Basic sawhorses

OK, so the strange perspective of this picture is reminiscent of the Stonehenge prop in Spinal Tap, but this saw horse is only 92 cm high. That is the same height as my bench, as was the plan. These are made of decking grade Port Orford cedar but you might consider using something harder - depending on the type of abuse you intend to inflict.




In my case, I needed to extend my bench top, take work outside, and go mobile. This design was loosely copied from horses made by Jay van Arsdale. He has refined this basic design over time and I liked the ones I tried at his shop. There are 8 main parts per horse: 2 feet, 2 legs, 2 upper beams, 2 lower. Then add 2 (or 4) wedges that are used to lock the lower beam in place.

The lower beam is notched at each end and drops onto a half dovetail (see shitagekama 下鎌 or sagekama joint) that fits the angled mortise in the leg. The wedge holds this in place, or you can use two bypass wedges. It is rigid either way. The tops of the legs have a simple notch cut that fits into recesses (stop dadoes) in the top beam.

Top beam, not seated (for illustration)

side or end view

The good thing is there is no glue or fasteners used so you can break these horses down to essential parts rapidly. And there is a lot of latitude in this flexible design.

nested

initial sketch and notes