i need to build a set of heavy duty sawhorses....

bad_idea · Nov 17, 2011

Lemme start off by saying I am fine....

Building my weld cart and using 2 pieces of 10" channel welded together for a top. I had it on top of 2 pieces of angle across the 2 stands. I had it on it's side, flipping it to work on the bottom side. It slipped outta my hands and I stepped back. That poor stand never saw it coming....

Anyone got some plans/pics of heavy duty home built sawhorses? :lol_hitti

BTW... the top weighs in right around 260 lbs or so.

Steevo · Nov 17, 2011

I don't have any good sawhorse plans, but that is a cool idea for a bench top.
I have been looking for a nice piece of plate to build a welding bench, but I like the idea of the inverted channel, since it comes with built-in stiffeners.

Zeke · Nov 17, 2011

I don't have plans, but I have some made out of pipe. The main cross piece is like a 3" drill casing or something from the oil patch. The legs are 1" with stretchers half way up and braces from the stretchers to under the main bar.

I have had a Porsche 914 on them while doing bodywork. They might weigh 40 lbs, but not an ounce more. If you can't weld good, these are out of your league. Last thing you want is for a weld to break.

Whoops, I just saw you do weld very good.

bad_idea · Nov 17, 2011

Well thanks for the compliment on my welds Zeke. The channel is 3/4" thick Steevo, so it should be a stout top. 4' wide by 20" deep. I plan on a drop leaf on one side for bigger projects.

twincam00 · Nov 17, 2011

heres what my dad and I built awile ago, I dont have any plans but heres some pics. theyre surprisingly sturdy and strong

EDIT: they hold the 160lb boat motor with no problem

bczygan · Nov 17, 2011

Let me tell you a story about 6 very surprised office workers......
It started out with the Architectural office I was working at. The owner bought the building next door and our carpenter was remodeling it for us. At one point he needed help lifting a steel beam up and into a pocket. So he recruited the bunch of us designers from the office.
So picture this. Here are 6 guys in shirts and ties and a couple carpenters, all standing on sheets of plywood stretched over a few wooden sawhorses. We reach down and grab the beam. It long and VERY heavy, but we lift it on command in unison. We have it at the right height, ready to shove into the pocket, when..........the sawhorses collapse!
And the beam slides down the wall just missing the tips of our dress shoes.

My advice on the sawhorses is to triangulate them in every axis and make the thickness of the metal used adequate to take the loads so they don't buckle. I would use a sheet of metal on each side to connect the legs and top and also a sheet on each of the ends to connect the legs. I would make the main Horizontal member out of at least 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 steel tubing. The legs of at least 1 x 3 steel tubing. I would make the thickness of the sheet metal and the tubing as thick as possible with the limiting factor being that it be just light enough to pick up and move around.
I would overbuild the s@%t out of it, but then that's just me........I was one of the guys holding that beam.......

BlindViper · Nov 17, 2011

I know you want to build some I have a set that I build while in the union. They are nice and sturdy all the cuts are simple. But they don't fold up and take up a lot of bed space if they have to be moved.

I bought these
they fold up and will handle plenty of weight 2900 lbs for the pair. Each legs adjusts independently so you can set them up on a set of stairs if need.

Here is a picture of my built saw horses.

sberry · Nov 17, 2011

How heavy do you want them? They could have been stronger but didnt need to be. Doubles as an anvil.

twincam00 · Nov 17, 2011

^now thats a sawhorse

Zeke · Nov 17, 2011

twincam00 said:
^now thats a sawhorse

He can also tie up a horse to that.

Zeke · Nov 17, 2011

This is the traditional saw horse us carpenters have to build at one time or another in order to use and prove certain skills. Of great importance is to let in the legs to the top for shear strength.

And this is what they look like in several years with some good use still there.

Sureshot · Nov 17, 2011

This what I have. They are 1 1/2"x1/8" wall tubing 30" wide 24" tall. I have had 17 lengths of 3 1/8" "pipe" stacked on them as a set. The lengths were 21' and it was relatively heavy wall steel pipe.

Edit:Sorry for the pic being sideways.

larry_g · Nov 17, 2011

Here is what I have. I bought 4 of these at a sale for $50. They are 1 1/2" heavy tubing and the neat feature is that the top is sized to accept a 4x piece of lumber. The frame is stout and the 4x is sacrifical to a saw if necessary and easy to replace.

lg
no neat sig line

kv501 · Nov 17, 2011

I have built several of these. They are called 14 minute sawhorses, so being the red-blooded American that I am :spit:

, I had to time myself once. My brother and I raced each other on a set (because we are idiots), and we both got under 14 minutes with a miter saw.

In seriousness though, 99.99% of the people on this forum have scrap 2x4's, a circular saw, and screws. They are built like brick sh*t houses and if you wreck one, build another set.

bad_idea · Nov 17, 2011

a bunch of good suggestions here. i will have to build a set one of these days. not today tho.... too many projects going on at the same time....

A**holes Garage · Nov 17, 2011

I've been using these for years. Have 3 sets. Portable, fold up and will support 1000 + lbs. each.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

rickb801 · Nov 17, 2011

I have built some similar to what sberry posted and also some similar to what sureshot posted. As to what to build them from it all depends on what you can get for material. If you can find some 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 sch. 40 pipe making a pair similar to what sureshot posted is pretty easy. You just need to cope the legs to 90* to fit against the top horizontal pipe and cut the bottom of the legs at the correct angle. Connect the legs on each end to each other with flat bar, or plate or cope a piece of pipe to go inbetween the legs. Sorry, don't have any pics. Very stout and doesn't weigh too much and would easily hold way more than those C10's you are working on, which weigh about 88lbs. each if they are 4 feet long.
S

gahrajmahal · Nov 17, 2011

I used to have the sheet metal set you collapsed. I replaced them with a set of the Fatmax adjustable as recommended by Blindviper. My son has the Folding steel set recommended by A**holes Garage. I have used all three and I don't think any of these would hold up if you dropped a #260 hunk of channel iron on them. I would probably weld up a steel set based on the wooden design shown by Zeke. I would add some triangulation mid leg to mid span on the cross bar. You could use 3" channel with pipe or angle iron legs with a 3 x 3 x 1/4 plate for feet. One of the factories I worked at had a set like this. They weighed about 50 lbs each. I do like the sacrificial 4 x 4 On larry_g's example.

Adrien · Nov 17, 2011

A**holes Garage said:
I've been using these for years. Have 3 sets. Portable, fold up and will support 1000 + lbs. each.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I use these as well. Pretty pleased so far! I like the fact that you can adjust the height of them more than anything.

Adrien

hllon4whls · Nov 17, 2011

Made these. No idea of the weight rating, but they wont collapse under me for sure and they fold up.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5498679_make-folding-sawhorse.html

The top cut didnt come out the way this said it should, so keep an eye on that when you make yours. DO NOT get your finger in that top slot. Might hurt a tad if you lift them.

hllon4whls · Nov 17, 2011

kv501 said:
I have built several of these. They are called 14 minute sawhorses, so being the red-blooded American that I am , I had to time myself once. My brother and I raced each other on a set (because we are idiots), and we both got under 14 minutes with a miter saw.

In seriousness though, 99.99% of the people on this forum have scrap 2x4's, a circular saw, and screws. They are built like brick sh*t houses and if you wreck one, build another set.

Those are nice for sure. To save space make one an inch narrower than the other and you can then stack them for storage.

kv501 · Nov 18, 2011

hllon4whls said:
Those are nice for sure. To save space make one an inch narrower than the other and you can then stack them for storage.

You are right, that is the only downfall of this set, as described in the directions they are not stackable. They are also a little on the small side with the dimensions listed. I made mine 3 ft wide and the legs 3 inches longer.

Thanks for the idea; the next set I build will stack.

Heavy Metal Doctor · Nov 18, 2011

sberry said:
How heavy do you want them? They could have been stronger but didnt need to be. Doubles as an anvil.

I have a couple of sets similar to that -- 4" c-channel top and heavy wall square tube legs. They where originally made by a truck body mfr and used to stand up odd shaped euipment for shipping on a freight truck...I kept a set at work and took a set home -- which at one point during a project had my entire old Chevy Tahoe sitting on the pair of them!!

Kevin54 · Nov 18, 2011

A little off topic, but when I click on this thread, I get this showing up on my screen. Did anyone else get it and if so, why? No other thread will do it except for this thread.

Also when I click on the "Go Advanced" button, it pops up with that also. :headscrat

Just curious.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming!!! :bounce:

hllon4whls · Nov 18, 2011

Kevin54 said:
A little off topic, but when I click on this thread, I get this showing up on my screen. Did anyone else get it and if so, why? No other thread will do it except for this thread.

Also when I click on the "Go Advanced" button, it pops up with that also.

Just curious.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming!!!

No popup for me. Using Chrome on win 7.

sberry · Nov 18, 2011

I actually have a pair of those, a man can handle them by sliding but I move them with forklift, they were made for working on trucks and equipment.

BlindViper · Nov 18, 2011

gahrajmahal said:
I used to have the sheet metal set you collapsed. I replaced them with a set of the Fatmax adjustable as recommended by Blindviper. My son has the Folding steel set recommended by A**holes Garage. I have used all three and I don't think any of these would hold up if you dropped a #260 hunk of channel iron on them. I would probably weld up a steel set based on the wooden design shown by Zeke. I would add some triangulation mid leg to mid span on the cross bar. You could use 3" channel with pipe or angle iron legs with a 3 x 3 x 1/4 plate for feet. One of the factories I worked at had a set like this. They weighed about 50 lbs each. I do like the sacrificial 4 x 4 On larry_g's example.

I am 380 lbs and I have no issue standing on the fatmaxes with 2x4's and a piece of plywood up top.

eldirector · Nov 18, 2011

I've got a pair of these:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...WYvGTrWaHcSqiALS-dnjDw&sqi=2&ved=0CKQBEPICMAQ

eavEkpKr6U9FGcREcvhA1S6wOVn9mn7LkIiW08wQpOVndRKe9mh1kdwFu_PvMHwmRubxa2_tOpY3ym8QFPs8goEN2Hlp8cJBAKKZPA3gqBPNaoADgVQBC_ozmsMLO1PYnZNaZ23Zx6VWqYjJE_JFwuQ_Y_IGQIR2CCwRxEQwn_kn-RTYofm46YLBttzWnnPbZOn8vsrePMGsxjA5yJQ8yZBQhgDccRBqJ4WWyzxZmZlpf57P0983TSzmVMWjBhrULKarG_pHkOpc1uI2e9R-zsC2ebM0ZhEj0xnLZxn_umhGaCS4iRl1zc9BIxrmbZK8fkpd

I can store them under the bench, and they hold a LOT of weight. I currently have a 14 Bolt and Dana 60 sitting on them.

Zeke · Nov 18, 2011

I have the heavy duty version of those that really will hold a 1000 lbs. at the lower height. They are time consuming to set up in any extended position and break back down. Those rascals have given me more blood blisters than any tool I can think of including the old fashioned tip snips.

The stay put away for years at a crack.

DoyleDee · Nov 18, 2011

I built mine out of pipe- kind of like what sberry has. I have used them quite a bit and had a decent amount of weight on them with no issues. I made 4 of them, of which one pair is much stouter just due to the way I built them and the pipe used.
The other pair I built to have an extension- a pipe that slides just right inside the top and built the same as far as the footing- this gives me an extension to about 7 ft long.
I searched craigslist and found the stands so I copied their design.

jcabbbang · Nov 18, 2011

I built mine out of square tubing and some heavy angle iron. Welded them up. They work great. Not to heavy to lift and move around the shop, one at a time, but you could put nearly anything on top of them, that I would work on, without any fear of collapse. That would be my suggestion on the fix. Will take a picture and post if you wish. Chris

theoldwizard1 · Nov 18, 2011

Norm has some nice ones on the New Yankee Workshop site. They are made out of wood and are not collapsible. They use a 2x6, flat, as their top.

Kevin54 · Nov 18, 2011

One of the members posted this on another thread. Look at the bottom and it has sawhorse plans http://www.deplans.com/plans/

carbon · Aug 1, 2016

hllon4whls said:
Made these. No idea of the weight rating, but they wont collapse under me for sure and they fold up.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5498679_make-folding-sawhorse.html

Ripoff of shopdudes Shopdog sawhorse. He has plans for sale for $5 that include printable templates that you fold over the wood to make those tricky cuts. I have no affiliation with him other than I bought his plans. Very clever. They are a bit heavy, though, and very, very strong. http://www.woodshopdude.com

(I said the same thing in the comments of that douchey ehow article.)

woodzy · Aug 1, 2016

You want heavy duty...

Here is a set I built for building my lento. Picks were 36' long and 24 and 20" wide. They weighed a bunch..

Turned into fire wood after the project..

Kaizen · Aug 1, 2016

kv501 said:
I have built several of these. They are called 14 minute sawhorses, so being the red-blooded American that I am , I had to time myself once. My brother and I raced each other on a set (because we are idiots), and we both got under 14 minutes with a miter saw.

In seriousness though, 99.99% of the people on this forum have scrap 2x4's, a circular saw, and screws. They are built like brick sh*t houses and if you wreck one, build another set.

I built a few of these to build my concrete countertops. rock solid. think 3 2x's. way cheaper then a comparable weight rated one

58Yeoman · Aug 1, 2016

These are what I used. I had a 41 Pontiac body sitting on them for quite some time and no problems. I mounted wood to the tops for sawing.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/PORTAMAT...gclid=CNuGrfOSoc4CFUYaaQodZioMCg&gclsrc=aw.ds

mikegt4 · Aug 1, 2016

carbon said:
Ripoff of shopdudes Shopdog sawhorse. He has plans for sale for $5 that include printable templates that you fold over the wood to make those tricky cuts. I have no affiliation with him other than I bought his plans. Very clever. They are a bit heavy, though, and very, very strong. http://www.woodshopdude.com

(I said the same thing in the comments of that douchey ehow article.)

Second on shopdog sawhorses. Super strong and super stable. Having access to a compound miter saw helps with the cuts.

nafterclifen · Aug 1, 2016

Lots of good ideas here...

http://www.familyhandyman.com/carpentry/sawhorse-plans/view-all#step3

I built the "folding sawhorse with a built-in shelf" and I love them. I needed them to fold up because I just don't have enough space to store fixed ones.

Jon_E · Aug 2, 2016

Search for "Rugged Buddy" folding sawhorses. I bought two sets and they will easily hold your welding cart. Bonus is that you can make them any length you want.

i need to build a set of heavy duty sawhorses....

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