DIY Guide: Building Your Own Saw Horses

If you’re looking for an affordable and simple solution to support your sawing work, making your own saw horses could be a great option. Saw horses are an essential tool for anyone who works with wood, and they come in handy when you have to cut long pieces of timber, saw a board, or sand your creations. Building your own saw horses is a fun and easy project that requires only a few materials, and it allows you to customize the size and height of your tool to fit your needs.

When it comes to making saw horses, there are endless designs and variations to choose from. However, in this article, we’ll show you how to make the traditional A-frame saw horses that are both practical and versatile. You can use them to elevate your workpiece to a comfortable height, hold it in place while you work, or use them as legs for a worktable. So, gather your tools and materials, and let’s get started with the step-by-step guide on how to make saw horses.

Materials Needed to Make Saw Horses

When it comes to building saw horses, the materials required are very few and easily available. Here are the materials that you would need:

1. Lumber

Lumber is the primary material required for building saw horses. It is what provides the frame and structure to your saw horses. The best type of lumber to use is 2×4 or 2×6 as they are strong and sturdy enough to hold the weight of any material you place on them.

2. Screws

Screws are necessary for fastening the lumber together to create a stable and durable saw horse. The type of screw you use depends on the size of the lumber you use. If you’re using 2×4, use 3-inch screws, but if you’re using 2×6, opt for 4-inch screws.

3. Saw

A saw is required to cut the lumber to the required size for the saw horse. A circular saw or handsaw would suffice for this purpose.

4. Measuring Tape and Pencil

Before you start building, it’s essential to measure and mark the lumber accurately to ensure it fits together correctly. The measuring tape and pencil would be useful tools for this step.

5. Drill

A drill is essential for drilling the screws into the lumber to hold the saw horse together.

6. Clamp

When sawing lumber, it’s important to secure it in place to prevent any injuries. A clamp would help hold the lumber in place, so it doesn’t move when you’re sawing.

7. Sandpaper

After sawing the lumber to size, it’s essential to smooth out the edges and surfaces. Sandpaper would help you achieve this and give your saw horse a polished look.

8. Paint or Varnish

Paint or varnish might not be necessary, but it would protect the saw horse from the elements, making it last longer. It’ll also give your saw horse a neat appearance and prevent any splinters on the lumber.

9. Safety Gear

Before starting any building project, it’s crucial to put on safety gear. Safety gear such as gloves, goggles, and a dust mask would protect you from injuries and dust particles when sawing the lumber.

10. Work Table

A work table provides a stable surface to work on, making the building process more comfortable and precise.

Now that we’ve gone over the materials required to make saw horses let’s move on to the next step – cutting the lumber.

Tools needed to make saw horses

To make saw horses, you need to have the right tools at your disposal. These include:

1. Saw: A saw is necessary for cutting and shaping the pieces of wood that make up the saw horse. A circular saw, a hand saw or a jigsaw can be used.

2. Drill: A drill is necessary for creating holes in the pieces of wood that will be joined together with screws.

3. Screws: Screws are needed to join the pieces of wood together. You can use wood screws, deck screws or drywall screws.

4. Measuring tape: A measuring tape is necessary to ensure that the pieces of wood are cut to the correct measurements.

5. Pencil: A pencil is necessary for marking the wood where it will need to be cut or drilled.

6. Square: A square is necessary for ensuring that the pieces of wood are cut at right angles and are properly aligned.

7. Sandpaper: Sandpaper is needed for smoothing out rough edges on the pieces of wood.

8. Safety glasses: Safety glasses are necessary to protect your eyes from sawdust and wood chips.

9. Clamps: Clamps are helpful for keeping the pieces of wood in place while you work on them.

10. Worktable: A worktable is necessary for keeping the pieces of wood up off the ground and in a stable position while you work on them.

Now that you have all the necessary tools, let’s move on to the next section of the article: “How to prepare the wood for saw horses.”

Materials Needed for Making Saw Horses

In this section, we will talk about the different materials that you will need to make your saw horses.

2×4 Lumber

To make saw horses, you will need four pieces of 2×4 lumber that are eight feet long. Make sure to get good quality, straight pieces of lumber. If you can buy kiln-dried boards, that would be the best option. It is important to avoid warped or twisted boards because it will affect the stability of your saw horses.

1×4 Lumber

For the legs of the saw horses, you will need two pieces of 1×4 lumber that are eight feet long. Again, make sure you get straight, good quality boards.

Screws and Wood Glue

Use screws that are 2 1/2 inches long to join the pieces of lumber together. You will need 32 screws in total. Apply wood glue along the joints before securing them with screws. This will provide extra stability and strength to your saw horses.

Sandpaper

You will need sandpaper with a grit of 120 to smooth the rough edges and surfaces of your saw horses.

Saw, Drill, Screwdriver Bit, and Measuring Tape

You will need a saw to cut the lumber to the desired lengths. A circular or table saw will work fine. You will use a drill to make holes and a screwdriver bit to drive the screws into the lumber. Lastly, a measuring tape is essential to ensure that you cut the lumber to the correct length.

Happy Saw Horse Building!

Now that you know how to make saw horses, it’s time to get to work and start creating your own. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things to make your saw horses unique. Remember to always put safety first and wear appropriate protective gear when working with power tools or sharp objects. We hope you found this article helpful and enjoyable to read. Thank you for stopping by and we look forward to seeing you again soon!