Resawing dimensional lumber?

[chopnhack]

Looking at some of the prices at the BORG for 1x has me gagging.... especially with the amount of sap running freely on the surface of these boards. I would need 8 pieces of 1x6x8 and 1 1x8x8 ~$71.80 just in lumber to make two fold flat sawhorses!

What are your collective thoughts? Would you attempt to plane 2x material (I don't have a bandsaw), or rip on table saw and finish with hand saw then plane down to 1x to save money? Would you try to resaw in 1/2 and work with the slightly under 3/4" required for the project? i.e. resaw with an tk blade, say, lose an 1/8" leaving two halves at 5/8"? Yielding two pieces from every 2x stick would bring the project down to $23.30 for lumber for two sawhorses which is much more reasonable IMHO.



Local prices:

1x8x8 $9.24
2x8x16 $8.85

1x6x8 $7.82
2x6x8 $4.72

[JoeyGee]

Maybe a stupid question, but why not just buy saw horses? Something like that is not worth the time and hassle, IMHO.

I often have to remind myself that just because I can, doesn't mean I always should. Not to mention the wear and tear (and sap cleanup...) on your blades. AND, how much is your time worth?

[Richard in Smithville]

You could cut it down. I have seen fine furniture made from 2x stock. You just need to made sure it's dry before you work on it- construction grade can have 16%-20% moisture even when it's labeled kiln dried. Also get the widest, longest stock as it would be the most stable.

[Bill in Buena Park]

C&H, unless you really want to use dimensional, I've seen some really nice fold-flat sawhorse designs made with plywood. Will provide good stability and should be more affordable, even from 3/4in sheets.

That said, like JoeyGee, I bought a set that fold well enough for $30.

[LCHIEN]

what happened to these you built last year about this time

[LCHIEN]

ShopNotes deign of a sawhorse, no hardware, all 1-by lumber.

Here's a knock down sawhorse - you can make each sawhorse from a 1x8x8.
So two sawhorses cost about $20. No hardware required - no screws, nails, hinges, staples, brads.

I have two of these and they are nice and compact in storage. The key is the dowel wedge, need a two 3/4" x 3" dowel for each sawhorse.

Because the legs are 3/4" thick it has a little wobble in the sideways direction where the legs are thin, but it's not bad.

Construction hints:
Buy a 1x8x8, Crosscut a 36" piece for the stretcher, then rip to 7" wide.
Take the remainder and rip to two, 3.5" pieces. Use these to make the legs.
You will find a 1x8x8 cheaper, straighter and flatter than most 1x4s' at the BORG or Lowes.
The angled slot will be hardest thing to cut. Make a 22-1/2° jig for your mortiser (so that you can slide the wood to line up the next cut), or, if you don't have one, you will have to drill a series of 3/4" holes - make a 22.5° angle jig to guide the wood against the DP fence to align the holes perfectly, then chisel them out the rest of the way.

This was a real fun project from early in my hobby and its a cool idea. you get to practice all the basic skills of ripping, crosscutting, mitering, mortising and notch cutting.

[Cochese]

It looks cool, but sometimes you have to let the economies of scale work to your advantage and purchase. You're going to spend more money building one sawhorse than I spent on four.

If that's your thing though, go ahead.

[cabinetman]

A sawhorse with 3/4" legs would be unstable. By the time you resaw 2x or do machining to assemble one, you can save a lot of time, hassle and money by just buying sawhorse brackets, like these, and using 2 2x4's per stand. They would be able to break down quickly, or made to stay together.

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[sweensdv]

Maybe a stupid question, but why not just buy saw horses? Something like that is not worth the time and hassle, IMHO.

I often have to remind myself that just because I can, doesn't mean I always should. Not to mention the wear and tear (and sap cleanup...) on your blades. AND, how much is your time worth?

+1 I agree, not worth the time.

[dbhost]

I wouldn't give resawing 2x stock a second thought. You'd end up after accounting for kerf, and then flattening the stock, 5/8" thick stock if you are lucky, assuming you are trying to get 2 pieces out of it... Not worth the effort...

I will say though, your local prices on 1x material seem rather high. Of course when I see dimensional lumber it is usually some sort of cheapo softwoood like pine, spruce, fir etc...

For saw horses, I would use plywood, Cheaper, more stable, easy to work with... Of course my folding saw horses are steel so you can guess how much effort I put into them...

[LCHIEN]

i'm gonna say that there's lots of reasons for building or buying sawhorses.

One is a learning experience.
Two is a cheap, cheap way to support boards being sawed
THree is for table legs
Four is for any support purpose, e.g. a temporary work bench or for putting items being worked on at a convenient height.

So, what the OP wants he has not really said except that
1. the plans he had for 3/4" lumber was too expensive ( like $70+ and hinted in another post that the hinges used would be expensive also)
2. he wanted something the would be compact (e.g. fold up)

So for a learning experience And inexpensive ($10 each) I would recommend the one I posted the plans for above... not so shaky as Cman suggests because thelegs are doubles up for part of the way. And OK for support but maybe not sawing where you need something stiffer.

For sawing or heavier work I would suggest the Fulton plastic sawhorse brackets ($10-15 pair plus about 4 bucks of 2x4s) http://www.amazon.com/Fulton-8909-PR...8348788&sr=8-3
they work reasonably well

I hate the sheet metal folding brackets that cost under $10/pair. just too shabby.

You can also buy plastic folding sawhorses for about $30 each, probably your best bet if your time is worth anything.

So the OP was really asking about resawing, not so much sawhorses.
I would say to that, for get sawing 2bys into 1 bys. Not worth the trouble.

I do frequently rip 1x6 and 1x 8 to get 1x2 and 1x4 because the wider stuff is usually better than the skinny stuff they have, especially when stocks are low, its been seriously picked over.

[cabinetman]

So for a learning experience And inexpensive ($10 each) I would recommend the one I posted the plans for above... not so shaky as Cman suggests because thelegs are doubles up for part of the way. And OK for support but maybe not sawing where you need something stiffer.

The word I used was unstable, and 3/4" legs would be IMO. It may be a matter of safety to have stands that are both supportive and stable.

I hate the sheet metal folding brackets that cost under $10/pair. just too shabby.

I feel the same way about plastic brackets, and they cost more than $10. I've tried them and they seem to wallow out over time. I've got some sawhorses with metal brackets that have provided good service for over 30 years. One feature I do like about the metal ones, that they break down quickly by just closing the legs and removing the 2x4. That's convenient for taking to the jobsite. Different lengths of 2x's can be inserted.

So the OP was really asking about resawing, not so much sawhorses.

It sounded like the OP's intent was to cut wood for sawhorses.

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[cabinetman]

Maybe a stupid question, but why not just buy saw horses? Something like that is not worth the time and hassle, IMHO.

I often have to remind myself that just because I can, doesn't mean I always should. Not to mention the wear and tear (and sap cleanup...) on your blades. AND, how much is your time worth?

This does make a lot of sense. There are two varieties of adjustable sawhorses that are very good. Might be a bit pricey, but worth it for their capacity and adjustability, and the ability to fold up.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053

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[chopnhack]

Very true JoeyGee - I obviously do it as well. I like building my own shop tools. Sawhorses are handy and I figured if I could build them cheaper than buying them, so much so the better. It's looking like no go at the moment!

That may be true Rich, but you got that good Canadian lumber ;P

Bill, share any links or pics if you would. As for the set for $30? Any pics?

Loring, I still have that set. They have been quite useful but I am looking for a lighter pair. I will probably resurrect that thread and add some useful ideas about them tonight.

Thanks all for the input. Free time is priceless, so is time in the shop and for me, regardless of what is being built, I usually learn something. I have been here a long time, but by no means am I anything more than a beginner

Love the ideas thoughts, thanks and keep them coming!