Construct a Saw Stool

This video shows how I construct my preferred Sawstool.

[@brizo77]

Like the computer format gives you a good diagram you can keep going back to reference

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Mate, I'm glad you like it

[@wesdaniells1688]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. I have made 4 with your pattern out of scraps lying around, studs, old roof battens in hoop Pine as legs old concrete formwork as the tops, and wide jamb offcuts as the gable boards. I have used steel legged saw stools for work for 40 years.

[@Buildsum]

Hi Wes, that sounds great, hope they work out well.

[@jamesobrien9045]

Made a couple of them following your video 7 or 8 years ago. Still going strong. 👍👍👍

[@Buildsum]

Thanks James, Great to hear!

[@drummerplim]

Keep coming back to this time and time again. love your work!

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Mate

[@frankwilliams7450]

Man, I wouldn't mind one of your saw stools. You're obviously a good tradesman and it's clear that you do things well. I found the detail for the top of the legs interesting... the little shoulder that takes the weight. My Dad was a builder and one of the best life lessons he ever gave me was how to build a similar saw stool to the one you have shown. His trick was a bit simpler. The legs retain their parallel sides and the checkout in the top is cut with a surface that matches the inside of the leg. It's a bit easier to do and strong enough but it doesn't have that neat little shoulder that your design has. He also had a trick for marking the legs... take a stick, put a small nail into it at say 610 from the end. Hang the stick by the nail off the top at the nearest corner and put a mark on the leg. Repeat for each leg. Then join the marks with a straight edge and cut the legs off with a skill saw set at same angle as you bevel. Great video! Very nice illustrations and very well presented. Thanks very much!

[@renosolo3254]

by far the best most logical sawhorse design in the universe....good one mate....love the channel

[@Buildsum]

Thanks, IIhan, I'm glad you like it.

[@1bertski]

I’ve seen horses made in many ways over my 41 years as a carpenter but I do believe that your way will hold more weight than a traditional American saw horse! I think I will try your method next time.c

[@Buildsum]

Wow, thanks for your comment mate. Yeah i really like them because you are not relying on the screws to take the weight.

[@oneillm3]

Thanks for the effort in making a great step by step video as I was having trouble following the directions in the carpentry book I have.

[@Buildsum]

oneillm3 Glad it helps

[@mahitaonebuilders251]

Hey mate Im a big fan of your channel. I made a set today as per this video. They work mint. Their light and hold my 100kg body weight no sweat.

[@Buildsum]

Great to hear Suni, yes I have to get around to building myself another set as well, thanks for your comment.

[@drcrayg5803]

My boss has tasked us to build your exact design. I'm looking forward to it! looks great!

[@Buildsum]

Sounds good mate let me know if you have any questions

[@jasonpusz1566]

That's a bloody great program you have to do your design.

[@Buildsum]

+JASON PUSZ Hi Jason It actually the free version of Google Sketchup so you can have it as well if you want it just search and download it.

[@aodh5022]

Excellent mate; a very well thought out and explained project; thats a first class and very handy sawstool and a nice undertaking in its own right as far as a woodworking project is concerned; you just got a new subscriber.

[@garysantos7053]

Thank you, for your video, I really like your Saw Stool or as we say in the states sawhorse. I might suggest another way of cutting the legs, if you transfer the top plate’s angle in relation to the legs you’ll find they are the same as the bottom angles. Or in other words, the top plane is the same as the bottom plane.

[@Buildsum]

Hi Gary, thanks for your comment, totally agree, i use this method as it allows for any variations in the angle or overcutting of the head to ensure that the legs are all in the same plane not necessarily the same length.

[@anthonylyon3398]

Fantastic thankyou

[@Buildsum]

Thanks mate

[@leehaelters6182]

Buildsum, this is a super way to present your Anglo style saw stool, with authentic joinery and properly splayed and kicked out legs. Less than a handful of others out there, among all the odious "I beam" cobbled together dreck. No question the weight bearing shoulder is superior to our American design with thinner, but wider stock for the legs. But, would you indulge my observations about geometry? You start out with a compound bevel on one end of the legs, but you pair them with mirror symmetry. It may not be intuitive, but if you ganged all four legs together (easier with thinner stock, I suppose), and cut both ends at complimentary bevels, then those four, identical legs would all make up one stool (horse, in our parlance). It just takes turning two of them end for end to get the lefts and rights. Now, something I have not seen discussed regardless of which side of the oceans we're working in. You slice a wedge off the leg tops (shoulder allowed for) to fit into the gains of the beam. You mark it out so that in plan view, the end of the stock shows an even thickness, with parallel edges. This is similar to our practice, the outside faces of the legs are in plane with each other. However, this gives a slight discrepancy of angle with those 90 degree gain shoulders. Small, but it is there. If your stock is true and square to start with, then the plan section view of a splayed and kicked out leg will not be a rectangle, but a lozenge, seen also in the feet. Don't take my word for it, cut off a board and put a square on it. This also bears on fitting the gussets, which would not actually be sitting on a flat plane. One remedy, and again I see no one calling this out in any set of instructions for any style of horse (pardon, stool), is that the leg edges should receive their own bevel. This will give a rectangle in the footprint, as well. In your Anglo style of joinery, you are better off marking out with the stock end still square, taking the side marks down to an angled shoulder of uneven depth. This doesn't address the problem of the gussets not sitting flat upon the legs, though. By the way, in your narration, you mention how when marking out the leg joinery, using the beam thickness comes up a few millimeters short. It's because of that leg kickout; you are laying out what is really a diagonal line in the side view.

[@Buildsum]

Hi Lee, thanks for your in-depth analysis of the geometry of the Saw Stool. I agree that the legs could be all cut the same from the start and then just end for end them to get the pairs however this may result in an uneven stool at the end as you will not be able to adjust for any differences that occur when you cut the legs to join the top (beam). I also agree that where the leg fits into the top (beam) and where the gussets meet the leg will not be flat or parallel however I feel that this is a fairly small amount and as I am using this in a construction carpentry course and not a joinery course I am not too worried about it. Again thanks for your comment.

[@leehaelters6182]

@@Buildsum, yah, furniture maker writing, here. Knew you'd say that. You have my sub, of course. Working my way through your videos now, plan to learn something. And I didn't mention the feature of your saw stool that I greatly admire, the wedging action of the leg into the gain, a sensible step I haven't seen before!

[@leehaelters6182]

@@Buildsum, on reflection, the modification I mentioned of laying out the joinery on a squared off leg, rather than end bevelled, will indeed result in those legs twisting back, and the back edges co-planar. Seems the best of both worlds; no extra steps and all joints meet perfectly!

[@joealmonte3299]

thankyou very much for this!

[@Buildsum]

No worries!

[@DarmeWatthayalage]

well presented thanks for sharing

[@Buildsum]

Thanks for your comment Darme, glad you like it.

[@tina11ys]

Best sawhorse video for sure!

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Tina

[@torl8924]

Very nice 3d presentation. Is that sketchup?

[@Buildsum]

Thanks, Mate, Yes that is SketchUp.

[@torl8924]

Don't take offence, just a bit of a giggle, but your channel intro video reminded me of this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmbUm6Jnh853l6s

[@unclefreddieDied]

thanks...from the states!

[@Buildsum]

No problem at all, uncle Freddie

[@zlatanmustacevic9261]

There are many factors in building a table saw. One resource I found which successfully combines these is the Wilfs wood blueprint (google it if you're interested) it's the most useful guide that I've heard of. Check out the amazing info .

[@namiroraha7473]

hi,thank for your great video. still i want to use 90x45 and 70 x 35 what the out come will be ,as i don't have the means to take that 5mm.

[@Buildsum]

+namir oraha HI Namir Thats fine it wint make any difference to the end product.

[@marladogoz]

Nice video! Why do you mill your top piece from 90x45 to 90x40? Just curious as I can't think of an obvious reason and I have some 120x45 left over from a job but no thicknesser.

[@Buildsum]

+Isaac Campbell Hi Issac No particular reason however i think it was originally done to get rid of the rounded corners and 40mm is easier to work out he 4-1 angle. If you have 120 x 45 i would just use that and leave it 120 wide as well

[@juspickin]

nice one mate cheers

[@Buildsum]

Thanks, Mate, Glad you like it.

[@jacksonclifford337]

Just wondering..... what sort of software do you use to construct you plans?

[@Buildsum]

Jackson Clifford Hi Jackson I use Google Sketch Up to draw my plans

[@iceceroc]

Good video, well detailed, however, you forgot to mention about cutting the angles on the bottom of the legs so it sits flat on the floor

[@bloggs692413]

yea he did it with the ply just mark a line where ply meets leg

[@michael61png]

top job...thx

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Mate

[@17MikeThompson]

What length are the ply board ends?

[@Buildsum]

+mike thompson Hi Mike The exact measurement is hard to determine as it depends on how your cuts work out however a piece 225mm long will generally be long enough. Size and lengths are discussed at around the 1.40 min mark of the video.

[@17MikeThompson]

+Buildsum I understand cheers. Just got the legs on my first stool. Pleased with it, when I put the board on the ground to cut off the legs, does the ground have to be perfectly flat and level?

[@Buildsum]

+mike thompson The flatter the better but level is not really an issue

[@17MikeThompson]

+Buildsum would cutting the legs at all the same length at the same height work ? I have cut my legs using your methods and its wobbly :/

[@Buildsum]

+mike thompson Hi Mike how level is the ground you are working on? What you propose could work but in the end it depends where you are using the sawstool

[@maximedwards3456]

Falling asleep.

[@Buildsum]

Mate, you might want to turn it off and go have a lie down then ;)

[@oxyiscool]

Bulldog clip :)

[@oxyiscool]

13:37 It's a bulldog clip mate, great saw stool by the way, thumbs up.

[@Buildsum]

Yeah thats the one thanks.

[@nkel6111]

another limey bloke and that metric shit !!

[@samhain689]

The guy is Australian😂...btw thank you for a very helpful tutorial👍