Sawhorses can be the most useful yet most overlooked piece of equipment in the shop, their existence an afterthought or hand-me-down.  Sawhorse uses vary as much as the designs.  So what should you look for when building a functional set of horses?  You should definitely keep it simple.  There is no need to over-engineer them, and they shouldn’t by too heavy or clunky.  This sawhorse, made by Louis Mackall of Guilford, Conn, is just one option.  Its biggest advantages are the basic design, strength, stackability, and easy construction.

Of course, these aren’t the only well-designed horses out there.  My hands-down favorite is the Krenovian sawhorse, and it just so happens that Fine Woodworking is doing a comprehensive article on those in issue #208 (hitting newsstands in early September).

If you can’t wait for that, and it is worth waiting for, or you want to look at sawhorses beyond Mackall’s, Tim Killen wrote a great article detailing how to Build a Classic Sawhorse and there is Christian Becksvoort’s three Sawhorses for the Shop from issue #161. You should also check out this cool post over at the Toolcrib blog, which rounds up  “24 Free Sawhorse Plans in the Hunt for the Ultimate Sawhorse.”

CLICK HERE to  download the free PDF woodworking plan for the sawhorses.