Tool for straight line and square edge cutting of a board

A board straight-lining tool to be used in conjunction with a conventional circular blade table saw for the purpose of cutting a new straight and square edge longitudinal through a board. A board requiring this new edge is placed on a base of the board straight-liner, wherein a series of toggle clamps with pressure collapsing tips are toggled closed. This secures the straight-liner to the board. A separate detachable guard support is secured to the table saw with the circular blade protruding vertically through the guard support or the blade may protrude to the fence side of the guard support. The guard support keeps the board on the same plane as the table saw table and also adds a safety feature to aid in preventing the straight-liner from coming into contact with the circular blade during the cutting operation. The board is guided past the circular saw blade while keeping the straight-liner against the table saw fence. The board is severed by the saw blade thereby creating a new straight and square edge on the board.

BACKGROUND-FIELD OF INVENTION 
This invention relates to a new and useful guide means for use with a 
conventional circular blade table saw to provide a straight cut 
longitudinal through a board. 
BACKGROUND-DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART 
It is a common necessity among carpenters, manufacturers of wood moldings, 
cabinet makers, and other wood workers to establish a new straight and 
square edge on boards in a longitudinal manner that have unsquare, 
crooked, and/or bowed edges. The process of cutting this new edge is being 
referred to through-out this patent as straight-lining. 
There are prior devices that could be used for the purpose of 
straight-lining the edge of boards. But, they were found to be either 
expensive motorized machines, or found to be inefficient, time consuming 
and cumbersome to use. This becomes apparent when more than a few boards 
require straight-lining. 
The straight edge member in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,680 (1971) to Bishop 
suggests nails to be nailed through a flange into the board to be 
straight-lined. To install and remove nails would be very time consuming, 
plus nail holes are left in the board. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,175 to Bisey (1977) describes a Table Saw Wood Edging 
Alignment Tool. This prior art reveals that only short lengths of wood 
could be squared. The prior art also suggests that a predetermined 
reference line must be penciled onto the board being squared. The pencil 
line is then used as a reference for setup. This process would be labor 
intensive and impractical for straight-lining longer boards. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,900 to Mendelsohn (1979) was designed for cutting 
straight edges on veneer sheets. It would be most difficult to align a 
bowed or crooked board in this fixture. An inconsistent thickness of a 
board would also pose a problem in securing the board into the jig. The 
patent further reveals T-shaped handles that are rotated to secure the 
material in the fixture. The time required to twist the handles to secure, 
straight-line, and then untwist to release the board for varying thickness 
of boards would be very labor intensive. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,668 to Jensen (1983) is dedicated to performing cuts on 
small wood pieces and cannot effectively be used to straight-line longer 
boards. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,782 to Park (1986) suggests threaded mechanisms 
including knobs that are used to secure a guide clamp to the board being 
cut. Turning of the suggested knobs or the T-shaped handles to secure 
boards, and upon straight-lining, the knobs or T-shaped handles would have 
to be turned in an opposite manner to release the boards this is not an 
efficient technique of clamping. This inefficiency would become apparent 
when a wood worker had more than a few boards to straight-line. Also, if 
boards being straight-lined were of varying thicknesses, physical labor 
would be increased. The Park patent also suggests an alternate-embodiment 
providing cam clamping members (FIG. 11 and FIG. 12) to secure the boards 
to the guide clamp. This process of clamping and releasing is also labor 
intensive and the cam would surely blemish a board having a finished 
surface. 
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are: 
(a) to provide a vast improvement over prior art in design, construction, 
and efficiency of a board straight-liner for use in the woodworking 
industry; 
(b) to provide a device of the character described whereby boards may be 
straight lined and adapted to be moved in a longitudinal manner against 
the fence and in guided relation to the blade of a conventional table saw, 
which performs the actual straight-line cut operation; 
(c) to provide a device of the character described with economical means 
whereby boards may be straight-lined easily, efficiently, and accurately, 
including when more than a few boards are to be straight-lined; 
(d) to provide a device of the character described with economical means 
whereby fixed or random lengths, and/or fixed or random widths, and/or 
fixed or random thickness of boards may be straight lined easily, 
efficiently, and accurately; 
(e) to provide a device of the character described having special 
provisions allowing for quick adaptation to many different brands of 
circular blade table saws; 
(f) to provide a device of the character described having an efficient 
means of detachable engagement with a board; 
(g) to provide a device of the character described including a guard 
support for elevating the board being straight-lined to be level with the 
table of the conventional table saw; 
(h) to provide a device of the character described having a special 
provision for safety. 
Further objects and advantages are to provide a board straight-liner which 
is efficient and easy to operate, inexpensive to purchase, which is 
quickly adapted and installed on table saws, and which will not harm 
finished boards. 
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a 
consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the principals of my invention, a board is clamped between a 
series of toggle clamps comprising of pressure collapsing tips and the 
clamp base of the straight-liner. The straight-liner provides a temporary 
straight edge to be used as a guide against the fence mounted on a 
circular blade table saw. 
A separate guard support is secured to the table saw. The guard support has 
two primary functions; to keep the board on the same plane as the table 
saw table during the cut, and to prevent the straight-liner from coming 
into contact with the table saw blade during the cutting operation. 
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED-EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a basic version of my invention, a board 
straight-liner 8 and a guard support 25. Board straight-liner 8 and guard 
support 25 are used in conjunction with a table saw 54. Table saw 54 
includes a planar table 60, a laterally movable longitudinal guide member 
fence 56, and a circular blade 58 in a vertical plane powered by a 
suitable power unit, not shown. Fence 56 on table saw 54 is generally 
secured to table saw 54 by clamping to a front clamp bar 62 and a rear 
clamp bar 64 as indicated in the drawing. Other structural details of 
table saw 54 are not pertinent to my invention. Guard support 25 is 
temporarily attached to table saw 54 by clamping to front clamp bar 62 and 
rear clamp bar 64 by actuating a toggle clamp 26. 
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show perspective views of straight-liner 8. A clamp base 
12 is attached to a spacer guide 10 in which a plurality of toggle clamp 
assembly 14 are mounted in a lateral manner. Clamp base 12 has a plurality 
of a indicator gage 9 located in the area near each toggle clamp assembly 
14. FIG. 3 shows straight-liner 8 secured to a board 50 with a line of cut 
52. Clamp base 12 is secured to spacer guide 10 by an appropriate means to 
secure the two parts in order they become joined. If, for instance clamp 
base 12 were made of plywood and spacer guide 10 were made of a 1.times.4 
pine board, then wood glue, air driven staples, or wood screws would be 
appropriate means for joining. If, on the other hand clamp base 12 were 
made of aluminum and spacer guide 10 made of aluminum tubing, then welding 
would be one appropriate method for joining. 
FIG. 5-A shows a perspective view and FIG. 6 a cross-sectional view of 
straight-liner 8 which comprises of clamp base 12, spacer guide 10, and 
toggle clamp assembly 14. Toggle clamp assembly 14 is comprised of a 
toggle clamp 19 and a pressure-matic bolt retainer assembly 17. Toggle 
clamp assembly 14 is mounted to spacer guide 10 and clamp base 12. Toggle 
clamp assembly 14 is fastened through a plurality of thru holes 12H in 
clamp base 12 and a plurality of thru holes 10H in spacer guide 10 by 
means of a plurality of bolts 13A and nuts 13B. Toggle clamp 19 with 
pressure-matic bolt retainer assembly 17 is shown in the closed position 
secured to board 50. Pressure-matic bolt retainer assembly 17 is secured 
to toggle clamp 19 by a weld 15 located on both sides of a weld bracket 
84. Pressure-matic bolt retainer assembly 17 is comprised of a bolt 90 in 
which a nut 80A is securely tightened onto a threaded bushing 82. A 
bushing 86, a coil spring 88, and a nut 80B are assembled as shown. 
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view and FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional side 
view of a preferred guard support 25 in which a plurality of screws 22 is 
used to secure a front angle 24 and a rear angle 32 to a plate 20. The 
drawing reveals screws 22 are mounted through a thru holes 23 into a 
plurality of threaded holes 36 of both front angle 24 and rear angle 32. A 
toggle clamp 26 is secured through a hole 35 in front angle 24 by a nut 
34. A locking plate 28 is secured to a shaft 33 of toggle clamp 26 by a 
bolt 30 through a hole 38. Also shown is a slot 21 of predetermined length 
and width. 
DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATE-EMBODIMENTS OF MY INVENTION 
FIG. 4 shows an isometric view of an alternate-embodiment straight-liner 
140. A clamp base 142 having an irregular shape is the primary difference 
between this alternate-embodiment and the preferred embodiment. Clamp base 
142 may take on many different shapes as long as the area used for 
clamping is flat. 
FIG. 5-B shows a perspective view of an alternate-embodiment toggle clamp 
assembly 154 comprising of a toggle clamp 156 and a rubber spindle 
assembly 150. 
FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an alternate-embodiment guard support 
29. A bracket 40 is used to mount a toggle clamp 42 to a predetermined 
angle. Locking plate 28 is secured to a shaft 39 by bolt 30. A plurality 
of screws 44A and nuts 44B are used to secure toggle clamp 42 to bracket 
40. Bracket 40 is secured to plate 20 by screws 22 thru a plurality of 
holes 23 into a plurality of threaded hole 37. 
FIG. 10 shows an isometric view and FIG. 11 a cross-sectional view of an 
alternate-embodiment straight-liner 108 with an extension 106. 
Straight-liner 108 is made with a spacer guide 110 having a specified 
length differential from a clamp base 112. Spacer guide 110 possesses an 
elongated slot 113 of predetermined length and width. Straight-liner 108 
possesses toggle clamp assemblies 14. Spacer guide 110 comprises of a 
plurality of thru holes 115 and a plurality of threaded inserts 117. 
Extension 106 comprises of a clamp base 132 and a spacer guide 130. Spacer 
guide 130 possesses a cut-out 129 in which to accommodate an elongated bar 
125. Bar 125 of predetermined length and width is secured to extension 106 
by a plurality of screw 120 mounted through a plurality of thru holes 121 
and 122 into threaded inserts 117. Extension 106 possesses a minimum of 
one toggle clamp assembly 14. Spacer guide 130 has a specified length 
differential from clamp base 132. Bar 125 possesses a plurality of holes 
119. A plurality of knob assembly 128 comprises of a handle 126 and a stud 
127. 
Operation of Preferred-Embodiment Invention 
In operation the guard support 25 shown in FIG. 3 is first affixed to table 
saw 54 with the table saw circular blade 58 protruding vertically upward 
through slot 21 in plate 20. An option to locating the guard support with 
blade 58 protruding through slot 21 is to locate the guard support beside 
blade 58 on fence 56 side of table 60. Two primary purposes of guard 
support 25 are: (1) for safety, to better ensure that straight-liner 8 
does not come into contact with circular blade 58, and, (2) to keep board 
50 on the same plane as table saw 54. The thickness of plate 20 is the 
same thickness as clamp base 12 in FIG. 1. Rear angle 32 is secured in 
appropriate holes 23 to allow proper fit to front clamp bar 62 and rear 
clamp bar 64 on table saw 54 as shown in FIG. 1. The handle of straight 
line toggle clamp 26 is toggled to move locking plate 28 onto front clamp 
bar 62 and therefore secures guard support 25 to table saw 54. Due to the 
angles of front angle 24 and rear angle 32, and the ability to quickly 
relocate rear angle 32, guard support 25 will quickly adapt to most 
conventional table saws. This is regardless of whether front clamp bar 62 
and rear clamp bar 64 are made of rectangular tubing, square tubing, angle 
iron, round tubing or any combination thereof. 
Next, one end of straight-liner 8 is positioned on the in-feed side of 
table saw 54 and the other end resting on a temporary stand, not shown. 
The stand assists in keeping straight-liner 8 on the same plane as table 
60 which facilitates loading of board 50. Indicator gage 9 shown in FIG. 2 
is used for simplifying visual alignment. It assists the woodworker in 
making a quick judgement on the proper positioning of board 50 into 
straight-liner 8. 
Upon board 50 being positioned into straight-liner 8, toggle clamp 
assemblies 14 are toggled to secure straight-liner 8 to board 50. A 
component part of toggle clamp assembly 14, the pressure-matic bolt 
retainer assembly 17 is one of the major components of this invention. By 
design of pressure-matic bolt assembly 17, it allows for clamping of a 
wide range of varying thicknesses of boards without making adjustments to 
the assembly, while still providing adequate clamping pressure. 
Board 50 is moved laterally and positioned accordingly upon determining a 
preferred visual approximation location of line of cut 52. Table saw fence 
56 is moved to contact the edge of board straight-liner 8 and locked in 
place by applicable means. Then, with table saw 54 operational, board 50 
is guided through circular blade 58 keeping straight-liner 8 against table 
saw fence 56. As straight-liner 8 is guided through table saw 56, a new 
straight and square edge is produced on board 50. An out-feed table, not 
shown, for table saw 54 is preferred to support board 50 and 
straight-liner 8. The toggle clamp assemblies 14 are then released and 
board 50 removed. Straight-liner 8 is then repositioned to the in-feed 
side of table saw 54 where the procedure is repeated for the next board. 
Operation of Alternate-Embodiment Invention 
Operation of the alternate-embodiment of FIG. 4 is the same as outlined for 
the preferred embodiment. 
Operation of the alternate-embodiment of FIG. 5-B is the same as outlined 
for the preferred embodiment of FIG. 5-A. 
Operation of FIG. 9 alternate-embodiment guard support 29 is secured to 
table saw 54 by rear angle 32 and locking plate 28, which clamps to clamp 
bar 62 and rear clamp bar 64. Actual clamping is performed by actuating 
toggle clamp 42. 
In operation straight-liner 108 and extension 106 are temporarily attached 
for purpose of extending the overall length. The option of extension could 
keep a woodworker from having to purchase two lengths of my invention. If, 
for instance the length of straight-liner 108 were 12 feet, but when 
connected with extension 106 the overall length could be 16 feet. This 
would allow a wood worker using straight-liner 108 to straight-line 
shorter lengths of boards without extension 106 and longer lengths of 
boards with extension 106. 
Assembly of extension 106 to straight-liner 108 is by sliding bar 125 into 
slot 113 of straight-liner 108. Bar 125 passes under toggle clamp assembly 
14 on straight-liner 108. Extension 106 is slid into straight-liner 108 
until spacer guide 110 and spacer guide 130 contact, and clamp base 112 
and clamp base contact. Knob assemblies 128 go through bar 125 and into 
threaded inserts 117, which when tightened secure extension 106 to 
straight-liner 108. 
SUMMARY, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
Thus the reader will see this invention, a board Straight-Liner does 
provide a cost effective, efficient and accurate means of straight-lining 
boards of varying widths and thicknesses. 
While my above description contains many specificities, these should not be 
construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an 
exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations 
are possible. Examples are as follows: 
the straight-liner may possess a handle at one end, or near each end. This 
would enable better control and handling of the straight-liner moving back 
and forth across a table saw. 
the pressure-matic bolt retainer assemblies may be replaced with other 
pressure-matic type securing devices. Devices constructed with rubber or 
the like would fall into this category. 
the toggle clamps shown in the drawings are just some of many that work. 
There are many other variations of toggle clamps that work equally well. 
the alternate-embodiment straight-liner with extension design is just one 
of a number of designs. Many variations of adapting an extension are 
possible. 
many variations of shapes of the straight-liner clamp base are possible. 
the spacer guide may be eliminated, or made into sections or blocks. 
the straight-liner may posess a stop on the operator held end to position 
the board against. This would ensure the board could not slide backwards 
during the cutting operation. 
Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the 
embodiment(s) illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal 
equivalents.