Saw Horses

[Ian Wright]

Today I began to comence starting to build some saw horses. Then it came to me,,,,,,, I have no idea how tall I should make them. About 36 inches would be about right to support the mast and spars for varnishing, which is their primary use, but shorter would be better for use as, well, sawhorses.
Advice please. Can I make three to do everything or should I make six, three high, three low?
They might get used as staging supports for painting too,,,,,,, are sawhorses like clamps? You can never have enough?

IanW

[ 11-13-2004, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Ian Wright ]

[Jack Heinlen]

There are many solutions. Interesting inovations are possible, from simple affairs knocked out in a few minutes from scraps to elaborate affairs with tool trays etc.

One possible solution to your problem would be to build them lower, at a height that feels comfortable for utility purposes(differs a little depending on how tall you are), and then have easily attached blocks to raise them up for varnishing.

[ 11-13-2004, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: Jack Heinlen ]

[Bruce Hooke]

If you need, say, 36" ones and 18" ones then I would just build two sets. The other obvious option would be to compromise and go somewhere in the middle in height. I suspect that any adjustable height system you might come up with would end up taking more time to build than simply building multiple sawhorses in different heights, especially if you build them all at the same time...

[raycon]

36" sounds tall.
I make them around 30" over all height or shorter.
The shorter ones(ponies) I use when I sit on the piece/stock do chisel work or other hand tool work. Think timber framing application and you get the picture.
If you make a couple of heights another application is staging/platform use my saw horses all the time for this. Two heights and you can use them as steps so you're not jumping up and down all the time.

[kc8pql]

36' is really tall. For most everything 24" is about right. Maybe 30" if you're over 6"2" tall. Most of what you do you want to you want to be able to get over the top of.

[Fitz]

I dunno. I've been making a bunch for canoe projects and seems to me taller is better. I'm 6 ft. but I was feeling my back sanding and varnishing, so went with taller. I just made a pair and 42 in. 2x4 legs is what I ended up using.

[imported_Steven Bauer]

One problem with some sawhorses is storing them when not in use. That's why I always make them folding horses. I like the ones Garrett Wade sells, but I'd never buy them, I'd just copy them.

http://www.garrettwade.com/images//product/family/16T0101.jpg

These come in two heights, 17" and 33 1/2", seem like good heights to me.

Steven

[Bob Smalser]

I always seem to make them at whatever height whims me at the time, whether it makes sense or not...

... but the school solution for sawing and planing is from the ground to the bottom of your face-down palms with arms at side.

This is a truly great picture in many ways of demonstration:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/4007700/67720412.jpg

[ 11-13-2004, 09:13 PM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]

[NormMessinger]

But how can a guy saw standing on that side of the horse? If he'd turn around so he could get his knee on the work piece is sure would work better. His saw would be outside the cut line where he could see it better as well.

[kc8pql]

His helper is sitting on the plank, just out of the frame.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Fine Woodworking had an article on some adjustable ones just a few months back. Nice design I thought..

[Bob Smalser]

Originally posted by NormMessinger:
But how can a guy saw standing on that side of the horse? If he'd turn around so he could get his knee on the work piece is sure would work better. His saw would be outside the cut line where he could see it better as well.Maybe he was a brick mason who didn't understand saws. ;) But as this pic is from an old Disston catalog, I kinda doubt that.

Maybe the 4X4 workpiece is 20+ feet long. Balloon framing used big sticks.

Maybe he has the off end clamped down.

Maybe he does have a helper.

Maybe the footing on the other side of the horse is unsatisfactory.

We can't tell what side of the line he's cutting on.

The point is head, hand, forearm and body position, including the height of the sawhorses.

Position and secure the work piece properly, and most importantly, use a sharp saw , and using your knee as a clamp is counterproductive to a lot of things...especially square cuts.

[ 11-14-2004, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]

[Mrleft8]

I have one set about 12" tall, one set about 26" tall, and one set the same height as my bench minus the thickness of a piece of 3/4" ply (35 1/4"} The 35 1/4" is the most comfortable for layout and finishing flat pieces and spars. The 26" is good for clamping up carcases, and general assembly stuff. The 12" is good for keeping large stuff off the floor while you're working on it. I don't use the "A frame" style though.

[Paul Scheuer]

Be it ever so humble, there's no horse like mine.

I'm sure there's a "perfect" horse design somewhere, but.

"There does come a day when you have to shoot the engineer".

This is one of two that were what I needed that day, about twenty years ago, to bring the Yankee Tender up to working height. I had just flipped it and was starting to fit the frames. I can't remember why, maybe it was the wood I had available, but the height is 26 inches.

Since then they have served many purposes, including holding up one end of a VW. (build them a little sturdier than you think you might need). The exposed tops of the legs reminds me to position really heavy loads on the posts.

One notion was that the flat top could be bored for a pipe clamp, or lag screws, or whatever. They'll easily hold a cup of coffee, a paint can or provide a seat or a step. They wiggle just enough to adapt to almost any surface.

They also stack for storage, but they're usually holding up something in the garage.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p62cbcfa54d995a9ae4118a9d19c11ce9/fb2ae560.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p8901ec1296080da17e44c65c8d1d62ae/fb2ae55a.jpg

[Stiletto]

I make mine with a slight fore-aft splay to the legs so that I tend to be cutting inside the support line of the feet if using only one.

Oh, over here I had it hammered into me as a youngster that they are saw stools---saw horses are a criss cross thing for cutting firewood. Weird eh? :D

Edited for clarity.

[ 11-14-2004, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: Stiletto ]

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Here the firewood holder is called a sawbuck.

Steven

[Donn]

Back when I was heating with wood, I had a dandy sawbuck, made from old pallets. It had 3 crossed sets of legs, and a u-shaped arrangement up top. I could stack several 6' lengths of logs in it, and buck them all to 24" with 2 cuts down through the stack. The top of the stack was waist height, perfect for chainsawing.

[Bob Cleek]

Sounds uncharacteristic for me, I suppose, but I don't think you can do much better than those black and yellow plastic jobs you get at the big box stores. They are about the right height for sawing and general use. They have an assortment of snap on parts for holding variously sized items and are relatively cheap. Most importantly, they do fold up nicely, which is a big factor. The only drawback is that you can't use a double headed nail to fasten staging planks on them, but a clamp seems to take care of that well enough.

[Bob Smalser]

The only drawback is that you can't use a double headed nail to fasten staging planks on them... The other drawback is that they break.

And in cold weather, they can break on Day One.

[Roger Cumming]

I made a bunch several years ago on the design of two sawhorses left behind by, if I remember correctly, a cabinetmaker who did some work in my apartment. I put them to use and discovered how light but strong they were and how easily they traveled between apartment and boatyard in the back of the station wagon. These sawhorses were very lightly built but up to the job of supporting my 36' long solid sitka mast every spring. The menbers were 5/4 rather than 2x4s; I added little removable blocks at each end to keep the masts from rolling off as they were being varnished. The originals were so nice they disappeared from the yard where I stored the boat. I still have the replacements I made - I guess you'd call them knockoffs. If anybody would like a plan of them, let me know. I have no idea how to make the drawing available on this forum. I could fax it to you.

[Magwitch]

Thank you Gentlemen, all good stuff and food for thought.
I'm going to combine hammer and nail carpentry with credit card construction. That is to say I will build three at 36" high just for mast support, 36" is about right for me to sand and varnish without too much bending, plus a couple made from 4X2 and steel clips from the Axminster Tools catalogue (cost £10 a pair) and a couple of cheap steel and timber 'workmate' clones at £8 each. That should combine getting the job done with minimum cost and speed.
If I try to carpenterise all of them I'll never get the boat work done, and the whole point is to maintain the boat aint it. smile.gif

IanW

[RichardBlake]

My favourites are (or were - someone else apparently liked 'em too) like those pictured by Steven Bauer, nearly up to kitchen counter height to save bending the back on lighter jobs, but with an extra 5" wide rail down around sawing height. Slide in a piece of 3/4" ply, 8' by 8" with a 1-by-1 backrest-batten glued along one edge, and you have a pretty sturdy and versatile saw horse. Clamp the ply in place of course for heavier jobs. I also found it very worthwhile to plane the tops and bottoms of all rails parallel to the floor, for easy clamping-on of extra braces between two horses when needed. Bottom rails were extra-sturdy for putting a foot on. It was a handy space- and time-saving setup. The middle rail was my favourite for spars... lift up one end of the mast and slide the horse onto it. Can't roll off. You've reminded me I really should make up some more. I still use the ply strip between two workmates, but the old horses were less hassle.

[Dave Hadfield]

I needed sawhorses with ajustable height that would collapse for stowage in a small shop.

So I "invented" hinged, folding sawhorse (as I'm sure others have before).

Each side of the sawhorse is a simple frame of 1x6, glued and screwed, maybe like this:

___________________
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-------------------
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
-------------------
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
x O xxxxxxxxxxx O x
-------------------
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl
lxxxxl lxxxxl

The 2 sides are fastened to gether by 2 stout hinges at the top, on the inside.

Where the "O"s are, a length of cord is threaded through and the ends tied together. This stops the sides from splaying out. The longer the cord the wider the splay and the lower the height.

Then, when you want to stow the unit, you pick it up from the center, the legs collapse inward, you pull the string up through the center and it hangs flat from a nail on the wall.

These horse are extremely sturdy, lightweight, cheap, store most easily and transport easily for off-site set-up (a portable workbench beside Drake each spring).

[Dave Hadfield]

Aw, shoot! The sketch didn't post properly!

The 2nd column of "X"s is supposed to be on the right side of the sketch.

I really need to set up my scanner....

[John Hastie]

Probably the best design I ever saw (and use) were the Hirsch folding sawhorses.

[Alan Peck]

May favorite saw horse uses a heavy molded plastic connector at each end of the horse. All you do is insert the 2x4 legs and either a 2x4 or 2x6 top. They are held together with a carriage bolt and a wing nut. Simplicity itself! They are pretty stable, yet they come apart for storage. You can also make different length legs using the same top and brackets. In my case to make storage even easier, I made them with pressure treated pine and I just leave them outside. I often just use them outside anyway as it keeps sawdust out of the shop.

I think the brackets were pretty cheap and I got them either at Home Depot or Lowes.

My 2 cents worth.

[Tealsmith]

I've been happy with the folding aluminum jobs that allow a 2 X 4 to be screwed to the top. They're light, cheap ($10),and fold up great for storage. And if you're lucky you won't pinch your fingers off when you fold up the legs. But I can see the satisfaction of building a nice set for oneself.

[J P]

We build lots of this type: The beam is an "I" beam with 2x6 or 2x8 top chord and 2x4 bottom and middle. Legs are 2x4 with 15 degree splay in two directions with the upper end butted under the top chord and screwed to the middle flange and edge of the bottom chord. I like the bottom ends of the legs to be out past the end of the beam - safer to stand on. These are very stable, easy/fast to build, and with the top bearing right on the legs they are quite strong. They're not too heavy but could be built lighter using 1x for the legs. I like 28"-30" height for most carpentry and beam work.

[Bob Cleek]

Hey, Bob, thanks for the tip about the plastic sawhorses. I never thought about breaking, although they are fairly "disposable." Out here on the left coast in SF we don't get that "plastic snapping" cold that others have to endure.

[Bob Smalser]

Out here on the left coast in SF we don't get that "plastic snapping" cold that others have to endure. Had one go to pieces with a half-built 14' lumber punt above it, making sufficient additional work that I swore off of folding sawhorses for anything over 100 pounds...even my own fir ones.

Maybe there are some good plastic ones out there, but those center shelf supports aren't very strong...especially on a less than perfect gravel surface. Same for the cheapo steel folding sawhorses, although I do have a set of heavy-gage galvanized folders I adore, but they are no longer made.

When I don't have lousy enuf utility stock readily available to cobble togther sawhorses, I've taking to buying the Home Depot stapled cheapos for 10 bucks each. Add some heated epoxy and additional reinforcement, and they'll support 1000+ pounds with ease:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3075025/37657554.jpg

[ 11-15-2004, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]