Articulated mast section for chop saws

An articulating chop saw mast section for altering a geometric relationship between a chop saw cutting wheel and a material resting on a chop saw base, said geometric relationship comprising locations along a longitudinal axis of said cutting wheel, said mast section being positioned between said chop saw base and a jointed end of a swing arm, said swing arm movably supporting a motor to which said cutting wheel is mounted;

• said mast section comprising a plurality of riser hinges, a plurality of risers configured to rotate between said riser hinges, and a predetermined quantity of rotational limit stops;
• each of said risers being substantially equal in length and oriented substantially parallel to one another, said risers comprising a lower end and an upper end, said riser hinges comprising fixed hinges and traverse hinges,
• (a) each of said fixed hinges comprising a lower static part movably joined to a lower active part, said lower static part and said lower active part sharing a central pivot axis,
• (1) said lower static part being joined to said chop saw base at a predetermined location below said jointed end of said swing arm so that said central pivot axis is oriented perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis of said cutting wheel,
• (2) said lower active part being joined to said lower end of each of said risers so that said upper end of said risers rotate along a longitudinal rotation axis that is perpendicular to said central pivot axis and parallel to said longitudinal axis of said cutting wheel,
• (b) each of said traverse hinges comprising an upper active part movably joined to an upper static part, said upper static part and said upper active part sharing a central pivot axis,
• (1) said upper static part being joined to said jointed end of said swing arm at a predetermined location so that said central pivot axis is oriented perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis of said cutting wheel,
• (2) said upper active part being joined to said upper end of each of said risers so that said risers rotate along a longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cutting wheel;
• said rotational limit stops providing rigid structure against which an opposing rigid element of said mast section contacts said rigid structure at a predetermined angle of rotation, thereby limiting movement of said mast section along said longitudinal rotation axis.