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How to Build a Sawhorse

Home/Resources/Power Tools & Workshop/Build a Sawhorse
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Written & researched by Priya Anand DIY & Tools Editor
Updated August 2026
Overhead view of a person drilling into a timber board on a workbench, sawdust in the air, in soft overcast light

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A pair of sawhorses is one of the cheapest, most useful things you can build, and it is a great first project. Two sturdy 2x4 horses cost about 20 to 30 dollars in lumber and take roughly 30 minutes each with a saw and a drill. No permit, nothing structural. The one design feature that makes or breaks them is the outward leg splay — angled legs give a wide, stable stance, while straight vertical legs make a wobbly horse. Glue and screw the joints, keep the pair identical so they stack, and they’ll carry sheet goods, doors, and your own weight for years.

How To Build Sawhorses (The Concord Carpenter)

Tools and materials

Golden-hour view of a person drilling into a timber board on a workbench, sawdust in the air

Step 1: Cut the beams and legs

For each horse, cut one beam (the top, about 30 to 36 inches long) and four legs (about 28 to 30 inches, cut with a matching angle on both ends so they splay out and sit flat on the floor). A speed square set to about 10 to 15 degrees gives a clean, repeatable splay angle. Cut all eight legs the same so both horses match and stack.

Step 2: Attach the legs with splay

Fasten a leg to each corner of the beam, angled outward in both directions — spreading toward the ends and out to the sides. Glue each joint and drive three 3-inch screws through the beam into the leg, with pilot holes to prevent splitting. The wide splayed footprint is what makes the horse stable; vertical legs will wobble and tip.

Close-up detail of the material being worked in a power tools & workshop project, in warm late-afternoon light

Step 3: Add gussets or a spreader

For extra rigidity, add a plywood gusset at each end (a triangle screwed across the two legs) or a horizontal spreader connecting the legs partway down. This triangulates the legs and stops them from splaying further or working loose under load. It’s optional on a light-duty horse but worth it if you’ll stand on a plank between the pair.

Step 4: Level the feet

Stand the finished horse on a flat floor. If it rocks, one leg is slightly long — trim the high foot a hair, or sand it, until all four feet sit flat. A horse that rocks under load is annoying and less safe. Do the same for the second horse so the pair sits level together.

Close-up detail of the material being worked in a power tools & workshop project, in bright midday sun

Step 5: Optional top protection and stacking

A strip of scrap wood or a kerf sawn across the top beam gives your saw blade somewhere to run when you cut through a workpiece without chewing the beam. Build both horses to identical dimensions so they nest and stack against a wall when not in use — the main payoff of building a matched pair.

Where to go next

Sawhorses and a sheet of plywood make a quick worktable, but a dedicated workbench is the natural upgrade, and they pair well with garage storage shelves. Master the angle cuts with our speed square guide. It all lives under the power tools and workshop hub.

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Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

How tall should a sawhorse be?

A general-purpose sawhorse is usually 28 to 32 inches tall — comfortable for hand-sawing and for setting a sheet of plywood at a good working height. If you mostly use them to hold a work surface at bench height, go taller; if you break down sheet goods with a circular saw while bent over them, a slightly lower 24 to 28 inches is easier on your back. A common approach is to build them a couple inches below your desired work-surface height so a plywood top brings the surface up to where you want it.

How much weight can a 2x4 sawhorse hold?

A well-built pair of 2x4 sawhorses easily supports several hundred pounds — enough for a full sheet of plywood, lumber, a door, or a person standing on a plank between them. The strength comes from the legs splaying out to a wide stance and being fastened solidly to the beam. Sawhorses fail by racking or by a leg joint working loose, not by the 2x4 snapping. Screwed-and-glued joints and a splayed stance make a pair you can trust with heavy loads.

Why do sawhorse legs splay outward?

The outward splay — legs angled out in both directions rather than straight down — gives a wide, stable footprint that resists tipping and spreads the load. Vertical legs make a tippy, wobbly horse; splayed legs make a rock-solid one. A common splay is about 10 to 15 degrees. The wider stance also lets you stack or nest a pair, and it keeps the horse from walking around under a heavy or off-center load. It is the single feature that separates a good sawhorse from a bad one.

Should I build sawhorses or use metal brackets?

Both are good. All-wood sawhorses cost the least (just 2x4s and screws) and let you build exactly the height you want. Metal or plastic sawhorse brackets — you slot 2x4 legs and a beam into them — go together in minutes with no angle cutting, knock down flat for storage, and set the splay for you. If you want the cheapest, most solid horse and don't mind cutting a few angles, build all-wood; if you value speed and knock-down storage, brackets are worth the small cost.

How do you make sawhorses stackable?

Keep the top beam flat and the legs splayed and flush so a second horse nests down over or beside the first. Building a pair to identical dimensions is what lets them stack neatly against a wall. Some designs add a shallow notch or a spreader that lets one horse's legs cradle into the next. Even simple I-beam or T-beam horses built to the same size will stack two or three high, which is the main reason to build them in matched pairs rather than one at a time.