# The Best Sawhorse Design Custom or Commercial?



## Hellaenergy (Mar 2, 2008)

I'm looking to add some saw horses to my tool collection. I am not opposed to making them. Nor am I opposed to buying them. In your opinion which is the best design for a saw horse out there?


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Depends on what you want in terms of portability, weight,
height adjustability and so forth.

I used the yellow stamped-steel ones with the fold-up legs for years.
They are far from perfect but only cost about $20 each. They 
fold-up very compact so they don't take up much space in your
vehicle.

I've had some Stanley folding, height-adjustable ones too, but they
tend to get cracks and lose the rubber feets. Mine had things that
pull out to make the support surface something like 40" wide
which made it easy to support a full sheet of plywood on them.

IKEA makes some not-bad folding horses…. sold as table legs
really but they are made of wood and semi-adjustable.


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## hObOmOnk (Feb 6, 2007)

No criteria?

I'm rustic, so my solution is to use small logs and twigs for sawhorses.
Around here, we call them sawbucks.

Problem is that my customers buy them before I can use them.


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## Hellaenergy (Mar 2, 2008)

I have a small basement shop so I am looking for a set of horses that are versatile, strong and compact.


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## Tangle (Jul 21, 2007)

I'd build what I thought I needed. Then after you use them for a while you can build a second set that are based on what you learned from the first set. You can always use two sets of saw horses.


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## miles125 (Jun 8, 2007)

You can't beat the fold up plastic ones for their light weight and portability. I hauled my share of clumsy and heavy wooden ones around for way too long.


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## Tomcat1066 (Jan 3, 2008)

If you're just wanting something for cross cuts, whatever you want is fine. I have a pair of cheap stanley saw horses that work fine. However, I have an aversion to ripping across those saw horses, so I'm building a pair of wood ones that I can replace parts as needed.

I have to second recommendations to just build a set and then replace down the road with what fits your needs best.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

home made knock down from scraps


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## Hellaenergy (Mar 2, 2008)

I ended up getting a couple of these Stanley FatMax Telescopic Leg Sawhorses. The individual telescopic legs work well on my horribly uneven basement shop floor:

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-11031-Telescopic-Plastic-Sawhorse/dp/B000MIVTJG

They are light, portable and sturdy. The price wasn't too bad either.

Thanks everyone for your input


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## douglas2cats (Mar 31, 2008)

The couple I've got are family hand-me-downs about 40 years old that work fairly well and use brackets similar to these http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1340327&cp=2568450.2628084.1259399&parentPage=family
In googling to find an example though, I notice an number of pretty nice newer bracket designs that might be worth looking at.
I've also seen something in WW mags over the years that I've mentally put on my To-Do list. It's a simple large X made from 2 pieces of plywood that are slotted/dado'ed to allow them to be slid together. When not in use, they take up 1-1/2" each of thickness layed flat or against a wall.


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## TexCoats (May 15, 2009)

A network friend did these. ... Stackable 3 leg design.

Some pretty good saw horses with excruciatingly detailed information is on Instructables.

The best design is the one that fits your needs that you are satisfied with.


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## longlegs (Jan 13, 2010)

Many different sawhorses work, but the best sawhorse is one that folds, is made of wood, holds heavy weight,
and locks into a rigid state when in use and allows clamps to be attached and remains very lightweight for
transporting.

The only sawhorse that meets all these requirements is the Lock Horse sawhorse.
Lockhorse.com is where you should look.


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## gerrym526 (Dec 22, 2007)

I use two types in my workshop-both very serviceable.

Lightweight folding plastic ones called Storehorses-very strong and light.

Krenov style wooden sawhorses (see the Dec 09 issue of FWW for the design, also my "Projects " page. Like them because they're light, strong, very versatile and really nice to look at.

Like the guys have said here-think about what you'll be using sawhorses for, and you'll buy/build the right ones.
Gerry


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## End_Grain (Oct 23, 2009)

Here is a link for building four different DIYs.


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## awoodnut (Sep 25, 2009)

I have the fold up steel ones from Trojan tools. They attach very firmly to a 2X4 or 5 or whatever which allows height adjustment and when the top gets worn you just get a new 2Xwhatever.

They come in two heights and will hold up a unit of plywood. I use them in the shop and the field and they have held up very well over about 18 years.


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## drfixit (Oct 16, 2009)

Ok, I admit it.. I"m bad. I typically use my 55 gallon burn drum and a couple of my brute trash cans with a few 2×4's







One day I build myself a real pair.


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## ND2ELK (Jan 25, 2008)

Check out LJ Canexican Ultimate Folding Sawhorse II Shopdog. What I like about these, is that they fold up when not in use and they have other application they can be used for.

God Bless
tom


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## RickLoDico (Jan 7, 2010)

can't recommend these because of the price tag. They've gone up from 106.00 when I bought them off Amazon to 156.00. But they sure are better than the yellow ones from the Depot.


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## jamesonmccartney (Apr 28, 2010)

Amen to ND2ELK… I think the LJ Canexican Ultimate Folding Sawhorse II Shopdog is awesome.

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custom woodworking design


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## greg_gard (Jun 12, 2010)

I made this pair of knock down saw horses. I like them because they fit in the trunk of any car and are easy to store in my shop.

http://www.woodtoyfun.com/zzzsawhorses.html


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Interesting choices


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## grizzman (May 10, 2009)

these are the ones i made…there the I beam type…there big and heavy…just like i wanted them…look and see if you like any of the design to them… http://lumberjocks.com/projects/31651


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## DRJZ1974 (Jun 4, 2010)

I love my Jawhorse! Here is a link to a thread I posted with pics also. It is very stable and very strong holding power. I use this way more than I thought I would.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/anyone-jawhorse-17346/


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## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

As much as I like old tools and handmade job aids, I am pretty attached to my Fatmax folding saw horses.

They work great, store flat, and don't rust. I put them through a lot of use (even using them as cribbing ponies when doing some timber framing).


They held four large posts and an amish drill press with no problem.


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