Large cross-cut saws still remain relatively plentiful in and about rural centers of South East Queensland.  They had plenty of use up to the time of the proliferation of the chainsaw and are still occasionally put to good, if somewhat questionable, use where the sound of a chainsaw might invite unwelcome investigation of proceedings.  They were used as part of the tree-felling process and for trimming felled logs to jinker length, amongst other things.

Large ripping saws were, in fact pit saws, works-based and used for converting logs into boards.  They went out of use with every man's blessing with the general introduction of the steam-driven sawmills which preceded the ubiquitous use of the chainsaw here by 100 or so years.  They were occasionally used by hardy souls, remote from sawmills, who conceived the idea of building their homes or other structures with sawn, rather than split, timbers but they were used mostly by boat builders without their own steam power who also were remote from sawmills and all of this was a long time ago. 

Therefore, the numbers of pit saws about these parts were never very great as the major part of shaping timber to required dimensions of width and thickness was undertaken by splitting, trimming with the broad-axe and finishing with the adze if sawn timber was not available or too expensive.  Sawn boards, when required, were re-sawn and ripped out in great quantities with ordinary handsaws once splitting had reduced the stock to manageable dimensions.

The question crosses one's mind as to why, apart from the desire to have a genuine old artifact hanging on the wall, anyone would wish to be possessed of a pit saw at all as the necessary adjuncts to its use include the construction of a pit, a means of positioning the log correctly over it and an additional person who is sufficiently masochistic to volunteer to live in a continuous shower of descending sawdust, up to his arse in mud whenever it rains, whilst he acts as bottom dog in the pit-sawing enterprise.

It might be an idea to supplement the 9 point ripsaw (seems a bit dainty) with a 4 1/2 point ripsaw if a bit of extensive, heavy ripping is contemplated.  The ergonomics should take care of themselves with the development of the shoulder, otherwise a sawbench seems appropriate.

When sharpening, the more common metallic handsaw vice with its chops about 10" long is usually unsuitable for the job because the thickness of the saw plate tends to spring its legs when it cammed shut and because the depth of the two-man crosscut saw prevents it from sinking between the chops until the gullets appear just above the tops of the chops.

Timber getters cutting in remote or difficult areas used simply to cut off two solid saplings about a yard apart, leaving the stumps at working height, split the ends of the stumps and slot the saw into the splits to the saw's full depth.  The saw was tensioned by a doubled wire hooked under a notch in hefty pegs driven into the ground in line with the stumps at either end of the setup.  The doubled wires were passed over the saw's handles and twisted with a stick, one end of which was then rested on the ground to prevent untwisting.  The wide space between the stumps resulted in the saw's having to be moved only once in the set-up to complete the sharpening process.

Where transporting gear to a felling site was not much of a problem a fairly conventional-looking wooden saw clamp was used, the sort with two upright legs with a "V" cut in the top of each with bracing rails on either side towards the bottoms of the legs and towards the top but just below the line to which the back of the saw was likely to descend.  The bottom of each "V" was carried downwards by a kerf wide enough to accommodate the thickness of the saw's plate.  The chops, about 8" longer than the outside distance between the legs, were beveled along their top edges and angled slots were cut and chiseled in them towards each end to match the angles of the legs' "Vs". The angled slots in the chops were cut so that , even without a saw between them, they did not bottom out in the "Vs" or, conversely, the "Vs" were cut to furnish that effect if the chops were made first (not recommended). 

The distance between the inside faces of the legs was usually one yard and heavier timber than would be used to construct a similar, but smaller, handsaw set-up was used.  The legs were usually 4" by 3" hardwood and the chops were 4" or 5" by 1 1/2".  A bolt was fixed in each leg below the top kerf to prevent the legs from splitting when the chops were driven home in the "Vs".  This set-up also meant that most saws had to be moved only once whilst being sharpened.  Apart from making the bevel on the top edges of the chops, not much planing was required although some slightly hollowed the middle length of the inside faces of the chops with a jack plane.

The more interesting saw clamp to be found on Alf's site could probably be enlarged, with larger scantlings all round, to accommodate a two-man crosscut saw.

Anyway, you probably get to build a tool to service a tool.