Looking to build folding sawhorses
I need about four sawhorses to lay my sailboat mast (50') horizontally while I am doing the preparation work in the spring.
Ideally, I should be able to transport these four sawhorses in the trunk of my car from my house to the yacht club. Then bring them back home and store them for the rest of the season.
So far, I have not been able to come up with a design that is foldable, strong, and easy to use and store.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.
TIA
Denis
Drop by Lowes or Home Depot. They have folding sawhorses that should meet your needs.
DonkeyHody "A dwarf on a giant's shoulders sees the farther of the two"
How foldable/portable does it need to be?
If this is a one time only thing, why not just get some sawhorse brackets, available everywhere? Cut some lengths of 2 X 4 to fit. Maybe nail on something on the top board to keep the mast from rolling. Maybe make the top board short as well to save space, etc.
Then screw it together with screws. Mark the 2 X 4's clearly so that you put together the right board for each saw horse. Disassaemble and store. When it comes time to do your project, throw the parts into the trunk, bring it there and reassemble. Bring your batter operated screw gun. Ot get a yankee screwdriver of a brace and bit.
When done, extract the crews and throw it all back into the trunk. This approach would be far cheaper than almost any other option.
You don't want the mast falling and snapping. No way to fix it, even if rot doesn't start creeping in. Better to lay the mast across several 2 ft blocks of 6 x 6.
IMHO, don't bother with folders. Once you have more than a couple, stacking is just as good. It's also simpler and more rigid.
Easy way to make them stack is to make each one of a group slightly longer (by two leg thicknesses). This saves the need for all those clever nesting approaches.
Plywood skins make good diagonalisation and rigidity. Much easier than lots of mortices too.
There was a design posted round here a while ago for three-legged sawhorses that nested very neatly. Not the most rigid things in the world (I sometimes work 12" square oak), but they'd support something the weight of a mast for light working on it. Tripod bases also work better on lumpy floors. I like the set I built, I just don't use them for framing work.
For car-portable trestles where I do need folders, I bought them. =A36 each from Lidl, in 1" square steel tube. If I need them that small, steel beats timber.
As mentioned by Don Quixote's cousin, the HD brand folding saw horses are quite servicable. I use 2 to hold Soap Box Derby cars that weigh up to 255 lbs, driver included. Look for the style with the locking shelf on the bottom which supplies a lot of rigidity and a place to lay your tools.
I had one hit by a full size car (drunken driver) and other than a 3" chip on one leg, the saw horse just folded up and bounced down the road.
There are cheaper version available at the X-Marts and Mr. Second's, but I would avoid them.
Tue, Dec 18, 2007, 10:45am (EST+1) snipped-for-privacy@nb.sympatico.ca () doth claimeth: Looking to build folding sawhorses
Nah, you don't want folding sawgorses; you want take down sawgorses. The folders are a real pain in the patooty (technical medical term for those of you that don't know). Plenty of plans on line, free plans. A little thought of plus is, when they're no longer reqired, you can cut 'em up and use the ply for small jigs, boxes, whatever.
JOAT I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do them.
- Picasso
Go to Google. Type in *folding sawhorses* when it comes up, click on *images* You'll see a lot of various designs.
Smitty
I have 8 of the black and yellow Stanley versions and have to agree. Unless I needed different dimensions, I wouldn't bother making them.
Every so often, the no-frills Stanley horses go on sale for ~ $12 each.
re: The folders are a real pain in the patooty
Just curious as to why you have that feeling?
I have to load my sawhorses in and out of a trailer for Derby racing, as well as move them around a lot as we work on the cars. One finger in a hole in the shelf unlocks and folds them in essentially one move and then they slip into just about any free space in the trailer, either vertical or horizontal. I (or the kids) can carry 2 of these and set them up in an instant, when can be important when we're holding a 175 lb Derby car. I have a sliding tray system in the trailer for transporting the Derby cars and use a folding sawhorse to support the front end of a shelf after it is extended from the trailer. I can position the folder with one hand while supporting the loaded tray with the other.
If the type of take down saw horses you are referring to are like these, I would find it a real PITP to take these down and put them into trailer every time I needed them. Moving them around as often as I have to also seems like it would be inconvenient.
Couldn't agree more. I was so used to making my own that I balked at the price. Then I sat down and figured out just how much time and material went into making them. Ouch.
I have a pair that is about six years old and are just now broken in enough places to need to replace them. After all these years of being used and abused, they have well been worth the money.
Robert
Wed, Dec 19, 2007, 5:38am (EST-3) snipped-for-privacy@eznet.net (DerbyDad03) doth query: re: The folders are a real pain in the patooty Just curious as to why you have that feeling?
Because I find them a real pain in the patooty? Hmm, yep, that's it. The take down sawhorse you show would be a real pain in the patooty for 'me' also. If I was gonna shift a sawhorse around often I'd probably put wheels on it. I tend to make stuff like sawhorses anyway, and I'd tailor them to what I needed at the time. One size doesn't fit all.
JOAT I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do them.
- Picasso
of sawhorses with this discussion in mind.
I'd advise the OP to go by and take a look. They have some steel folders that aren't much bigger when folded than a length of 2x4. Might not be what he's looking for but if it is and the price is right it saves some work.
RE: Subject
These are for a sailor to support the mast during spring launch season.
Must consider sailor mentality which is::
The wind is free and so should everything else.
As a sailor myself, would approach the problem as follows:
Build dedicated saw horses that are at least 36" high, which is a non standard height for commercial saw horses.
Build them with a hole drilled thru them to pass a 1/4" link chain thru it.
After launch, chain and lock the saw horses to the storage cradle for the summer, then get a beer.
Lew
"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:13mljrmkj1fil66 @corp.supernews.com:
*snip*
Ever thought of beer as a security feature? Leave two cases of beer next to your stored valuables, where the criminal will see them first. The criminal will then be tempted to take the beer, one case in each arm. He'll have a couple and then think about your stuff again, at which point, hopefully he'll be too drunk to remember where it was.
Puckdropper
Anyone who would be too drunk to remember something after having only a couple of beers probably doesn't drink enough for the beer to have been a temptation in the first place.
Anyone who would be too drunk to remember something after having only a couple of beers probably doesn't drink enough for the beer to have been a temptation in the first place.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I appreciate the information. I have a fair amount of 4/4 and 8/4 eastern white pine in my garage. At this time, it is not too comfortable to work in my garage workshop because of the cold Canadian winter. This will give me time to look around for the plastic folding sawhorses.
Merry Christmas
I have a set I bought at Home Depot several years ago. They fold up nice and neat and are height adjustable and even sport carrying handles.
They're made of steel and at about $20 each, you can't build em for that. Have a look:
Ahhh... a 50' sailboat. I have always wanted to learn how to sail. One of those things I suppose will never happen in this lifetime.
Kate
I need about four sawhorses to lay my sailboat mast (50') horizontally while I am doing the preparation work in the spring.
Ideally, I should be able to transport these four sawhorses in the trunk of my car from my house to the yacht club. Then bring them back home and store them for the rest of the season.
So far, I have not been able to come up with a design that is foldable, strong, and easy to use and store.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.
TIA
Denis
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