Reply To: Reply To: Saw Horse Design & Build

A very useful saw horse Ron 🙂

All I can add concerning saw horses regards the detail surrounding stretchers/bracers applied as supports for the legs.  They honestly don’t need to be as robust in section as the legs and can be made using 1-1/2″ x 1″ stock or take the form of 1″ dowel (Through mortised into and pegged/foxtail wedged to retain them), threaded bar, or even rope because their primary task is to prevent the legs from splaying further apart when under load.  Lightweight diagonal bracers can also be used in place of their lateral/longitudinal counterparts.

In essence, saw horses don’t need to be heavily braced as long as joints and fixings are tight and adequate bracers are fitted when needed for heavier work loads.  I prefer to them to be comparatively lightweight and capable of being stacked.  Longitudinal leg splay tends function best if their feet terminate on the same plain as the top and this prevents problems with tipping whilst in use and makes the top capable of carrying a full loading at any point along it’s length. 🙂