Saturday, May 2, 2009

Cheap, simple sawhorse

One trick that I learned is to make a simple, durable sawhorse out of 4 2x4s. At current lumber costs this means the sawhorse costs you about $7, and they'll last a long time. Here's how you build it.

For this design you don't need particularly straight lumber, but it helps. You'll want to take one of the 2x4s and cut it in half. The other two 2x4s you'll cut into 3' sections, with 2' of scrap left over.
Nail the two halves together to form a T, as shown.

Nail the 3' legs to the T you've constructed, as shown. Make sure that the legs are below the level of the top 2x4. You want your work to lay flat all the way across the sawhorse -- if the legs stick up too much it won't.


Now nail the two 2' scrap pieces to stabilize the legs, as shown. And finally put a 2x4 across the bottom to stabilize the legs. You can use the sawhorse without this last step -- and it makes it a 3 board design instead of a 4, but you'll find that it's a lot more durable with the bottom brace.

6 comments:

Funder said...

Very nice - thanks for relinking this from today's post.

GavinH said...

Really appreciate you sharing this. I've been looking for a while in local DIY stores for a set of cheap saw horses, with no luck. These look the business and simple to construct.

Anonymous said...

You're welcome. I've found them to be handy, and, as I've said, cheap. You can put them together with a few nails and a few 2x4s in about 10 minutes.

GavinH said...

I built a pair last weekend. Their super solid and work like a charm. Thanks for sharing.

David Mary said...

I was thinking of using a couple sawhorses as "safety rails" for my home squat rack. Would a pair these DIY sawhorses support a barbell weighing upwards of 400 lb?

Thanks

Rebecca said...

This looks like exactly what I need for a simple freestanding turkey roost. THANKS.