Time to build a new set of sawhorses, was just wondering if anyone has tried any different designs than the old hinge in the middle A frame thing…maybe a mini workbench ?
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I quit building sawhorses. I buy those cheap metal foldup things with a 2x4 screwed to the top. They knock down and fold up easier and take up less space and are lighter than the wooden variety. After I set up two metal horses, I set a 24" bypass hollow core door on top I got from a closet door changeout job as a work bench. The chop saw clamps to the table when I need it, or I use it as a layout table, bench, etc.
But those wooden horses just got to be too heavy for these bones.
yew sayuh zawhorzez???
Whale, jus a tayek a cuppul uh too buh fo's an uh scrapp uh to pliwud aN uh a hand-a-ful a say-ex-teeen paynuh nay-ells an a go too it.
Tro 'em inna fi-place wheenna 'yo dun, et leest 'yo git sum heet outa 'em.
Jeez, Red, reminds me of when I was in West Virginia...LOL...In any event, I thought about a couple wooden I beams held by scaffold on the ends, or maybe even one of those "build two knockdown horses out of a sheet of plywood "designs... but it would be nice to have a vice on one end when you're planing doors. Just looking for something different, leave them with the homeowner when I'm done anyway.
This months issue of Shop notes has a cool little set that collapse. You can build a set out of one sheet of plywood. It looks like they'll take a few hours to make but they're pretty cool looking. I'm thinking about knocking out a set. My regular horses are like freaking clydesdales. I'll try to post a picture of them later. you could set a truck engine on them but you wouldn't want to take them in and out of the truck too much. LOL.
Who Dares Wins.
On This Old House (Don't shoot!), I saw a sawhorse that was only about three foot tall, but was at least a foot wide. The nice thing about it was that after using it for cuts, you can use it as a stepstool.
I love the $20 metal folding horses with adjustable legs sold at HD. they even have a handle to carry em.
So sue me.
Be well
andy
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I carry a set of metal horses that fold up to about the size of a 4x4. They are surprisingly strong, but I particularly like them because they don't take a lot of space. I think I got them at Woodcraft.I find its not worth the time to build horses any more.
I heard someone (or read, maybe?) say that a good way to checkout the speed, care, and skill of someone interviewing for a job on a framing crew was to have them build a set of sawhorses. . (I assume they meant the non-collapible kind using 2x6's and plywood scraps.)Steelkilt Lives!
have them build a set of sawhorses. . .
Happened to me once in the early 80's, Old Guy, ( for the life of me I can't remember his name) framing apartments in Surrey B.C. First he asked to look at my chisels, " If you look after your own tools theres a pretty good chance you'll look after mine".
If the chisels passed inspection then you got to build a set of sawhorses from a pile of scrap.
I never had anyone build a set of sawhorses for me,( who needs em?) but there are more than a few guys I've refused to hire because of the condition of their tools. Turtleneck
Oh man, don't look at my chisels please haha. But in general my tools are in good shape but I have not been the sole user, so I haven't had complete control over those.
I'm a pretty fair carpenter, but I'd fail that test because I would think it's a waste of time. Why build a big clumsy sawhorse when Ican buy those compact collapsible strong steel ones? It just amazes me to see a carpenter fill up the back of his pickup with wooden sawhorses when I can get a better set into about 1.5 cu. ft.
I think the book (I'm pretty sure now that I read it) also said that the horses got left behind for the new homeowner.Steelkilt Lives!
I did that once to a new carpenter. All I wanted was a couple of sturdy but simple horses. I got the simple part, but the sturdy never arrived after 1.5 hours of work. He spent the rest of the day moving rip rap away from the edge of the garage addition and building scaffold. Could not get the sturdy part of the scaffold either. Paid him at the end of the day told him I did not need him anymore. He did not bring enough tools to inspect, said his last boss always had extra hand too;s he could use.
I retired my prize ponies a couple of years ago in favor of the fold up metal horses for job sites and a set of plastic fold ups for the shop.
Dave
Jim,
I think that is relative LOL; I could build a beautiful set of 2x4 horses in about 30 minutes, or a functional set in 5...my old framing boss preferred the latter.Jason Pharez Construction
Mobile, Alabama
General Carpentry, Home Repairs, and Remodeling
When quality is your only consideration
In addition to all the excellent sawhorse ideas that appeared in FH over the years, the folding metal sawhorses I saw recently at a friend's house seem excellent for their very very light weight and strength. Not too far fetched to say the 2x4 screwed on top weighs about the same as the horse ?
Here's what I have. I know you might want a little lighter set, but I love having these in my garage. There excelent for assembling stuff because I built them tall enough that I don't have to bend over. And the little tray under neath is handy as heck for storage.
Who Dares Wins.
I make knock downs out of scrap KD. I build the legs of the A frame and use plywood webs to tie them together. On the cross bar I use 3/4 scrap screwed to a 2x4 an inch & 5/8 apart at the angle I want, slide that down into the inch & 5/8 space I leave in the A frame and voila, presto. Strong enough to hold a unit of 3/4 ply and I get to watch my helper lift them by the cross bar as the legs fall at his feet for about three months before he catches on.
Also fit great in the truck which is set up like a shop with a twenty gallon compressor that never moves, table saw, skil saws etc. I can fit two sets no problem. Use a hollow core door too. Cut out a ten by ten square for the table saw to shed dust and a couple of spring clamps hold everything that needs to be held
Vince
Fine Homebuilding, July 1996 No. 103 - Andrew Wormer wrote a comprehensive article on building sawhorses.
Regards
Ok, I will fess up here.
I am kind of a saw horse junkie----I like building them.
I think I currently own 5-6 pairs
#1 pair----I really should throw out---I will never use 'em again. A folding pair I bought with 2x6 top and 2x4 legs cut to a taper with a metal bracket folding thing. worked ok for a while untill careless employees got a hold of 'em. I retired that pair the day I was finishing up a roof and yelled down for my helper to " start packing up and remember to break down those saw horses"----by the time I had climbed down off the roof he had reduced my folding horses to a pile of lumber and a couple of handfulls of wingnuts,lag bolts and bracket parts.
#2  pairs. stole this design from a FHB article---who I think had originally stole the design from Norm Abrams. Pretty similar to Gunners horses. 2x6 top cut on about a 60 degree angle,1x8 legs,plywood gussets---no shelf on the current models,but I have given away pairs with shelves. I have 4 of these made all the same hieght but with slightly different lengths so they will all stack inside each other . spray painted #1,2,3,4 on them sequentially so they can get stacked up quickly and don't take up to much room on the truck. I work a different place every day or so and when I have a crew working i like to have 2 pairs around. One pair gets set up next to a lumber pile ---maybe in the back yard----the other pair I can use to set up my sheet metal brake in the front yard under a shade tree. They are bomb proof and most importantly idiot roofer proof.
#4 pair ---built 'em this summer one rainey day.1x4's kinda A framed,screwed and glued. A pair of hinges on each one let's 'em fold up. VERY light and takes up virtually NO space on the truck. They live on the truck and go everywhere with me----I only use em as a sheet metal brake stand cause the metal hinges would be apt to chew up saw blades. I built em kinda high cause they aren't meant to be sawed on---but rather as a standup work table. Stole the idea from FHB.
#5 also stole the idea from FHB----pretty much the traditional horses with legs that splay in 2 directions. Legs mortised into the top, everything screwed and gorilla glued. Nobody allowed to actually cut on them cept me.
#5 pair
Everyone is talking about he knock down metal ones. What are your guys' thoughts on the plastic fold up one(not the smallest little cheapys that fall over but the more exspensive ones?????
I just never thought about the metal ones because I DO cut into the top of my horses from time to time.
I have a pair of the heavy steel fold-ups, with "adjustable length" legs. (Adjusting the legs takes almost as long as going to Blowes and getting a taller pair.) The dam things are so heavy that they almost never see any use.
And I have had various wooden ones that I've built.
I also have a pair of the plastic ones that fold up. They are so easy to throw into the truck that they get used on every job (and I'm at a different one almost every day).
The legs lock in the open position, by virtue or the shelf thingy. That makes them more stable than they might otherwise be. The tops are a reasonably soft plastic, which won't hurt any saw. But that plastic can be a bit rubber-like and sometimes when I want to slide a board, it sticks -- and the horse might lose its footing. One of these days I'm gonna remember to use some silicone spray on the buggers.
But I still like them better, and use them a LOT more, than any of the others.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
Oh man, what a timely thread. I just reduced one of my steel fold-up saw horses to a pile of twisted metal a couple of weeks ago when I slid the heavy SIP panel that was sitting on it forward a couple of feet.
I decided to replace my steel horses with a set of wooden horses I could park my truck on if I wanted to. My digital camera is currently busted so I can't post a picture but here is the cad drawing of what I put together.
The 2x12 tops serve as a small workbench, stable step stool and a very, very stable saw horse. It's all held together with structural adhesive and 16s. They really aren't all that heavy but I still wouldn't want to haul them around in my truck too often.
Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
Those plastic and metal collapsible sawhorses always collapse at the wrong time. I've used them and hate em. When you drag a piece across them to get a better position to cut, then they tip and collapse in a pile of chaos. I might have yelled a string of bad words at that moment.
I prefer the good ol stable wooden horses that you can stack a few glulams , a couple posts and your miter saw on a plank all at once. When you drag a heavy piece over the wooden horse, it stays planted and doesn't collapse. Heavy? A little, but we're strong , Right? I like the legs at 11 and 11 degrees, 33" high and a 2x6 top about 5' long. A piece of 1x6 half way up the legs on one side for a step is nice. I often staple a few scraps of cardboard on the horse with the wackytacker so I won't mar the piece when working on it.
A sawhorse that the Trojans would love! : )
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I make my own.......outa wood.
HATE the flimsy metal leg things we get here, also loath the poxy kitset wooden things too. The damn things are always too short for starters, then they wobble.
Mine are taller than usual. Very handy when ripping with the circular saw as I'm not all hunched over, also useful for reaching higher than usual stuff. wouldnt be without them. besides.......their free. <G>
Wood Hoon
I saw a sawhorse once at a trade show which I really liked, but I've never seen it since.
It was all metal. It had a sort of "C" shaped channel on top that you slid the board into. Then there was a lever with a cam clamp which locked the board down. You clamped the board down, made your cut, then threw the lever back and pulled the piece out.
I thought it was really cool, but have never seen anything like it since. Anybody else ran across one of these?Q: How do you know you're leading a really pathetic life? A: When a nymphomaniac tells you: "Let's just be friends."
I checked - saddle fits - YeHawwww!! Good thing I don't have neighbors. :-)>Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
don't waste your $$ on a set of the kind with the triangular loop of aluminum tubing that has a 2x4 size box tube on top to slide a 2x4 (what else?) or a kerfed 2x6 through. they're really strong (tho haven't tested them under a sideways shifting load) but the last friggin time they sat level without rocking was the day i cut the lumber to set them up 2-3 yrs ago! good thing i got 'em cheap when payless cashways/hugh m. woods was going belly up. they're ok for my purposes- occasional use and store in minimal space but i'd hate to have to use the dumb things every day. what a POS.
m
I've got a pair of "Great White", sawhorses. Heavy guage steel with TEETH!! They clamp down onto a 2x. This way you can make sawhorse as long as your longest piece of lumber. There are pre-drilled holes if you want to sink some screws into the 2x for extra holding power but I've never felt the need to. Last time I used them I had 7 x 9 x 16' green oak setup on them for sill work. No problemo. These ain't your fathers sawhorses. Very strong, very well made. Outa NY somewhere. Bought mine at Landon Lumber, Madison, CT $60.00 a pair.
Rod