Project Information
I recently had a need for some sawhorses. I wanted to build something worth keeping in the shop, because I knew they would be handy to have around. I strongly considered Matthias Wandel's stackable sawhorses because I knew they would be sturdy and easy to build, but I just don't have a good place in the garage to store those. Searching around for folding sawhorses, I came across Canexican's popular Shopdog design.
I didn't end up buying his plans, because the design is pretty simple. All credit goes to him though. One of the beautiful parts of the design is that you can make a variety of attachments to use with the base. Pretty much any "2x" material can be clamped in the top, and when the top rails get torn up from use they are simple to replace.
I made mine from a few 2×4's with some 3/4" boards (from the cull bin at Home Depot) for the braces, to save some weight. All the joints are just glued and screwed. I figured out that I could recess the brace on one side to save a little room when they are folded up. Of course, this can't be done on both sides or they wouldn't be able to fold completely.
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I also came up with the idea to use a taut line hitch on the bracing strap (Boy Scout knots ftw!). That way, the base can be pulled tight which clamps the removable 2×4 in place.
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Finally, I incorporated a french cleat into one of the braces to make them easy to store on the wall. This works great. They don't take up much space at all in the back corner of the garage.
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So thanks again to Canexican for this awesome design. They are very sturdy and easy to build. As you can see in the pictures, they have already been used for their inital purpose - painting some doors with a spray gun.
I didn't end up buying his plans, because the design is pretty simple. All credit goes to him though. One of the beautiful parts of the design is that you can make a variety of attachments to use with the base. Pretty much any "2x" material can be clamped in the top, and when the top rails get torn up from use they are simple to replace.
I made mine from a few 2×4's with some 3/4" boards (from the cull bin at Home Depot) for the braces, to save some weight. All the joints are just glued and screwed. I figured out that I could recess the brace on one side to save a little room when they are folded up. Of course, this can't be done on both sides or they wouldn't be able to fold completely.
I also came up with the idea to use a taut line hitch on the bracing strap (Boy Scout knots ftw!). That way, the base can be pulled tight which clamps the removable 2×4 in place.
Finally, I incorporated a french cleat into one of the braces to make them easy to store on the wall. This works great. They don't take up much space at all in the back corner of the garage.
So thanks again to Canexican for this awesome design. They are very sturdy and easy to build. As you can see in the pictures, they have already been used for their inital purpose - painting some doors with a spray gun.
