homemade saw horse ideas

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hi everyone and a happy new year !I want to build myself a pair of good homemade sturdy saw horses (i'm sick with the cheap sh...tty wooden ones)I was wondering if any of you guys ever built that and if you had any ideas that i could get inspired from.The humble hobbyist that i am has a few (ideas) already but i'm far from being as clever and experienced as most of the people on this forum.I just know that i want them to be adjustable in height and i want to be able to add some extensions on the side (for this i'm thinking of using a rectangle tube in which i can slide some smaller tube etc...)not sure about the legs : tube or angle iron ? ...thanks in advance
Reply:what will they be used for? I'd suggest cutting some rec tubing down the lenght of the wider side and using it to put some wood in so that if you cut on them you don't catch metal if you get to close to the horse.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:hithanksthey will be for general working (cutting, welding long stuff etc...)good tip the wooden thing but i want them to be (almost) perfectly flat so i can use them to clamp and weld long stuff from time to time (i built a workbench already but it's kind of small since i don't have that many space down in my "cave"
Reply:perfectly flat and saw horses don't really go hand in hand. As that will depend on the ground they are on. basically requiring lots of adjustment to get flat. but I see no reason why you couldn't get it flat with the wood. at least just as flat as you could with metal.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:you're rightthat's why i'm trying to find some ideas to make them adjustable as much as possiblei'm trying to draw a sketch ( i'm fighting with sketchup !!!!) it's not finished but gives an overall idea of what i came up withmight be wrong all the way for what i know but ... Attached Images
Reply:I have a number of ones around with about 2" legs and the top is about 3" i beam or T shape on some with the leg down.  They stand about waist high.  You can carry them but not a lot more, but wood and fold up sawhorses don't jive when your really building things out of steel.
Reply:If you want rigidity, dump the swing out legs. Weld them rigid and put leveler screws in a couple of the feet. Also, dump the extension wing thing. Will only cause you grief, as it will never be stable due to the slop in the receiver tube. If you want an extension for a special project then clamp or tack weld one onto the top of the horse, remove when done. Not sure what the second tube above the first is for, but can tell you it is not going to be sold and stable.  In my opinion it is best to have as simple a design with as few moving parts as possible. I have had the best luck with as big a welding table as I could fit and then using adjustable pipe jacks to level, support, etc material that sticks out beyond the table. Horse and jackstands is a close second, so long as the horses were welded rigid.
Reply:jive ?sorry do you mean like "fit" ?and yeah i am a bit worried about keeping the weight down as much as possible to be able to move them around
Reply:Originally Posted by walkerIf you want rigidity, dump the swing out legs. Weld them rigid and put leveler screws in a couple of the feet. Also, dump the extension wing thing. Will only cause you grief, as it will never be stable due to the slop in the receiver tube. If you want an extension for a special project then clamp or tack weld one onto the top of the horse, remove when done. Not sure what the second tube above the first is for, but can tell you it is not going to be sold and stable.  In my opinion it is best to have as simple a design with as few moving parts as possible. I have had the best luck with as big a welding table as I could fit and then using adjustable pipe jacks to level, support, etc material that sticks out beyond the table. Horse and jackstands is a close second, so long as the horses were welded rigid.
Reply:8 foot horse made from 5x6.7 channel and 1x1/8 sq tube.  Make 'em as tall and as long as you like:Use any channel width that suits you.I recently acquired a pair of horses made entirely of 2" angle.  Five pieces each, two pcs welded together to form a big inverted V, and one across the top of two such inverted Vs.  do not have a photo but will try to post one later.I also made up some short horses if you want to call them than, a stub of H collumn with a single 2" sq post on each end.   One post has a length of 2x1 rectangle stretched out across the bottom end perpendicular to the H section so as to not fall over.  Handy, I put a button of a puddle on the bottom of each end of the rect section to maklelike a pad... these now have only three points in contact witht he floor so they are as stable as a milking stool.  Just dont push too hard sideways at the other end and they stay upright.  I will get a photo of these later, too.- Mondo- MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:great thanks for all your answersi agree with the simplicity concept it's just that i'm always finding myself adding a little shim here, and a few little pieces of wood or steel there to get to the correct height hence the adjustable idea
Reply:I also made up some short horses if you want to call them than, a stub of H collumn with a single 2" sq post on each end.   One post has a length of 2x1 rectangle stretched out across the bottom end perpendicular to the H section so as to not fall over.  Handy, I put a button of a puddle on the bottom of each end of the rect section to maklelike a pad... these now have only three points in contact witht he floor so they are as stable as a milking stool.  Just dont push too hard sideways at the other end and they stay upright.  I will get a photo of these later, too.- Mondoi'm not sure i understand everything !!!  think  i'll wait for some pictures on this one !
Reply:i do like the idea of the "five pcs of angle iron" one since santa claus still hasn't brought me the huge farm i'm dreaming of this year and space is still one of my priority i really want to be able to fold them away somehow
Reply:@Mick120, Nicely done.__________________
Reply:2 x 3/16 angle horse, in use (for temporary storage of wood beams.  One of the beams has a rather nasty twist.    ) :How simple is that??  I did not measure them, use the lumber as a guide....  2x12 planks and 8x8 beams.Below are my wide flange horses, 6" wide flange (H section?) 27" long, about 27" high.  There is a flat cap on the bottom of the single leg, the bottom of the 1x2 rect. tubes have a "button" puddle weld to make them even with the 1/4" plate cap on the bottom of th eother leg.  Being only three points are in contact with the floor they do not wobble.  Push hard on the single point end and they will tip over, but you need to push.The biggest problem with these is because the top is a flat surface all of 6" wide it tends to become another horizontal clutter surface and collects all sorts of junk that doesn't belong there.  I need a garage maid to keep the place picked up.  Then there is the tall adjustable post horse.  I needed to support large (and long) items at the same height as my drill press table so I grabbed what I had in the corner and made two of these:The adjustment range is about 16 inches.  Just 2" pipe, 1 1/4" pipe, and 3" channel, all on a 5/8 plate I picked up as leftovers from a steel project several years ago.  Drill a hole, weld on a nut, and put a cross-bar on a bolthead.  The blue collar at the bottom of the upper sectrion of pipe is the protective end cap that came on threaded end of the pipe when it was bought at the HIC.  The top end of the smaller pipe has one also, helps keep the pipes centered but isn't necessary.  I had bought several lengths of pipe to make a temporary gantry when I needed to pull a freezer out of a cellar hole a couple of years ago, the pipe has been on the rack since then. - MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:BTW:Wide channel or wide flange top surface is nice because it allows for easy shimming to gain height when needed.  Just put the shims on the top under the work piece instead of groveling on the floor to shim underneath.  If you have a selection of sq or rect tube drops you can stack as required then tack weld 'em in place to hold things nice and steady.  A couple of minutes with a grinder when done and it all comes apart for easy storage.- MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:Make them 40" high...
Reply:Originally Posted by x26pfwMake them 40" high...
Reply:check out the Trojan fold up ones that you put a 2x4 as long as you want on them. Had some for over ten years with no problems and they hold a pretty good bit of weight. Just Google Trojan saw horse and look at them just made with angle iron 1 1/2x1 1/2.
Reply:thanks everyone for all your answers and the picslots a good ideas ... probably gonna do some kind of a mixture keep you posted
Reply:hi everyone,Finally had some time to work on this project.I went somewhere in between all the ideas and came up with this. Prety happy with it.Adjustable, way sturdier than i'd hoped and i can dismantle it.I say "it" cos now i have to make his twin brother !!!Thanks again Attached Images
Reply:Here is one version, these are used at the shear with roller balls mounted on them. 6" channel and 1 1/4" pipe, not too heavy to move around by hand. These were originally made the same height as our welding tables to handle long pieces. Attached Images
Reply:This is a heavier duty version, still not too bad to move by hand, by welding to the top and bottom flange it makes them self gusseting, they have plenty of capacity for what we do. Neither are adjustable, but shims do the trick. Attached Images
Reply:It's also made to "go" with the table hence the height adjustability and my table is quite high cos i have a very bad back ...i like the self gusseting side of the second one, looks very solid !