Clamping arrangement for receiving a saw blade in multiple orientations

A saw blade clamping arrangement for a power tool including a housing, a drive shaft mounted for reciprocating motion relative to the housing, and a saw blade releasably interconnected with the drive shaft for reciprocating motion along a longitudinal axis, the saw blade clamping arrangement comprising:

• a clamp support interconnected with the drive shaft, the clamp support configured to selectively receive the saw blade in at least two non-planar orientations;
• a control member connected to the clamp support, the control member for creating an operative connection between the saw blade and the drive shaft when the saw blade is received by the clamp support in any of the at least two non-planar orientations, the control member movable between a first position for creating the operative connection and a second position permitting removal of the saw blade;
• and
• a release lever for mounting to the housing, the release lever normally spaced from the control member and manually movable to engage the control member and displace the control member from the first position to the second position.

A method of preparing a power tool for flush cutting of a work piece, the power tool including a housing, a drive shaft mounted for reciprocating motion relative to the housing along a longitudinal axis, a saw blade, and a clamp support interconnected with the drive shaft, the clamp support configured to selectively receive the saw blade in at least two distinct orientations, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a common control member for selectively securing the saw blade in the at least two distinct orientations, the control member carried by the clamp support and movable from a first position to a second position;
• moving the control member from the first position to the second position so as to release the saw blade from a first orientation of the at least two distinct orientations;
• removing the saw blade from the first orientation and inserting the saw blade into the clamp support in a second orientation of the at least two distinct orientations, the second orientation being spaced from the first orientation;
• and
• linearly translating the control member to the second position so as to secure the saw blade in the second orientation.

A saw blade clamping arrangement for a power tool including a housing, a drive shaft mounted for reciprocating motion relative to the housing, and a saw blade releasably interconnected with the drive shaft for reciprocating motion along a longitudinal axis, the saw blade clamping arrangement comprising:

• a clamp support interconnected with the drive shaft;
• and
• a control member connected to the clamp support, the control member for creating a first operative connection between the saw blade and the drive shaft when the saw blade is positioned relative to the clamp support in a first of at least two distinct orientations and a second operative connection between the saw blade and the drive shaft when the saw blade is positioned relative to the clamp support in a second of the at least two distinct orientations;
• wherein at least one of the first and second operative connections is a pinned connection in which an element extends at least partially into an aperture of the saw blade;
• wherein the first slot is spaced from and generally perpendicular to the second slot.