Safety mechanism for right angle shear

A workpiece cutting apparatus comprising:

• a pair of upper and lower blades for cutting a workpiece;
• a freely rotating ram having said upper blade mounted thereon, wherein said ram has a rotation center shaft which is movable in a direction perpendicular to said rotation center shaft in order to facilitate adjustment of a clearance between said pair of upper and lower blades;
• a ram drive means, connected to said ram, for rotationally driving said ram;
• a movable blade adjustment means for moving a position of said rotation center shaft in a direction perpendicular to said rotation center shaft and adjusting a clearance between said pair of upper and lower blades;
• and
• at least one exertion means, mounted within said ram, for applying an exerted force in an upwardly rotating direction relative to said ram, wherein said at least one exertion means is positioned such that said at least one exertion means has a vertical component that exerts a force on said ram in a vertical direction and a horizontal component that exerts a force on said ram in a horizontal direction, and wherein said horizontal component of said at least one exertion means exerts a force on said ram in said direction perpendicular to said rotation center shaft and constantly maintains said clearance which has been adjusted by said movable blade adjustment means.