If you are a new homeowner, you probably invested in some of those plastic saw horses for use in your occasional projects. We hope you did because, if you didnโt, youโre probably going to use one of the non-standard ones we list below. Please donโt. They are dangerous on many levels. They are probably not as stable as you think. They tend to be different heights, causing you to make imprecise cuts. They may even be parts of your body that are just asking for trouble. Most professionals can make a saw horse out of scrap lying around the jobsite in a few minutes.
When they are done with the job, they just break them down and throw them out with the scrap. For the rest of us, it takes just five 2x4x8s to make a basic pair of saw horses (thatโs about $10 in materials plus nails), so there is little excuse not to do it right. Add some scrap plywood and 1x material, and you can make it more stable. Plus, itโs a great starter project that teaches you a lot.
Here are 5 examples of what NOT to do:
1) Milk Crates
Or other boxes. These usually come into play when someone has a miter saw or table saw and needs something on the other end to prop it up. Sure, it isnโt as important as the side with the spinning blade of death, but what if the 8-foot 2ร4 vibrates off while youโre leaning over to make the cut? Is it really worth the contusion and/or concussion youโre about to have?
2) Truck Tailgates
We see these in use on jobsites all the time. Aside from the risk of damage to the truck, youโre looking at a surface that isnโt level and was never made to be used as such. Plus, if your blade hits the tailgate, youโre in for a world of hurt. At best, youโve scratched the paint and dulled the blade. At worst, youโre looking at a loss of blood and/or limbs from the blade kicking back and burying into your soft pink flesh. Overly descriptive? Good. Weโre trying to make an impression here.
3) Outdoor Furniture
Weโve seen many people use their outdoor bistro tables, chairs, and just about anything else in a pinch. Sure, they are handy, but they are rarely steady enough, level enough, or even tough enough for the weight youโre about to put on them. Plus, your wife picked those out, and you know what sheโll do to you if you cut the arms off one of her teak chairs. Notch a makeshift sawhorse, big deal. Notch that $1500 patio furniture set, and you might be sleeping in the workshop for a few days.
4) โEdgesโ
Stair edges, deck edges, porch edgesโฆ anything that someone can use to cantilever a piece of wood over to make a cut. The trouble, of course, is that you also risk cutting into said edge and damaging something that will take far more time, energy, and money to fix. You also have the added problem of never having enough room, so you tend to over-extend your cut and lose any leverage you had โ a problem compounded by the fact that you donโt want to cut into your stairs or whatever youโre using.
5) Knee
Now this one is just stupid, but we see people doing it all the time. The thing that bothers us is not that people arenโt careful when they do this โ in fact, they tend to be extra careful. We just donโt like that there is no room for error. If you have any problem or any issue with that cut, you are in trouble. The blade binds, the saw kicks, the wood shoots or twists out of your handโฆThe best result is that you drop the saw. The worstโฆ well, we personally know someone who took a circular saw through the thigh. Weโll let you use your imagination on that one.
Building a simple sawhorse isnโt terribly difficult. In fact, it takes about 15 minutes at most and costs only $10 if you do it right. Weโll put out an article shortly that explains exactly how to make one so you can whip a pair together for your next project and save yourself a lot of hassle.
