Hand operated channel notching tool and method of notching

A hand operated notching tool, comprising

• opposed handles having a movable free end manually graspable for squeezing the free ends closer together, said handles having an end opposite the free end, pivoted together at a common handle pivot, each handle having an extension beyond said pivot which move further apart as said handles move closer together;
• a biasing member connected to the handles tending to spread the free ends apart;
• a dual element anvil blade extending forwardly from the handles, having one end pivotally connected to one of said handle extensions, having elongated cutting edges spaced apart a distance equal to the width of a cutting blade;
• an elongated cutting blade having dual cutting edges, extending forwardly from the handles, having one end pivotally connected to the other of said handle extensions, mounted centrally for movement to a cutting position with the cutting edges positioned between the cutting edge portions of the dual element anvil blade;
• wherein the cutting edges of the cutting blade are shaped to simultaneously cut from the front and rear of the cutout section and towards the middle in order to produce a slot having clean, sheared edges along the cutout section of stock that is cut:
• the cutting blade and dual element anvil blade extending forwardly of a common pivot connecting them which is positions forwardly of the pivotal connections with the handle extensions, to provide a mechanical advantage shearing force to their cutting edges in response to force produced by squeezing the handles;
• and
• a portion of the cutting blade extending forwardly of the common pivot comprises an elongated cutting area defined by said dual cutting edges being movable in a cutting plane in shearing contact with the cutting edges of said dual element anvil blade in order to cut out a defined cutout section from stock material which is inserted between the blades.