I beam saw horses, what do you charge?

[Lasershark]

I don't think anyone has yet pointed out that the "splayed" design is stackable when not in use:

[Jim_Rogers]

Many years ago, I found a sawhorse design in a book. I have made lots of them.
The do not use 2" stock only 1" boards.



 

I was going to sell them at a local hardware store. Someone asked me if I had my insurance policy all paid up. I asked why? They said if the sawhorse fails you could be sued.
I never sold any to any store because of that.
I have made them like this and then added another 2x6 on top of the top cap piece of 1by to make them a little taller and to allow the skill saw to cut into the 2by and not damage the top cap piece.

We use a lot of these when timber framing. 

I have also done a YouTube video showing how to put them together, which includes the dimensions.

I know this design is not a true "I" beam design, but it works for me and the do nest, stack up nice.

Jim Rogers

[Larry]

Some 17 years ago Bibbyman and Pro Sawyer Mary came up with plans for extra heavy duty sawhorses.  Gilman, another member made a pdf of the plans and posted.  Plans and pictures can be found here.

Handy things around the mill in Sawmills and Milling

Pictures of the set I made are the last post on that page.  Later I made a set out of walnut just for bragging rights....can't find those pictures.  They are still in use, but the feet have started to rot.

[beenthere]

Jim Rogers
Your design looks strong as well as light weight. Good combination. 

[Old Greenhorn]

Larry, thanks for that referred post. you sent me down a 45 minute rabbit hole but it was fun and informative!

[btulloh]

X2 on Jim's horses.  The work well and easy to make out of cull 1x6 material.  There's a video of him making one on his utube channel as well. I've made several pair in both horse and pony size. Sturdy and quick. 

The i beam design is a good classic design as well and and easy to throw together on a jobsite. Good to have both designs in your brainbox.  Jim's design holds up better over time. 

[Stephen1]

Larry I made 2 sets of those  from Mary and Bibbyman over 12 years ago. They died last year.
They were a great help around the sawmill. The perfect height to stack lumber on. I plan on building some more this year. 

[beenthere]

Larry I made 2 sets of those  from Mary and Bibbyman over 12 years ago. They died last year.

Not Mary and Bibbyman... I don't think.

[caveman]

I like having some lightweight saw donkeys made out of 1x4's and 24" long legs for stacking wood on and to use when cutting.  I have crushed far too many of them around the mill, especially when any end-to-end force is introduced (when bumping lumber stacked on them with the tractor forks). 

For use around the mill, I made some out of 2" and 4" pipe.  these are short horses as well.  So far, these have proven durable.

For lightweight, foldable units, a couple of sticks of 3/4" and 1" conduit will enable very functional horses to be built in short order.  The legs of one side weld to the 1" cross piece and the legs to the other are welded to the 3/4" cross piece which fits inside the 1" to act as a hinge.  A short length of mule tape or other material serves to keep the legs separated at the right distance when in use.  Just grab the top and they fold shut and are easy to store or transport.  I'm sure my description is as clear as mud.

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, a photo would probably help with that explanation a bit. :D

For stacking lumber off the mill I use these. I make them from the off cuts that cone in around 2x4 size and either missed the size mark or have unsaleable defects. Top plate, center plate, 4' long (same as forks), cross pieces are 12" long, feet are 4" square. This allows me to use up about every drop of wood laying around the saws in the shop. Very stable even on rough ground, easy to repair when they get whacked and the stack doesn't have far to fall if it gets really whacked. I use screws, not nails. It takes longer, but they are repairable. I think of them as semi-disposable and whenever I have some oddball 2x4's laying around I make a few up. I never seem to have enough.



 

[Stephen1]

Larry I made 2 sets of those  from Mary and Bibbyman over 12 years ago. They died last year.

Not Mary and Bibbyman... I don't think.

No ....The saw horses... :D

[aigheadish]

Tom, those low, little ones look super handy to have around. I'm currently rich in 2x4 and 2x6 sitting around (leftover barn materials mostly) and I don't have a vehicle that is good for transporting pallets to set logs on to keep them up off the ground. It seems like something like this would be perfect to make several handfuls of and rearrange my current piles to sit on them. I only have so may logs or big chunks of wood I really would like to keep from rotting so I'd think 10 of these would be sweet.

[Wlmedley]

Trim guy posted a picture of his miter saw stand and I made one similar.I'll have to say I have had this saw since 1987,the year I built my house and this is the first time I have enjoyed using it.Funny how something so simple could work so good.Many thanks.

 

  

[trimguy]

Looks good !

[doc henderson]

that looks like my Ryobi, fist miter saw i got in Albany NY at a builder's square.

[Wlmedley]

I think that's the brand.Bought it in 1987 or 1988 to trim my house.Couldn't really afford a stand and always used it in the floor with scrap boards holding trim level with base.My knees were a lot younger then :laugh:

[doc henderson]

I bought mine in 1992.  I loaned it to a great internal med doc friend of mine in 1998.  He crossed his arms to make a cut and got a bad cut into his L forearm.  He later died at age 49 just like his father of a MI. 

[Wlmedley]

I should probably upgrade being brake doesn't work anymore and now that I have a good stand I'll probably use it a lot more.Problem is I'm tight and it still cuts good so I probably won't  :laugh:

[711ac]

I was curious about the I beam title... a guy built this style sawhorse that I worked for over 40 years ago, turned out to be a best friend even after I went out on my own. I've been building them the same way ever since for the residential building business. I've never ever seen anyone with this design in over 40 years until now. I'm kinda humbled and possibly disappointed. My friend never claimed that it was his design, but it's just a clever sawhorse, except when you use a pair or 3 every day as a big minor part of your trade.
Notice this design "splayes" the legs in both direction (like someone above) and in my opinion making almost a built in diagonal brace of the legs. 


 

 

 
Right now all 3 pair are on duty at my building of my sawmill building. 
I've set a full unit of 2x6x12' on this style in the past. 

[btulloh]

The gussets are nice touch.

[Old Greenhorn]

I think it's fair to say that these are an 'industry standard' among us type folks. Nobody owns them and everybody has their own variations. On yours I note the gap between the vertical parts of beam. This is neat idea. It cuts the weight and reduces the material needed. I am wondering, what is the angle on your 'splay'? it looks like somewhere between 5 and 10°. I may try both of these things on my next set. The gussets are nice too, but that seems like work to me. :D

[doc henderson]

legs on the end will allow staking one on top of the other with the gussets.

[711ac]

I think it's fair to say that these are an 'industry standard' among us type folks. Nobody owns them and everybody has their own variations. On yours I note the gap between the vertical parts of beam. This is neat idea. It cuts the weight and reduces the material needed. I am wondering, what is the angle on your 'splay'? it looks like somewhere between 5 and 10°. I may try both of these things on my next set. The gussets are nice too, but that seems like work to me. :D

What I was shown all those years ago was the angle outward (legnthwise) was an inch and a half - the short side of a framing  square across the 1x6 leg, top and bottom. We always used the builders store bought lumber 😄
I do like using a treated 5/4 deck board for the legs. We moved them around constantly in a home building "environment" and light but sturdy was important.

(0 to 1 1/2" across the 1x6)

[Wlmedley]

 

 To hot to do much today so I made me another set of sawhorses mostly to try out new miter saw stand.Put open area in I beam like 711ac.Built out of poplar but I got fancy and added a 1" quarter sawn red oak board to top.

[WDH]

Never seen a sawhorse with a quartersawn oak top; next thing you know you will be making them out of walnut :D.