I was shown by my dad how to make a good set of sawhorses very similar to what you made Lou. When I was about 17 years old I went to get a job on a construction site as a carpenters helper/labourer. Six guys showed up at 8 AM for one job. The foreman pointed to a stack of scrap lumber and said "Make me a set of sawhorses", two of the guys got back in their cars and left, the rest of us got to work. I made a good set of sawhorses before the other three guys could, the foreman came along, looked at my sawhorses, and said "you got the job" and then proceeded to put the sawhorses into the back of his pickup and he took them home LOL. I made a similar set about two years later and when I moved to Japan I gave them to my dad. 30 years later I was back at my parent's house for a summer vacation, I was doing some maintenance around the old homestead and there were the sawhorses that I'd made 30 years before. They had a few cuts in them and lots of paint on them, but they were still rock solid. My dad had used them for many years. A well-made set of sawhorses taken care of can last a very long time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Love the videos. Cheers from Tokyo. Stu

at first I was dissapointed in the lack of Medullary rays, but it turned out to be very informative, well done.

@jimcap7677

4 жыл бұрын

Bob Bob 🤣🤣🤣 well played, sir...glad I'm not the only one here for the Medullary rays!!! 🤣🤣🤣

@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858

3 жыл бұрын

When's the next post cannot wait

A very good carpenter/joiner friend of mine, I hope he's happy, once told us about going looking for a job as a carpenter on a site in England in the '60's. You'd turn up and ask the foreman for a job, he'd say, There's a lock a timmer, build yersel a horse. He'd come back an hour later and look at the 'horse. Your horse was your resume.

@ricos1497

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting. A lock a timmer? That sounds more Scottish than English.

@carlsimpson4875

4 жыл бұрын

That's true we call it a trade test back in the day most guys sadly can't knock a horse together at least not how it should be done.

@chestersajkowicz1076

4 жыл бұрын

Sadly this is craft that I love . I have seen over the past 20 years that was the initial challenge I would present to new carpenters to show me a set of finely crafted saw horses .and as time goes on the craftsmanship is sliding. . Lou this video is great , how do we get this next generation excited ?

@thomasarussellsr

4 жыл бұрын

@@chestersajkowicz1076 yeah, now a days they run to harbor freight and grab some cheap plastic folding crap for around $10 each and set them up and ask if that was what you wanted. SMH!

@Stillnapie

4 жыл бұрын

Quite a common thing here in the colonies also. When I framed you'd better know how to build a sturdy horse in 15 minutes...

i've never seen the 3-legged buck - learning new stuff every time.

@w.w.oklahoma6010

4 жыл бұрын

Haven't seen a three legged saw horse, but I got a three legged dog??? w.w.

@geoffbuddy1029

4 жыл бұрын

illustrations

@ThomasBenjaminBenHuggett

3 жыл бұрын

Nice concept for shop use. However, not OSHA approved for staging. ;-)

26 minutes of building saw horses and I enjoyed every second of it. Learned something new with the 3 legged one. Great tips added to my limited memory bank. Thank you Sir

To save a step@ 12:50. When using rectangular stock for the legs, there’s no need to swing the miter and bevel on the chop saw for the other two legs, you can cut all four legs with the saw in one position. I know this from 20 years framing houses and blocking out countless hip trusses. The blocks are universal unless you bevel an edge on them.

Nice horses Lou. I've made horses six different ways and these are the prettiest for sure. The extra top member not only helps strengthen the horse but you can replace the top piece if it gets damaged without having to rebuild the entire horse. Thank you for the video, take care and stay well.

@josecaceres6853

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your tutorial, its been very helpfull to me.

When I went to trade school - as a 'first year' carpenter apprentice, the first shop project was a pair of saw horses... given the compound angles of the splayed legs etc, it turned out to be a bit of an exercise in humility.

Anyone who works with wood can learn valuable information and tips from this most knowledgeable craftsman.

I watch you and wish that I was not so dumb and old. Thanks for your expertise, experience and intelligence.

The mug bit is impeccable 😊

Really love the way you work. My dad was a master wood worker, an absolute craftsman and so are you. Watching your video’s makes me miss my dad. So many similarities in the way you work and your unbelievable love for wood and it’s textures.

Hi Lou, as a carpenter foreman , this would be the first challenge I would ask of my new carpenters. If that person could not complete this task I would not consider this person a keeper. Nice to see old traditions.

@thomasbrown9402

4 жыл бұрын

We used to do this at our school, at first even with handsaws (!) and chisels (we did cut the pockets for the legs in the top). I think the original teacher got the plans from Popular Mechanics or somewhere. But over the years the teachers changed, and the current guys feel it's a waste of time ("I want them to build houses, not sawhorses!"). Everyone uses nailguns, cordless saws, and plastic folding sawhorses. The worst part of it is the horses cost like $70, they're super flimsy, and the students still trash them - they didn't build them, so why should they care?

@ironcladranchandforge7292

2 жыл бұрын

@@thomasbrown9402 -- You are exactly right!! It seems nobody knows how to build an old fashioned proper saw horse anymore. Some of this crap on KZread is ridiculous. My first set of sawhorses I built as a teenager were crap and my dad told me so. He then showed me how to build them proper. Well, he was a carpenter and contractor from the old days when stuff was built correctly. That was back when 2x4's were actually 2 inches x 4 inches and sheet rock wasn't around yet, LOL.....

Never get old Lou!!

Nice work Lou, practical and inexpensive. Cheers

Great idea of putting the plywood support board inside instead of outside. Then you can clamp the wood to the saw horse. Thanks for the tip!

@robinbennett5994

4 жыл бұрын

If you do, it won't stack.

@thomasarussellsr

4 жыл бұрын

@@robinbennett5994 with the bottom shelf, they wont syack anyway. And these are shop horses, not portable. And Lou has a BIG shop.

@captainjayc9217

4 жыл бұрын

@@robinbennett5994 Thanks for sharing your view in a different angle. This is always useful to hear different opinion.

Priceless and the timing is impeccable

What a useful episode, thanks! You've got me smiling knowing that even someone so experienced finds the laser in new miter saws almost as nifty as I do 😁

That Chop Saw... omg! Love those saw horses Leu, they look very sturdy and I know they are constructed like no bodies business.

Awesome saw horses. I’ll try this design! Thanks Lou!

You make it look easy Lou! Thanks for the lesson.

I am not a carpenter but a life long lover of working with wood, I'm 64 now but if I'd have seen and heard this gentleman work I think I would have liked to be apprenticed to him . A very calm manner and true professional. Great video thank you

Excellent presentation, great teacher, concisely used time and saw settings. I had never heard of the three legged saw horse. I’ll make a set now with a block on the end to pad contact on the house while She paints over the flower bed . Thank you.

Just truly amazing to watch. Many thanks......all the way from London !

great vid Lou simply and easy great tool for the shop

Lou woke me up to a vintage shipwrights divider, l found a good one on ebay. Use it all the time. It gets me dialed in.

I’ve used that same model chop saw nearly every day on site for 10 years now ,well made piece of kit and parts readily available just requires regular cleaning and machine wax on the bed and slides I can highly recommend it. Great video as usual Lou

Loved your video , Thanks Lou

Thanks for the awesome vid Lou - I'm gonna make me a pair!!

One of the most useful G-d dam videos on KZread. You sir are a prince for sharing it. Absolutely terrific. You made my day, thanks a million.

Love these videos!!!! Keep them coming.

EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS !!!!!

My late Father-in-law was a finish carpenter and he taught me how to build a saw horse with an I-beam at the top using two 1x4’s and one 2x4. The legs are fastened under the top 1by and to the side of the bottom 1by. This sets up the leg angle. A few braces and Bobs your Uncle! A saw horse! Nice video Lou! It brought back memories.

Really good job and crystal clear explanations thanks sir!

As a native Newporter now living in northern Norway discovering this channel has brought back quite a few memories and feelings of nostalgia. The thick RI accent Lou has is music to my ears. I've since lost mine years ago from all of my moves. Now that my journey into woodworking has started I've found this channel to be incredibly instructive and insightful. Lou is a true master craftsman. Thank you so much for this. Cheers! p.s.- Now I'm dying for some clam fritters, a good swordfish steak or even a good Italian grinder.

it is such a pleasure watching you work detail detail detail thanks so much

What a treasure Lou is!

What a great legend love working with wood love watching a professional keep them coming I did subscribe 💪🏼🇦🇺👍🏽👌🏼☝🏼🇺🇸

I love the Roberts Square drive built a house in Nova Scotia they work great no slipping !

Who would have thought a video on saw horses would be that good. Maybe Louis could start narrating Discovery films?

nice one lou grate job

Great! Waiting for the next one…

Thanks for the great video

Who knew Lou was an equestrian? ... Nice job buddy, as always your explanations are golden.

Thanks and respect !

Dang, I certainly enjoy learning from you.

Great video thanks, have you ever seen or used the Japanese saw horse, i made 2 - very sturdy and heavy, made them from Red Gum and Spotted Gum with a pine top piece.

GREAT! I just did my drawing for my horses a couple of weeks, now.. I like to live with my drawing for awhile in case I think of a better way to build it.. You just gave me the 'tips' I needed to finalize the design for my horses!! Thanks for your input! Stay Safe!

@thomasarussellsr

4 жыл бұрын

Drawings? For horses? Me thinks you may be over thinking this project. But hey, do what works for you, man.

@Traveling_with_FIVE_Cats

4 жыл бұрын

@@thomasarussellsr Hey, Thomas Russell, I not a carpenter.. I was a draftsman and a crazy artist before that so, yes, it is a little compulsive.. Then sometimes I make paper models of my projects before moving on to small scale wooden models.. I am all about the prep!! Retired, now, so I have a lot of time to ponder.. My last career job was a chef/ roundsman preparing my self to become a master chef.. Life is all about steps and seeing your future.. "Vison"!! Be Safe, my friend!

Merci, super conseils.

It may seem like just a simple sawhorse. But the attention to the smallest details make it a very useful tool.

Never heard of a lean horse... Very educational!

thanks for sharing.

We used to use the three legged buck, but OSHA in our neck of the woods put a stop to that years ago. They said it was unsafe or some B.S.. That was a good sturdy looking horse, Lou. I built a set quite similar years back when I was a greenhorn, because that is how my grand-dad showed me how, and the boss said I waisted time. He tore them apart and showed me his stackable version that lasted about two houses max and said that was how he wanted horses built on his jobsites. I guess building new horses every two houses was quicker than one set every six to twelve months, but he was the boss, so...

Very nice design. Since your using these horses in a shop long term, i coat each mated joint with PL Premium before screwing them in. PL Drys yet remains flexible. Best long term horses i ever made.

I just adore your videos Lou. We are about the same age, I have been a carpenter since I left school in the UK in 1971. I was apprenticed to cliff philby, building truck bodies, you remind me so much of him. Your whole manner of explanations is identical. Lol. Cliff carried a small rubber mallet which you felt on the back of your head every time he saw you do something wrong.... Bonk! "is that how I showed you" Hahaha... try getting away with that nowadays...

@thomasarussellsr

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like my third grade teacher, only she used a ping pong paddle. (cir. 1978)

@SirPrancelot1

4 жыл бұрын

@@thomasarussellsr We had to stand on the workbench and whistle the National Anthem, God Save The Queen (original, not The Fascist Regime).

@richardhoffman9729

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like my Dad, except it was his hand slapping the back of my head, which felt like a 10 lb sledge hammer

Nothing fuels a bonfire better than crapped out sawhorses. 🔥

Lou, I'd love to see a season where you supervise/teach one of the young men you have working in your shop while they build a boat. I think teaching technique and seeing it applied by someone who doesn't have 50-years experience, would be great to see.

For me,it's a tie between Tips from a Shipwright and Adventures of an Old Seadog !

just found your chanel! my branpas both used to build smal rowboats and my father has to... so now i gonna try to build my first... the goal is to build traditional swedish boats and maybe a long boat... not a dragon ship but a row boat for 12 because i really like how they look and feel :) hope you are doing well and have a wonderfull day!

This was posted on July 3rd. Will there be any more soon?

Great sawhorses, think I need to build two. By the way, the square drive screws are Robertson screws.

Thanks lou

I got told off as an apprentice calling these saw horse's, he said saw horse have a saddle that held a saw for sharpening(now obsolete), these where saw stools, i suppose back in the day they needed different names to avoid sending the apprentice off to the other side of the site to fetch one and come back with the other!

The "coffee-mugs-method" - nice!

Very nice.

Great reasons for every aspect of the design. I especially like the slight overhang on the ends and putting the plywood bracing on the inside of the legs to allow for clamping on the ends of the saw horses. Great video!

Man those are heavy duty!

Gorilla glue for every joint. I remember my first set of proper bucks using Norm Abrams design. Yours are lovely!

Can't wait for the 23 footer.

One thing that i do to make my horses stay stronger over time is to use a carrage bolt to augment the screws on places of high stress like the legs where the attach to the top and where the horizontal members attach to the vertical ones. I live in an area that has wide swings in humidity so the weakness caused by shrinkage and swelling over time which loosens screws is held in check by a through bolt member.

Have you thought about putting together a shop plan with a materials list and cut diagram for the waw horse to sell to help fund your channel?

i could use some more sawhorses! can't wait to watch!

Brilliant

Nice solid horses, Louis! 💪 Being a carpenter, we love Scorpion exterior screws. But, we also try not to have fasteners in the top side (for the sake of blades) And, perhaps, this is why I often make my horses from an edge up 2x6 with 2x4 legs. Aside from the fact we don't have much 1x6 or 8 on sites.

Sweet! Sometimes I use a joist hanger on the end of the 3 leg horses screwed to the wall...

A good set of saw horses take a little more time to make, but provides many, many years of service. Can't say that about the $19.99 plastic folder specials at the big box stores. I put a 1/2" scrap sacrificial top on mine for even longer use, replaced as needed.

You can always tell an experienced tradesman . He uses a 6' folding rule instead of a tape measure ,just the same as I do. The only thing an old carpenter taught me was to splay or can't the legs out past the top ends so if you stand to close to the end the horse will not tip over. 👷🏻

Beautiful, you could rest a battleship on those!

Good man yourself Louis and thanks for another interesting and entertaining episode . You were never tempted to use glue in any of your horses? Jimmy

@thomasarussellsr

4 жыл бұрын

Hahaha!

Awesome video. I'd love to see a test of your bold weight capacity claims. It would make a great video if you loaded up those horses with 10,000 pounds!

another channel bites the dust

He can recognize his horse by the size of a mug brace

Starting to get a bit worried. Anyone have any news?

It is unnecessarily dangerous to pinch the wood between the fence and the angle cut. I've done it this way before (and almost paid the price) but a better way is to put the fence on the other side, so that the 15 degree angle is away from the fence, and the wood can be lifted up. I really like your channel. Keep up the good work.

This guy makes sawhorses interesting

Hi lou, When are we getting the next clip?

hello! can you tell me the brand of your handplaner?

Is there a reason why you don't use a splitter on your table saw?

Correct me if I'm wrong.... But I would bet my house those are not 2x4's... (and neither is that a 2x6...) I would guess 1 1/2 inch thick material.. Either way: Thanks for another splendid video! Love your work!

Lots of wood boats built with square drive screws up in Canada in the old days.

PDF's would be great.

Where is Lou been almost 5 weeks without TIPS FROM A SHIPWRIGHT

Unless I missed something, which is likely, stacking those two legs in the chop saw for the compound cut will result in the bottom one being slightly shorter. Basically, the short side of the 15 degree tilt cut on the top board will equal the long side of the bottom board. Another way to think of it is by extreme example: what would happen if you stacked 10 boards, or 20, or 100? I really like your saw horses and I'm going to copy your design. I might even make a video, so I wish I knew how to pronounce your last name. Stay safe, and keep up the good work.

@mitchbrown3911

10 ай бұрын

I see your line of thought, but no - just try it. They'll be identical and whatsmore; exactly to length

Robertson screws! Canada says hello.

a square drive aka Robertson here in Canada, a Canadian invention

@mikekratz39

4 жыл бұрын

I have always wondered why Robertson head screws are not used more in the US. It is apparently due to some old copyright battles. The History Guy channel has good info kzread.info/dash/bejne/hGGhptOEpMzcpaw.html

If you have extra time and lumber some day, I'd love to see you throw together an outboard motor stand :)

@lynnlard5531

4 жыл бұрын

Likewise! I no longer have an outboard, but back when I did (15hp Evinrude) I wracked my brain trying to come up with a clever design buildible in wood. What I came up with was an embarassment. Later, when I had a welder I no longer had the outboard.

Are plans available?

I just built a pair of these, they seem uncomfortably short... I'm just an average 6ft individual. I'll put a 2" sacrificial top on them and see if that helps, but even then an extra 4 to 6" inches in height would be good

the square head screw is called a Robertson head. It's a Canadian invention, compared to a star head screw that is called a Philips heaad screw which is an American invention ... 👍🍁🤠

Lou, what's up man? Are you ok? Thought we were building a boat...