Before you come to know about how to use a sawhorse, there might be a question in some people’s mind that what is a sawhorse actually? And why do they even need a sawhorse in the first place? Well, a sawhorse is a four-legged firm structure used to support materials for sawing mainly. There is another type of small use which we will discuss it briefly later.
A sawhorse is used to elevate the workpiece and make it stand on a comfortable height so that the worker can work on it in ease.
A sawhorse can be used with various types of saws like a circular saw, miter saw, chainsaw, jigsaw and many more according to the necessity of the worker.
Types of sawhorses
There are three types of sawhorse used mostly-
- Metallic sawhorse
- Wooden sawhorse
- Plastic sawhorse
Each kind of sawhorse has advantages of their own. The most important common thing about them is that they hardly have any disadvantages at all. The metallic sawhorses are the strongest of all. Then comes wooden sawhorses and then the ones made of plastic following them. All of their works and uses are the same except for some special advantages.
Each of their advantages is same except the plastic sawhorse. They have a few extra bonus benefits.
Plastic sawhorses are light-weight, unlike its metallic and wooden brothers. But more importantly, they have adjustable height. So they are far more comfortable than the other types of sawhorses. Another plus point of plastic sawhorse is they can be easily folded. Which makes them easy to store anywhere in a little space. But some of the other two kinds of sawhorses also have the folding facility.
Why do you need a sawhorse?
The good answer is that you might not need a sawhorse at all. You may have a big space with tables for working on different projects in your shop or factory, etc. But some people may not have these facilities in their woodworking place. People like DIY workers or one-time woodworker or those whose hobby is woodworking. They do not need a big special woodworking table or have a workshop as big as the professional workers. This is why people need sawhorses.
Sawhorses are portable, and small in structure. And they can be used to support any kind of workpiece of any size and structure easily in a small space. Perfect for the DIY workers. Where a work table or workbench takes a lot of room or takes a lot of a room.
How to use sawhorses
The using technique of sawhorses is one of the easiest things in the world! You have to take two sawhorses and position them parallel to each other. Not very close and also not too far. The distance between them depends on the workpiece of yours. If it is long, then you have to position the sawhorses a bit far from each other.
To make sure that the sawhorse is rigidly supporting the workpiece, put the end side of the workpiece at the top of the sawhorse. But not too much at the end. Because if the workpiece is supported in the extreme edge, there is a possibility of falling down or misplacing in the middle of cutting with a saw.
You are also allowed to use a third sawhorse at the middle to ensure firm support from the sawhorses.
As is I have said before, you can use the plastic sawhorses to adjust the height of your working according to your height and choice. The other two types of sawhorses do not have this ability. This is why I would say that plastic sawhorses are the best to use.
You can also use a sawhorse as a shelf for putting important things you need during working. You have to build the shelf yourself as it does not come with the sawhorse. You just need a piece of wood in the shape of the lower space between the sawhorses. Just simply take the piece of wood and slide it over the cross braces of the legs of sawhorses. You may have to cut a bit of the wood which you will be using as a platform for making it suitable for the s.horse legs.
Now you have a little shelf with your sawhorse where you can put all the necessary tools and things for working instead of moving here and there and picking them up and dropping them down over and over. This will give your back a bit less stress.
Another special use of sawhorse is, they can also be used as police barriers for any situation for controlling crowd. But this type of sawhorse is specially made for this task and has a less working purpose for construction works.
