EZ Sawhorse Plans/Cutting Station

Before I started this project, my idea of a sawhorse was something I remembered from my dad's garage - an old beat up and wobbly pair of crooked legs that had junk piled on top of it. That's why I never bothered to build a pair for myself. I guess I never saw the point of having sawhorses in the shop, taking up space with all the other worktables I had collected.

This sawhorse plan changed my mind about all that. What I discovered is that a sawhorse can be one of most useful pieces of shop furniture in my basement and garage. Sure, I could have always bought a pair of plastic sawhorses from Home Depot, but as you'll soon see, a pair of sawhorses like these can do so much more...and at less cost.

Cut Large Panels
Plywood is one of my favorite materials for building simple wood projects. Unfortunately, the large panels (4' x 8') can be difficult to work with. The panels usually end up on the floor, with you having to get down on your hands and knees to measure, mark, and cut them to size (not very fun).

The EZ Panel Cutter takes plywood off the floor—and puts it up within easy reach. It also provides a nice place to store plywood for an upcoming project—conveniently tucked away in a corner and away from concrete floors and walls (to avoid moisture damage).

More Reasons to Build a Sawhorse

Work From Any Angle
Working on most benches and shop tables means that one side of my work piece is always unreachable. A sawhorse solves this problem with its open-frame - which lets me work on all sides of my project at the same time. I can even get down and underneath the project and reach hard-to-get-to corners for joinery and finishing.

Perfect Clamping Station
I never seem to have enough places to clamp a board. Workbenches and shop tables are never the ideal place to clamp things down, at least without installing some expensive vises. This sawhorse plan solves my problem by providing me an almost endless set of possibilities for clamping boards.

Tips for Building a Sawhorse
The worst (and most likely) thing that can go wrong when building a sawhorse is to end up with something that wobbles. This problem can always be traced back to a faulty leg - either one leg that is shorter or longer than the rest. A little extra time and care in making the sawhorse legs goes a long way in making the rest of the project move ahead without a hitch.

I like to use the cut-as-you-go method for most of the sawhorse project, which means I measure, layout, and cut each piece one at a time. However, you can use the first leg as a template for those that follow. That's one way to make sure all the legs are exactly same without even having to measure.