# Project #1: Sawhorses



## JamieH (Sep 26, 2010)

*Day 2 Update*

Well, I began day two of building a pair of sawhorses from the Matthew Teague "Projects for your Shop" book. I posted day 1's progress under the Woodworking Skill Share forum yesterday. Just realized this might be better in blog form.

I got the legs cut to length with proper angles cut for top assembly, assembled the top, and screwed the legs in before I ran out of daylight. I still have end braces, stretchers, and a shelf to add. I still am having wood screw joinery issues. As you can see from pic #2 below, the leg is flush against the subtop. Look at the right leg in pic #1, and you can see it is not. Why wont all legs hug the subtop once I screw them in? I countersunk each leg screwhole. Should I have pilot hole'd the subtop? Should the drill rpms on the screw installation be slow? I am using coarse thread drywall screws. Should they be fine thread? I figured I'd build one horse at a time, so I would have to complete each step over , not mass assembly style- which would be faster. I figured this would be better practice. Any ideas/comments? Sorry for sideways pics….


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## JamieH (Sep 26, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Day 2 Update*
> 
> Well, I began day two of building a pair of sawhorses from the Matthew Teague "Projects for your Shop" book. I posted day 1's progress under the Woodworking Skill Share forum yesterday. Just realized this might be better in blog form.
> 
> I got the legs cut to length with proper angles cut for top assembly, assembled the top, and screwed the legs in before I ran out of daylight. I still have end braces, stretchers, and a shelf to add. I still am having wood screw joinery issues. As you can see from pic #2 below, the leg is flush against the subtop. Look at the right leg in pic #1, and you can see it is not. Why wont all legs hug the subtop once I screw them in? I countersunk each leg screwhole. Should I have pilot hole'd the subtop? Should the drill rpms on the screw installation be slow? I am using coarse thread drywall screws. Should they be fine thread? I figured I'd build one horse at a time, so I would have to complete each step over , not mass assembly style- which would be faster. I figured this would be better practice. Any ideas/comments? Sorry for sideways pics….


Oh another question, if it makes sense: Should the leg screws be parallel to the top of the horse, or perpendicular to the angle of the leg when driven? Would that make a difference in the legs tightening up?


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Day 2 Update*
> 
> Well, I began day two of building a pair of sawhorses from the Matthew Teague "Projects for your Shop" book. I posted day 1's progress under the Woodworking Skill Share forum yesterday. Just realized this might be better in blog form.
> 
> I got the legs cut to length with proper angles cut for top assembly, assembled the top, and screwed the legs in before I ran out of daylight. I still have end braces, stretchers, and a shelf to add. I still am having wood screw joinery issues. As you can see from pic #2 below, the leg is flush against the subtop. Look at the right leg in pic #1, and you can see it is not. Why wont all legs hug the subtop once I screw them in? I countersunk each leg screwhole. Should I have pilot hole'd the subtop? Should the drill rpms on the screw installation be slow? I am using coarse thread drywall screws. Should they be fine thread? I figured I'd build one horse at a time, so I would have to complete each step over , not mass assembly style- which would be faster. I figured this would be better practice. Any ideas/comments? Sorry for sideways pics….


You should be drilling pilot holes in the piece that is being attached by the screw. In this case the pilot holes should be in the legs. The screws should be perpendicular to the piece that will be holding the point of the screw. In this case it should perpendicular to the side of the top of the horse…

Good luck.

Be Careful!

Herb


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## TreeBones (May 21, 2007)

JamieH said:


> *Day 2 Update*
> 
> Well, I began day two of building a pair of sawhorses from the Matthew Teague "Projects for your Shop" book. I posted day 1's progress under the Woodworking Skill Share forum yesterday. Just realized this might be better in blog form.
> 
> I got the legs cut to length with proper angles cut for top assembly, assembled the top, and screwed the legs in before I ran out of daylight. I still have end braces, stretchers, and a shelf to add. I still am having wood screw joinery issues. As you can see from pic #2 below, the leg is flush against the subtop. Look at the right leg in pic #1, and you can see it is not. Why wont all legs hug the subtop once I screw them in? I countersunk each leg screwhole. Should I have pilot hole'd the subtop? Should the drill rpms on the screw installation be slow? I am using coarse thread drywall screws. Should they be fine thread? I figured I'd build one horse at a time, so I would have to complete each step over , not mass assembly style- which would be faster. I figured this would be better practice. Any ideas/comments? Sorry for sideways pics….


I like saw horses. I've seen a lot of different ways to put them together. Strong is good. I like to be able to stack them one on top of the other for storage and moving. 95% of my work is done on workstations made with saw horses.

I use coarse sheet rock screws, glue and plywood gussets on Ponderosa Pine 2X4 and 1X6.

Saw Horse City


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## JamieH (Sep 26, 2010)

*Sawhorse Complete!*

I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


Jamie,

Nice sawhorse. And a second one will make things more than twice as nice.

Be Careful!

Herb


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## Rustic (Jul 21, 2008)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


nicely done


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## Bearpie (Feb 19, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


Looks like it will hold some weight along with some tools! Nice work.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL


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## Eric_Somerville (Jun 26, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


I built similar horses for one of my firsr projects, minus the bottm tray. Now I wish I had made them able to stack; just a thought to consider.


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## ClayandNancy (Feb 22, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


Nice horse, does he eat much. I saw a design for a saw horse made from a section of an engineered floor joist, can't find the plan.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

JamieH said:


> *Sawhorse Complete!*
> 
> I had some time at lunch and after work to finish the first of two sawhorses. I think it came out ok considering its the first thing I have built. It feels good to see something complete. I have my eyes on my next project, but will finish one more sawhorse before jumping on it. Thanks for all the support guys. Man, this is fun!


Jamie, that's a real nice saw horse and a pair is even more useful. The first pair of saw horses that I made I kept for at least 15 years when they were finally stolen from me.


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## JamieH (Sep 26, 2010)

*Second horse almost done..*

Well, this one went together 2.5-3 times as fast as the first. Used 2×6 for the top of this one instead of a 2×4. I will switch out the top of the other horse to match. Didnt have enough plywood for the shelf, thats the last bit and it will be complete. I have been using the scrap cut offs to practice the finish I plan on using for my next project…


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