Simple Sawhorse Plans

Build yourself a decent pair of sawhorses this year!

Everyone needs a pair (or two, or three) of sawhorses. It certainly helps if they are not wobbly and can stand on their own, and are beefy enough to support more than a box of matches. There are way too many subpar (or worse) sawhorses out there, and if yours look like they’ve been run over a few times… you deserve better, really.

On DIY and owner-builder construction sites, they are often the primary work surface for all sorts of carpentry work, and they are likely to be used as a ladder, table, a place to sit, a tool table… you get the point. They’re pretty essential, and if they actually work well — heck, you will likely be a more efficient builder.

I am happy to follow an existing design when I can, and these simple sawhorse plans fit the bill for our myriad building projects this summer. It’s nice to follow instructions sometimes, you know?

Simple Sawhorse Plans

These sawhorses come from Chris Schwarz, a fine woodworker who is known for his workbenches and furniture. You can get the plans for free here. However, these are intended for a shop setting, and are very low (as true sawhorses typically are). I wanted something taller, that could be more useful for sawing and chiseling timbers. However, the design is sound and can be very easily scaled up.

DIY SawhorsesI recommend this design as-is if you are working in a shop doing strictly saw work, but for carpentry and construction, and even timber framing, a height adjustment is in order. I went for 30″ tall. I also scaled up the dimensions to include a 2×8 top — nice and wide so that a single sawhorse can be effectively used to clamp shorter pieces.

There’s not much lumber in these, and you can get by with going through your scrap pile for many of the shorter lengths. The bracing and legs are slightly notched, which will take more time than simply screwing stuff together, but the results are a much more rigid sawhorse — which is really the most important feature.

Do yourself a favor this year and build a decent pair of sawhorses. It shouldn’t take too much of your time, and you’ll likely save a lot of frustration later if your work surface doesn’t feel like it’s about to collapse at any moment!