Simple Sturdy Sawhorse - Part 1

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Here's one of my favorite sawhorse designs. They provide such stable hard working support that I tend to refer to them as workhorses. I made this pair to serve as the base for a temporary workbench and machine stand. They  measure 30" tall by 24" long. That's not as long as most sawhorses but I plan to use them to support a 24" wide piece of plywood and I don't want to have to worry about bumping into the ends. The design works equally well with other typical saw horse dimensions. The feet on this set of horses are 18" long.

I used 8/4 popular, but any sturdy soft or hardwood will do the job. I've used construction grade 2 x 4s in the past, which is easy to work with, but the final horses aren't as sturdy as ones made out of hardwood. Because these horses last a long time, I find hardwood worth the extra cost.

All the parts have the same finished width and thickness, which simplifies rough cutting. For this set of horsed the finished size will be 1-3/4" thick by 3-1/4" wide. Rough cutting 1/4" oversize  in width is usually enough.

Joint one face of each part first. This provides a good flat surface to place against the fence in then next step.

With the jointed face firmly against the fence, joint one edge.

Plane the other face and edge until you reach the final dimensions of 1-3/4" by 3-1/4".

Saw a 10-degree bevel on one edge of each foot. The ends of the feet are also mitered at 10-degree.

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