guiding means 11 is of rectangular configuration, having longitudinally extending rib portions 40 for laterally guid¬ ing a hand-operated power-driven circular saw, and a slot 41 provided in a supporting surface located between said rib portions 40 for the blade of the circular saw, said blade being indicated at 42 in Figure 4. So as not to harm the

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elongate element 16, a recess 43 (Figure 2) is provided therein, through which the blade 42 may pass. The portion of elongate element 16 provided with the abutment surface 17 can be made of any suitable material, such as noble wood, plastics etc. As shown in Figure 1, in order to take up any play between post 32 and socket member 33 of the fixing means 13 there is provided a screw 46 which engages a thread¬ ed hole in the socket member 33 and abuts the post 32.

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