One of the first tools a beginning woodworker needs is a pair of sawhorses. This design provides five different versions of homemade sawhorses that range from light use to heavy duty.
These sawhorses come in three duty weights:
The drawings show typical dimensions. Instructions are given below to adjust the size of the sawhorses to your body and your needs.
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The plans for the light folding sawhorse was provided by Harry King, hking1942@charter.net92 .
This design includes three detailed sketches that are critical to your successfully building this tool. Your may request these sketches by filling out our Freebie Form.
After you order the free sketches, these notes will help you understand them more completely.
The light folding sawhorse consists of two squares made from 1"x4" lumber attached at one side with a piano hinge. Note that it opens like a book which is odd for a sawhorse. One is enough for small work, but two are needed for long work.
Two version of the medium folding sawhorse are shown. One uses sheet metal brackets especially designed for the purpose (which may be hard to find). The other uses a bold for a hinge. They both fold up, but are not so flat as the light sawhorse.
Two versions of the heavy fixed sawhorse is shown. The top version uses a heavy duty metal bracket that is held on with bolts. The second is made from 1"x4" lumber. The legs of both are much wider spread than the lighter horses for better stability. These horses do not fold up.
----------------- Light total ----- $52.00
Top Pair Medium Folding Sawhorses:----------------- Top Medium total --------------- $38.00
Bottom Pair Medium Folding Sawhorses:----------------- Bottom Medium total ------------ $28.00
Top Pair Heavy Fixed Sawhorses:----------------- Top Heavy total --------------- $60.00
----------------- Bottom Heavy total ----- $44.00
The secret to keeping the cost down is to use scrap material as much as possible. This project begs to be made from scrap and recycled lumber.
You need the following tools:
Have fun building your Sawhorses. Consider the following suggestions rather than commands.
Before building your sawhorses you need to decide on the following:
Cut the eight pieces of 1"x4" for each horse to suit your height. The 32" dimension works well for small close work.
Cut half lap joints in the ends of each pieces. This is usually done with a radial arm or table say but may be done with a skill saw. You can use a dado blade or simply make a lot of cuts with a normal blade and remove the waste with a chisel or open toothed rasp.
Over lap the end joints. Screw and glue them together into a nice square.
Install the piano hinge along one edge.
This design requires sheet metal brackets that may now be hard to find. These were once popular but have fallen out of favor. I think too many people abused them trying to use them as heave duty horses.
Cut the 5 pieces of 2"x4" to suit you needs and height.
Screw the brackets to the wood pieces. Put a screw in every available hole. if you want the sawhorses to fold, do not put screws in one side of the top.
Cut the five pieces of 2"x4" for each sawhorse to suit your height and needs. Cut notches in the top of the legs. First mark the cuts out carefully to set the angle you want. Then cut them with a handsaw.
The end plates are best made from 3/4" scrap plywood. Glue and screw them to one leg. Drill a hole for the bolt in the other leg. Glue and screw the legs on one side to the top piece.
A single large screw placed in the top of the moving leg makes the sawhorses easier to use, but must be removed for folding.
Cut the five pieces of 2"x4" to suit your height and needs. Install them with the bolts provided with the Saf-T brackets. These brackets may be order from Rockler. The bolts in the top are stronger if holes are drilled for them through the top piece.
Cut the three pieces of 1"x4" to make the top. Screw and glue them together in the "I" beam configuration. Counter sink the screws in the top 3/8" inch to reduce the chance of them being accidentally hit by saw blade later.
Cut the legs to suit your height. Plane or rasp the inside edge of the bottom board in the cross assembly so that the legs will have a flat spot to sit. Cut the end plat pieces long so that you can cut them off later at the right angle. These are best made from 3/4" scrap plywood. Install the legs with screws and glue. Trim off the plates along the legs.
I hope you have fun with your sawhorses. A pair of these has been my true friend for many years.
This design package is similar to the ones for the simplest computer desks. The major desks have many more drawings and more detailed instructions.
We at Woodware designs would like feed-back on how you get along with these instructions and drawings. Please email us with any suggestions.