relative to the work surface 22 and engagement of the plunger 37 by the finger 36 can be timed to occur at the lower end of the path of travel of the protective guard 26 or just prior thereto provided the signal for the actuation of the blade 16 is only given when said guard has travelled a sufficient distance to provide maximum safety for the operator movement of the blade 16 and the protective guard 26 to their initial or inactive positions can occur simultaneously or may be accomplished by a sequence reverse to that by which they were activated the manner in which the protective guard 26 and blade 16 are actuated provide positive assurance of safety for the operator and when these elements are in their inactive positions sufficient clearence is provided so that the workpieces are cuased to advance on the work surface 11 free of any possible interference referring now to fig2 a modification of the cutting apparatus according to the invention is shown in which a cutting blade 40 of the circular type is utilized and which is driven by any suitable motor indicated by numeral 42 this blade 40 is lowered and raised by means of a piston cyliinder unit 43 in a manner which has not been shown in detail for it is considered that the mechanism for performing such a function is well known additionally the motor 42 may be of the type which operates continuously or that is actuated when the.