How to Make Sawhorses and Matching Shop Stools

This is a great project for beginners looking for a simple learning experience, or intermediate builders that could use a few uncomplicated and genuinely useful projects for their own shop. There’s nothing worse than being unable to properly support larger pieces you’re working on in the shop. A few shop-made sawhorses and shop stools should be among the first woodworking projects that a beginner takes on. Within the wide variety of woodworking videos available on the Woodworkers Guild of America site, this handy video offers one of the most useful projects for your shop.

George will walk you through the step-by-step process for how to make sawhorses and shop stools using only two sheets of plywood. No fancy tools required, either. The final product includes four of each item. During the creation of the I-beams—used to improve stability and rigidity of the sawhorses in this case—George divulges a handy tip to easily keep track of the center line of long boards when making connections from the outside edge.

If you need more storage, the shop stools can be easily modified to allow for small shelving units between the legs for additional storage space, or even modified with holes for handy tool hangers. Similarly, you may also consider modifying the sawhorses if you need additional functionality, such as adding a few useful hooks to the sides of the vertical I-beam boards. These could be used to keep cables and cords off the floor while working, or as handy temporary storage for safety gear such as goggles, gloves, or hearing protection.

This video on how to make sawhorses provides you with all the steps necessary to get a beautiful finished product. George even shares an incredibly simple yet effective technique to keep your vertical pieces in an upright position that you won’t want to miss.

With this straightforward guide on how to make sawhorses and shop stools, you’ll be well on your way to creating a couple of the staple devices you’ll use in your workshop for years to come!

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