# in need of some saw horses



## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

So i'm going to be in need of some saw horses. I really do not want to spend the $$ involved w/ just buying them so I decided I'm going to go and make them. The tools I currently have to make them... Circular Saw, jig saw, sawzall, drill

i decided to just design a few (no real carpenter/woodworking experience used here) and did them pretty quickly in sketchUp. Since I'm new, i cannot attach images but here are some links

http : //bit.ly/9wXuQO - Image
http : //bit.ly/dhpzFu - SketchUp File

Does this design make sense? I'm asking because from the type of responses I see in almost every single post, we have some real WW experience here. Any suggestions or links to better designs are definitely welcome!

Thanks


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

forgot to add:
i am receiving my first router in the mail this week but do not have bits as of yet but they will be coming very soon as I have several projects that I would like to start


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

g19fanatic said:


> So i'm going to be in need of some saw horses. I really do not want to spend the $$ involved w/ just buying them so I decided I'm going to go and make them. The tools I currently have to make them... Circular Saw, jig saw, sawzall, drill
> 
> i decided to just design a few (no real carpenter/woodworking experience used here) and did them pretty quickly in sketchUp. Since I'm new, i cannot attach images but here are some links
> 
> ...


Hi Paul - Welcome to the forum
Sorry, can't get your links to work, at least not typed in. I think the 10 post restriction just applies to links, not images. Go ahead and try to post the image.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Paul

That will work well but I would suggest you drop the brace from leg to leg and put in a tool tray, from all the legs parts, this will give you a place for some tools..i.e. power saw.ruler,etc.

http://i40.tinypic.com/ac8meh.png




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g19fanatic said:


> So i'm going to be in need of some saw horses. I really do not want to spend the $$ involved w/ just buying them so I decided I'm going to go and make them. The tools I currently have to make them... Circular Saw, jig saw, sawzall, drill
> 
> i decided to just design a few (no real carpenter/woodworking experience used here) and did them pretty quickly in sketchUp. Since I'm new, i cannot attach images but here are some links
> 
> ...


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

> Hi Paul - Welcome to the forum
> Sorry, can't get your links to work, at least not typed in. I think the 10 post restriction just applies to links, not images. Go ahead and try to post the image.


I had to put spaces in there to get the links to be posted. Almost to my 10 posts.. lol

Here is the img












> That will work well but I would suggest you drop the brace from leg to leg and put in a tool tray, from all the legs parts, this will give you a place for some tools..i.e. power saw.ruler,etc.


That is a good idea. When you say the brace from leg to leg, do you mean the shorter or longer brace? 

I will probably implement something along these lines when i have both saw horses built to create a place to put a piece of ply for further work. The tool tray would give me a chance to become familiar w/ my router as well as practice some 'standard' cuts

Thanks for the suggestion!!!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi 

"longer brace? " not needed with the tool drop on/in/pull up tray, make it like a swing up shelf, lock in place with pin or two so can store them away when not needed , sawhorses are great but they do take up a big foot print in the shop..

Would be a good way to practice some dado slots in the legs for the shelf with your new router..  with 4 tee nuts and 4 bolts to lock the saw horse up solid..

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g19fanatic said:


> I had to put spaces in there to get the links to be posted. Almost to my 10 posts.. lol
> 
> Here is the img
> 
> ...


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

bobj3 said:


> Hi
> 
> "longer brace? " not needed with the tool drop on/in/pull up tray, make it like a swing up shelf, lock in place with pin or two so can store them away when not needed , sawhorses are great but they do take up a big foot print in the shop..
> 
> ...


sounds like a great idea, Thanks. This will probably be my first build when my shop gets started


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Paul you might want to look at this site for some ideas.

» 39 Free Sawhorse Plans in the Hunt for the Ultimate Sawhorse - ToolCrib.com Blog


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

i have to get some new sawhorse. my shop is so small, i will probably get about 4 of the cheap plastic one. they fold up and are light to carry around. 

but if i had room, id build them.


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

Dr.Zook said:


> Paul you might want to look at this site for some ideas.
> 
> » 39 Free Sawhorse Plans in the Hunt for the Ultimate Sawhorse - ToolCrib.com Blog


thanks for the link to some plans. From the looks of it, the design i created is pretty representative of simple saw horses. Just what i was looking for 



> i have to get some new sawhorse. my shop is so small, i will probably get about 4 of the cheap plastic one. they fold up and are light to carry around.
> 
> but if i had room, id build them.


how cheap are you talking? If i can buy some that break down for around the price that I can make, i'll do that instead. Its more about the cost for me than anything else atm.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hi Paul,
you can catch these on sale for a lot less or use a coupon

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices


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## bottomroad (Dec 30, 2009)

Nice plans


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## GTVi (May 14, 2010)

I love Sketchup diagrams..however I see a problem with this saw horse design...the legs are facing the wrong way, for stability I think it would better if the legs are turned and joined 90 degrees.


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## Dereklee (Jul 15, 2010)

Hi, man. I can see youve done a good pre-work, and guess youve finished it now.
How is it going?


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

its going good. I moved into my house ~ 3 weeks ago and have had very little time to really do any woodworking :cray:

that being said... I did make my sawhorses... Seeing as I didn't have any scrap laying around yet (would have just made one w/ a 2x4 and some plywood...) i just went out and bought the metal bracket sawhorse kit from lowes. They've been doing just fine for the little things I've done so far...

This brings up another question... at what height do most of you have sawhorses? Mine are too tall atm (I'm 5'11") at about stomach height but I do not want to cut them too short...


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Paul

I would suggest ,right at your belly button ...


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g19fanatic said:


> its going good. I moved into my house ~ 3 weeks ago and have had very little time to really do any woodworking :cray:
> 
> that being said... I did make my sawhorses... Seeing as I didn't have any scrap laying around yet (would have just made one w/ a 2x4 and some plywood...) i just went out and bought the metal bracket sawhorse kit from lowes. They've been doing just fine for the little things I've done so far...
> 
> This brings up another question... at what height do most of you have sawhorses? Mine are too tall atm (I'm 5'11") at about stomach height but I do not want to cut them too short...


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## jaydubya (Aug 19, 2010)

I built these, but I used a 2x8 for the top plate, and left the top plate hanging 4 inches past each end so I have a place to clamp to. I also made them about 44 inches tall, as Im 6 foot 2 with a sore back. i might lower them a hair though if I decide they are too high. About 20 dollars at lowes for materials for the pair. (4)2x4x10, (1)2x8x8, (1)pound of 3 inch drywall screws


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## g19fanatic (Apr 3, 2010)

thanks for the pics of your sawhorses. I'm in the need for an outrunner for my small table saw and will probably build another sawhorse for it. I like you simple plans but esp your description of having some hang over room on the top for clamping... I think tonight i'll make that specific modification to mine so that clamping is much easier...

even with the bookshelf, I noticed it was a pain to reposition the boards over and over so that I had room for clamping...

Thanks!


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## Tripp1 (Nov 1, 2009)

This thread is like 5 months old, but I thought I'd post a picture of an adjustable saw horse that I built from some Shop Notes plans.
Turned out well, even though the feet force you to use it on a relatively flat floor


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

g19fanatic said:


> This brings up another question... at what height do most of you have sawhorses? Mine are too tall atm (I'm 5'11") at about stomach height but I do not want to cut them too short...


I use saw horses for two purposes, so I need them at two different heights. For hand sawing wood I make them about 6 inches above knee height, that way I can add my knee (and body weight) to the top of the timber to hold it in place for sawing. For wood machining I make them about 30in/900mm, or about the height of a kitchen worktop/counter, which means I'm not bending too much when using power tools. A couple of pairs are generally made on each new job then skipped (thrown in the dumpster) at the end of the job as they're not worth carrying (too much space)


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Phil

I'm sure I'm like most on the forum I would love to see a picture or two of your shop.
I looked in your uploads and I don't see one picture from you..
Like they say a picture is worth 1000,1000,1000 of words.

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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Tripp

Nice job 

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Tripp1 said:


> This thread is like 5 months old, but I thought I'd post a picture of an adjustable saw horse that I built from some Shop Notes plans.
> Turned out well, even though the feet force you to use it on a relatively flat floor


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## Tripp1 (Nov 1, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Tripp
> 
> Nice job
> 
> =======


Thanks BJ.....I've seen your work on here, so that compliment means a lot!!!!!

Think I'll work on dado jig next........Shop Notes has a couple good ones out there too
Tripp


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## 48394 (Oct 25, 2010)

The lowest cost materials are off falls of dimensional and sheet construction materials in dumpsters at new home construction sites. You should find plenty of stuff for making saw horses with a little dumpster diving.
Regis


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