Looking for sawhorse recommendations

[Wes Billups]

After using the same pair of home built saw horses for the last 30 years I finally got disgusted enough with their weight and lack of collapsing to take them apart and look for alternatives.

I'm looking for suggestions from this group for a good set of saw horses. I'm not against having two sets, one for common tasks around the house and one for in the shop. My preference would be to find a set that works well at holding plywood sheet goods for cutting with a circular saw while also being good around the house (building a deck, temporary work surface, raised work platform for high work).

Does anyone have a purchased or home built set that they really like? My preference is for something that either stacks neatly or folds up to limit the amount of space required for storage. Adjustable height would be great but I also like the idea of simplicity. Please post links or pictures with comments as I'm guessing there are others that may want/like this information.

Thank you,
Wes

[Jerome Stanek]

I have a set of walk up horses and a set of the yellow fold up ones from HD love the walk ups but they are expensive

[Frank Pratt]

I had my eye out for the longest time for a good set of sawhorse plans, but one day in Lee Valley they had some ToughBuilt horses on sale so I bought em. They are fantastic. Super sturdy & easy to fold/unfold. The ones I got are rated at 1300 lbs each, which is way more than I need. They also have smaller, lighter models.

[Chapel Eastland]

I have three sets. One set, from 30 years ago, homemade with 2x4s and hardware brackets. Cut the legs at an angle and very solid.

The second set are Toughbuilt TB-C700. Heavy, very adjustable, rock solid. I use them for cutting 4x8 plywood. Should last forever. Check the internet for their features.

For quick work, I have a set of Lowe's Ebco 24-in w by 29 high steel, 1000 lbs capacity. $18.00 each. Foldup, well made, and plenty of sharp places to cut you. However, if I could only have one pair, this would be it. Incredibly strong, a bargain price, and fast setup and takedown.

I have another pair holding up a drill press, heavy vice, loads of tools, and a 3/4 sheet of plywood base. For the money these can't be beat. Wear gloves.

Not a fan of plastic saw horses, but that's me.

[Bob Coates]

I think this is one one Frank referenced also.
A contractor friend got a set from LC, loves them. Not cheep.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=75637&cat=1,43456,75637

[Brian W Evans]

I have two fairly expensive options for you:

Trojan sawhorse legs. These attach to any 2x material (2x4, 2x6,...2x12) of any length to make a horse. I have found it handy to make a 6' wide set of horses when laying out and cutting lots of pieces for a shed, for instance. Since the top is entirely wood, it is sacrificial. Not that you'd need it, but these are rated at 3,000 pounds per horse. When you put pressure on them, they are also self-leveling.

Here's a video: https://youtu.be/ATeD7wW_vi8


Kreg Mobile Project Center. This is a combination of sawhorse and work table. I have two and find them very useful, though mostly in the shop. I wouldn't want to carry them around too much.

Here's a video: https://youtu.be/w5jrhHStJKI

[Jack Frederick 135]

I have the fold up Kobalt ones from Lowe’s. They are nice(ish). I wouldn’t buy again. They are flimsy and when I try to cut sheet goods I find they wobble to much.

The yellow ones that other have mentioned, from HD, are they sturdier?

[Cary Falk]

I have the set of DeWalt that HD sells. I am very happy with them but they are not cheap.

[Scott Winners]

I have four matching Burro brand from I think Blue Borg. For the price I am happy, stackable but not foldable. Adequate for sheet goods, but I am accustomed to wrangling the sheet around on whatever horses I have and I am FIRMLY in the habit of clamping down a straight guide - usually 2x4- to guide circular saw cuts on sheet goods. Light weight for dragging around easy.

For the price I am happy, nice set of positive features. Downsides they aren't super sturdy as stand alones and for not much more money and just a little time I could build something a LOT sturdier, but it would be heavy.

[Frank Pratt]

I think this is one one Frank referenced also.
A contractor friend got a set from LC, loves them. Not cheep.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=75637&cat=1,43456,75637

Yes, those are the ones that I have.

[scott vroom]

Another vote for Trojan. You can use whatever length 2x lumber that fits your need for a particular job. I've used 5' 2x4s on each horse for spraying a bunch of case/base lengths at the same time...very efficient. Also good for ripping sheet goods as the sacrificial 2x stock saves your blade.

[Thomas McCurnin]

I have and have used Burros--They are ridiculously cheap and stack. But not foldable. The EBCO SS-29 Steel sawhorses, are lighter, stronger, stack and fold up. You'll need to add a 1x top to them.

[Doug Dawson]

After using the same pair of home built saw horses for the last 30 years I finally got disgusted enough with their weight and lack of collapsing to take them apart and look for alternatives.

I'm looking for suggestions from this group for a good set of saw horses. I'm not against having two sets, one for common tasks around the house and one for in the shop. My preference would be to find a set that works well at holding plywood sheet goods for cutting with a circular saw while also being good around the house (building a deck, temporary work surface, raised work platform for high work).

Does anyone have a purchased or home built set that they really like? My preference is for something that either stacks neatly or folds up to limit the amount of space required for storage. Adjustable height would be great but I also like the idea of simplicity. Please post links or pictures with comments as I'm guessing there are others that may want/like this information.

Have a look at the Bora Centipede system. I have a few of these, in various sizes, and they are ridiculously good and versatile. They collapse into taking up no space at all. Toolnut sells them. They aren't expensive. Very cool.

[Bill Orbine]

I have my eye on buying a couple of Rigids from Home Depot at 50 buck each in the near future. They look to be well made with easy adjustable height and has a 2x4 (supplied) cross that I don't worry about cutting into.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-32-in-Adjustable-Folding-Sawhorse-230710/305360612

[Marshall Harrison]

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get your hands on their options. That's what I did and I ended up with a sturdy set from Lowes for $20. Fold up easily and I just move them out into the driveway when I need them. I've created a work table out of two 6' 2x4s and a piece of 3/4" plywood. I use it for cutting or staining or anything else I need extra space for or for things I don't want to do on my workbench.

[roger wiegand]

I was in a hurry one day and bought the Stanley "31 in. 2-Way Adjustable Folding Sawhorses" from the Home Depot. Utter crap. What a mistake. Don't go there! I really need to donate them to the rummage sale and move on, nothing about them works well-- parts fall off, they fall over at the slightest provocation, they aren't even very compact when folded up, and they weren't even cheap.

[Matthew Hills]

I often set up a door on sawhorses as a temporary work table.

I'd bought the Toughbuilt from Home Depot after my old plastic sawhorses had broken. They are definitely a stronger platform for work-holding, but they take more time to set up or disassemble. After a year with them, I missed the simple deployment of the old plastic style, and bought a pair of Blue Hawk plastic sawhorses. These are not as stable and will eventually break, too, but in the meantime they have a convenient space in my shop they tuck in to, and are super quick to set up.

I'd choose based on how you use them.

Matt

[Bruce Day]

I ended up getting two of Kregs sawhorses, not cheap, I believe 125. apiece. They are great, your options with them are numerous, plus when folded up they take up very little room. They come with a automaxx clamp also.

[Dylan Wyatt]

I've made 3 sets like these out of spare 2x lumber I had. 3 sets total so far. Rock Solid and they nest perfectly on top of each other, currently have all 6 stacked in the corner. I have poured 3 kitchens worth of concrete counter tops on them and wouldn't hesitate to put my truck on them. They are a little heavy though.

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/62/97/00/6297000df9919ea4e50dc7608ee46134--discussion-ponies.jpg

[George Yetka]

I had a set of the fatmax ones and they were OK. I used them as a workbench with a sheet of 3/4 across the top. I wanted something sturdier as a bench but didnt want to invest in a full workbench yet. So i bought the kreg mobile workspace and a track horse. Threw a couple 2x4s on it and a sheet of 3/4 and it is very sturdy. I plane on it without it budging. Setup was about $275 But both come with kreg clamp and some clamping solutions

[Jack Frederick]

409021409021These are a couple of mine. My older wooden SH’s were functional, but getting rickety so I welded these up. They are pretty heavy, but I could put the building on them. They sit flat and stay where placed unless I put to heavy a side load on them. The tops are sacrificial. The red X’s Indicate the location of the lags to be avoided. I am making a couple melamine saddles to go on them for in/out feed support. Btw, the raw concrete vs the gray surface? No surface, epoxy or otherwise will hold up to welding splatter, so I just didn’t finish that metal area.

[Ben Rivel]

Yep, Toughbuilt from Home Depot are where its at IMO. I have three that I use for a lot of things, including as a sacrificial table for use with my track saw.

[Mike Wilkins]

After using some home-built oak saw horses for 15 years, they had seen better days. I upgraded to the folding and height-adjustable horses from Kreg. Sold by Woodcraft or online. About $120 each but they fold up for storage out of the way.

[Lisa Starr]

I have 2 folding worktable bases I made by modifying a plan in "Big Ideas for Small Workshops 2013". They fold up to just a few inches thick but form a very sturdy square base when open. For breaking down panel goods, I open both of mine and lay a sacrificial piece of foam insulation on them. Perfect! Without the foam, I'll open 1 to hold parts of projects or even lumber waiting to be milled.
For the extremely rare occasions I want an actual saw horse, a cheap set from the orange store is sufficient.

[Patrick McCarthy]

a third vote for Trojans ( along with Scott and Brian). Very stout, easy to collapse, I got the higher ones (36? vs 32's?)

[Jeff Bartley]

I like to keep several sets of sawhorses around: one set folds flat, one set is made from 2x's with plywood brackets, and the heavyweight set is joined oak.

The only type of saw horse I don't like is the plastic type. Years ago I was on a timberframe install job where we were putting up the frame and also installing all the tongue and groove ceiling material. This T&G was 1 1/2" thick pine and had been stacked up on a set of plastic saw horses and admittedly the stack was large.

We arrived onsite one morning and while chatting and getting tools out etc I set my coffee down on the end of the stack. That coffee was all it took to collapse the stack!

The crash of that stack hitting the deck shook the foundation and coffee went everywhere. Luckily nobody was hurt.

[lowell holmes]

I made this saw bench.

https://s26462.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Sawbench.pdf

I also made a small saw horse the same height to support the ends of long boards,

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I was in a hurry one day and bought the Stanley "31 in. 2-Way Adjustable Folding Sawhorses" from the Home Depot. Utter crap. What a mistake. Don't go there! I really need to donate them to the rummage sale and move on, nothing about them works well-- parts fall off, they fall over at the slightest provocation, they aren't even very compact when folded up, and they weren't even cheap.


I'd add that they are so bad that they piss you off every time you see them. Had an expensive tile saw sitting on a set, they or course self folded when they were slightly bumped which caused an expensive wreck. I was happy when mine finally got run over by a customer.

[Steve Hubbard]

Another happy owner of the Trojan product. Very solid. For years my workbench was three sheets of 4 x 8 x 3/4 ply screwed together and laid across 2 x 6s on these legs. Two of us felt safe standing on the surface as we assembled some larger projects.

Also built the sawbench noted by Lowell after seeing it in the corner of a picture in Chris Schwarz's book on workbenches. Nice item to have in the shop.

[Clark Hussey]

The HD toughbilt are good.

[Wayne Cannon]

"Storehorse" -- strong, lightweight, collapsible, less expensive than most competitors, nice handy platform serving as the horizontal spreader, sacrificial top, and no gee gaws. Without a doubt the best plastic sawhorse I've ever seen. They are available in several strengths, based on the number of aluminum tubes in the legs. The least strong has been more than sufficient for my every task, but we're I stacking sheetrock or parking my car atop them, I would opt for the stronger ones -- I have a mixture of strengths in my shop. Comes with a lightweight plastic top, replaceable with a sacrificial half 2x4 on edge that sits in a channel. A full 3-1/2" would require screwing the 2x into the channel.

Trojan legs -- super strong, very heavy, easy to configure and to store. Uses a 2"x4", x6", x8", or anything as desired for the top span of any length -- no tools or fasteners. I use them for custom sawhorse-based jigs. They are great, but harder to carry as legs or assembled due to their weight.

[Frank Pratt]

Looks like there are a number of good choices out there. One thing that I really like about the Toughbuilt is that they fold down into something not much bigger than a piece of 4x4. For me in my highly space challenged shop that's very important.

[Jon Endres]

I have bought several sets of the "Rugged Buddy" sawhorse legs. I set up a cutting grid on one set to use with a track saw, and the other sets have been used to make shooting benches for a rifle range. Expensive, but no more so than the Trojan horses. I am saving up for another set of the shorter ones.

[Edwin Santos]

I'm a big fan of the Japanese style sawhorses illustrated here:

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2009/11/01/smart-sawhorses

Good exercise in joinery too. I've probably made about 20 over the years. A dozen will nest together in a tiny space. If not mortise and tenon, you could make them with dowels, pocket screws, some other joinery of choice.

[Von Bickley]

Another vote for Trojan. Well pleased with them and would buy them again.

[David M Peters]

I like the style that puts the wide side of the top board facing up thus giving you either a sawhorse or a mini-mini-workbench. I've made two fairly similar to ones Paul Sellers has written about (https://paulsellers.com/tag/building-a-saw-horse/).

[Neil Gaskin]

Wes,

We have a few different styles I like. We built about 4 pair of the below link for general job-site/shop use. They are sturdy and pretty straight forward to make.

https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/96307

For manufactured I really like:

http://www.fultoncorp.com/stablemate-folding-steel-sawhorse/

We have a hand full of these as well.

[Mike Henderson]

I had the burros for quite a while. They're good but take up too much storage space. Some time back, I got a good set of steel folding sawhorses - I don't remember the brand. They work fine and take a LOT less storage space.

More expensive than the burros, though.

Mike

[Tim Nollan]

This is useful info for me
Thanks

[Frederick Skelly]

I switched from saw horses to Centipedes a couple years back. They make multiple sizes. LINK (https://www.amazon.com/Centipede-Tool-K100-Expandable-Portable/dp/B00T8ABQIS/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?crid=2K0FGWS56DK9R&keywords=centipede+tool+k100+sawhorse+expandable+2 %27x4%27+portable+work+system&qid=1556879100&s=gateway&sprefix=Centipede+tool%2Caps%2C230&sr=8-1-fkmrnull)

[Mark Klosky]

I really like the Rugged Buddys by Target Precision. They are a bit pricey but they are solid and nearly bomb proof. We have set them up with planks for an elevated solid work platform without any concerns about capacity. I attach the legs to a piece of microlam for a sub base that will stay flat and straight, then attach a 2x6 flat for a sacrificial surface on top of that. I own 2 sets and use them at the job site and around the shop all of the time. They look good enough for a quicky picnic table if I need one at home.

[Mark Klosky]

I like the Rugged Buddys, have 2 sets that get used a lot both at jobsites and around the shop. I attach the legs to a piece of microlam to keep them flat and straight, then attach a 2x6 flat for a sacrificial top. These horses do not rock or wobble at all. We have used them to build an elevated work platform many times with out a second thought. They are a little pricey, but I doubt that they will ever need to be replaced.