32″ tall sawhorses (pair) plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Miter saw set to 15° (or a circular saw guided by a speed square)
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Cut the angled legs

   Set your miter saw (or speed square, if you use a circular saw) to 15°. Square-cut one end of a 2×4 first, then cut a 15° angle across its wide face near that end.

   Measure 31 9/16″ along one long edge from the angled cut and mark it. Cut the second end at 15° so it's parallel to the first: the finished leg looks like a long, thin parallelogram, not a trapezoid.

   Use the first leg as a pattern: lay it on the next board, trace both ends, and cut on the waste side of the lines. Make 8 legs.

   • Tip Parallel ends are the whole trick: if one end slopes the other way, the leg won't sit flat on the floor and flat under the cap. Flip the board end for end between cuts on a miter saw so the angle points the same way.
   • Tip Pick the straightest boards for the caps and beams; slightly bowed boards are fine for legs, which are short.

   ✓ Stand the 8 legs side by side on a flat floor with their angled ends the same way. The tops line up within 1/16″ and every leg leans the same way.

4. 4Build the two T-shaped tops

   Sight down each beam (B) along its narrow edge. Most boards bow slightly; the high side of the curve is the crown. Mark it: the crown goes up.

   Lay a cap (A) flat on the bench and stand a beam on edge on top of it, centred, ends flush. Draw a pencil line down the middle of the cap first so you can see the beam stays centred.

   Spread a bead of glue on the beam's edge, flip the pair over so the cap is on top, and drive 3″ screws down through the cap into the beam every 8″, 6 per top.

   • Tip Predrill each screw hole about 2″ from the ends so the end grain doesn't split.
   • Tip Wipe glue squeeze-out with a damp rag while it's wet.

   ✓ Each top is straight when you sight along it, and the cap overhangs the beam by an even 1″ on both sides.

5. 5Attach the legs

   Turn a top upside down on the floor (cap down). Each end gets two legs, one on each side of the beam, splaying outward like an A.

   Hold a leg against the side of the beam with its top end flat against the underside of the cap and its wide face against the beam, 2″ in from the end of the beam. The leg leans outward at 15°.

   Glue the face, then drive 4 screws, 2 1/2″, through the leg into the beam in a square pattern. Do the opposite leg the same way, with its screws placed between the first leg's screws so they can't hit each other.

   Now drive two 3″ screws down through the cap into the end of each leg (turn the top over to do this). Repeat at the other end and on the second horse: 8 legs in all.

   • Tip Clamp the leg in place before driving screws; it won't slide around as the first screw bites.

   ✓ Stand each horse up. All four feet touch a flat floor, and both legs at an end splay by the same amount: measure from the beam centre to each foot.

   STOP. The legs carry the load by pressing up against the cap. If a leg top doesn't touch the cap, take it off and re-fit it rather than relying on the screws.

6. 6Add the leg braces

   The braces (D) tie each pair of legs together like the bar of an A. Their bottom edge sits 9 1/2″ above the floor, on the inside faces of the legs (the faces toward the middle of the horse).

   Hold a brace across the legs at that height and mark where the legs' outer faces cross it. The marks should be 15 7/8″ apart along the bottom edge. Cut the ends at 15° so they're flush with the outside of the legs.

   Glue and drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the brace into each leg. Predrill: the screws go into the narrow edge of the leg.

   • Tip Measure the brace on the actual horse rather than trusting the number: small differences in leg angle change it.

   ✓ Push the top sideways. The horse feels stiff, with no lean or wobble in the A-frames.

7. 7Fit the stretcher

   Measure between the two braces of a horse at the bottom: it should be 22″. Cut the stretcher (E) to fit snugly.

   Set it on edge under the beam, centred, its bottom flush with the brace bottoms. Glue the ends and drive 2 screws, 3″, through each brace into the stretcher ends.

   • Tip A strip of plywood screwed across the two stretchers later makes a handy tool tray.

   ✓ The stretcher is tight between the braces and the two A-frames are parallel. Measure across both ends of the top and at the feet: equal.

8. 8Level the feet and load-test

   Set the horses on the flattest part of the floor. If one rocks, find the high foot by pressing down on each corner, and sand or plane a little off it until it sits still.

   Lay a sheet of plywood or a few boards across both horses and pile on weight gradually up to about 400 lb (bags of concrete or sand work). Watch the joints.

   Sand the sharp corners of the caps so they don't splinter your hands or dent your work.

   ✓ No joint opens, no screw creaks, and the tops come back straight when the weight is off.

   STOP. Never stand or climb on a sawhorse. For reaching up, use a ladder made for it.

9. 9Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.