By Ally
An actual horseAs an off grid girl there are ample opportunities for sawing things! We use our handy miter saw to cut lumber, but there have been many projects - and there are plenty ahead - where cutting plywood with our circular saw is needed.

Unfortunately in the past I would just throw a 4x4 (or whatever I could find) under both ends to make the cuts. Having a wobbly board at times while using power tools wasn't the best, but I made it work. I decided I needed to get a couple of sawhorses.

While a sawhorse might be much more affordable than an actual horse (that's far outside of my budget!), I still wasn't too keen on dishing out $35-75 on a pair, depending on the quality and location. Remember, it's a mighty long drive for us to pick up anything that isn't shipped. After researching my options I recalled that I had many pieces of scrap wood left from the solar mounts. I could just make them! I mean we are making everything else :)

I pulled up some google images of sawhorses (where else would I look?), and found one that looked simple enough. The project was pretty straightforward aside from the sudden 45 minute break I had to take as a monsoon quickly dumped loads of water over our property and then made its escape. Here are the simple steps, with pictures, to make a pair of sawhorses:

Step #1: Gather your lumber.

I collected eight 2x4's to use for the legs (four for each) and two 2x6's for the bases.
Scrapwood for sawhorse

Step #2: Measure and cut to size

I then used the miter saw to cut all of the legs to 28". This measurement can vary depending on your height and preference, but I figured out that 28" would be great height for mine. The 2x6's for the base were cut to 24". I would have made them closer to 26-28", however that's all I had to work with as I didn't have any longer 2x6 scraps.
Measure the wood

Next came the more tedious part - more so because the multi tool I was using had quite the dull blade. Why it took me so long to go change it I do not know, but I can attest that it would have saved me a lot of time had I done that sooner. I measured 1" in from the end of each side of the base and measured out an additional 3.5" (which was the length of the 2x4). I cut into the wood a little over a half inch.
Marking the wood Cutting the wood

Step #3: Assemble.

Then I used some cinder blocks to elevate the base and align the legs at the side so that I could attach them into the cut outs. I had to figure out how much of an angle I would have the legs go out. The angles of the two sawhorses turned out to be slightly different, but they will still work fine. I just needed something that is close enough in height that I can easily cut plywood on or anything else that I wouldn't be using the miter saw for.
Cinderblock supports

I then used two 3" star screws in each of the legs to secure them into the base with the impact drill.
Attach the legs

The final thing that I might do later, but is optional, is to cut pieces of extra plywood to attach right under the base on each side to give some extra support for the legs.
Extra support for the legs

Step #4: Enjoy!

So voila! Not so hard. It was by no means perfect, and I could have been even more precise for sure, but I wanted to get them done during the weekend. The only thing I would've done differently is making sure the angles of the legs were the same on both sawhorses, and therefore the height of both would have been exactly the same. I like that they are rather lightweight and they look cute to me ;) Okay, perhaps useful is a better word! It may have taken more time to make them over buying some, but they saved me money and I always enjoy building new projects!
The finished sawhorses