Small Shop Tips: Sawhorse, Space-Saving & Cheap Storage

Edited by Randy Johnson

Classic Sawhorse

I’ve found a sturdy sawhorse that’s great even if you have limited space. When I’m done working with them I just stack them on top of each other and store them out of the way. Here’s all it takes to build one horse:

• One 42-in.-long 2×6 for the top board
• Four 28-in.-long 1×8 boards for the legs
• Four 9-7/8-in.-long 1×8 boards for the gussets
• Thirty-six 2-in.wood screws.

Notch the top board so the legs angle outward and toward the ends. Legs A and B are mirror images of each other and have compound 14-degree angle cuts at both ends. The four gussets are identical.

To assemble, pre-drill screw holes in the legs and gussets. Loosely screw the legs in the notches and screw and glue the gussets to the edges of the legs. Because the legs are not screwed tight, it’s easy to line up the gussets. Tighten the screws that hold the legs to the top board and you’re done.

Chris Voss

Space-Saving Router Table

I never thought I’d have room for a router table. After a couple years of messing around with different designs I came up with this compact table that sets up and knocks down in seconds and can be stored almost anywhere. You can clamp it to the edge of a workbench or across a pair of sawhorses. It’s also easy to make, because instead of routing out the opening, it’s simply sawn out.

Glue the bottom piece of 1/4-in. hardboard to the plywood core. Then use your router’s base plate to trace the hole for the base. Cut the hole with a jigsaw and glue on the top piece of 1/4-in. hardboard. Add the plastic laminate to complete the “sandwich.” Use the router base to locate the screw holes. Drill these holes and countersink them from the top. Add a 1×2 cleat to the bottom of the table about 3 in. from the back edge. The cleat helps brace the table against your bench. Finish off the top with a little paste wax.

Michael Sumner

Cheap, Easy Storage

I found a quick, cheap and easy way to store lots of little stuff like biscuits, screws, wood plugs and the like. Drill a hole in the cap of a plastic soda bottle and insert an eyebolt. Secure the eyebolt with two nuts, one above and one inside the cap. Finally, cut a round hole in the shoulder of the bottle.

One cool thing about this storage system is if I knock one of these bottles off my workbench, all the stuff inside doesn’t spill out. It gets trapped in the neck of the bottle rather then spilling out the opening.

Jeff Briere