Abstract: A shear comprising a lower fixed blade beam mounted within a frame, a guide carrier guided for vertical movement in the frame and an upper blade carrier rigidly attached to the guide carrier by releasable connecting means for concurrent vertical movement with the guide carrier. The blade carrier is reciprocated by drive means which lowers the blade and guide carriers to a lower position where the upper and lower blade beams are cooperatively opposed on opposite sides of a workpiece to begin a shearing operation. Inclined guide surfaces are provided on the guide and blade carriers for allowing the blade carrier to move obliquely with respect to the guide carrier upon release of the rigid attachment between the two carriers to perform a shearing operation.

Abstract: A transverse shear for severing successive sections of heavy metal plate from a length thereof comprises, in addition to the stationary lower blade, a holddown clamp upstream of the blade for pressing the length of plate thereagainst, a movable upper blade which tends to displace the plate to the side toward which the cut progresses, and lateral support elements along the longitudinal edge of the plate at this side, at least one pair of tongs which grip the downstream plate section to be severed along this edge and hold it in position against the tendency of the cut to form a wedge-shaped gap converging toward the aforementioned side. Preferably two such pairs of tongs are provided, both spaced from the cutting location and in spaced relationship to each other.