Tabletop Sawhorses

Materials:

Ash.

Process:
  1. Mill stock for feet, legs, top rail and stretcher.
  2. Remove material for mortise in feet and legs with mortising table.
  3. Remove material for tenons in legs and stretcher with table saw and band saw and fit to mortises with file and chisel.
  4. Remove material with band saw to create slot in top of legs for top rail. Clean up with chisel.
  5. Drill holes for dowels in slot in top of legs.
  6. Ease edges and create final surface quality on legs and feet with block plane.
  7. Glue legs of sawhorses into feet.
  8. Using the shaping table remove material from center of feet to minimize contact with the ground which adds stability.
  9. Cut slots in tenons of stretchers with hand saw for wedges.
  10. Assemble stretchers and legs by applying glue to the tenons as well as the tips of the wedges before hammering them into place.
  11. Remove extra material of wedges with hand saw.
  12. Shape and ease edges of protruding tenon.
  13. Transfer dowel centers from top of legs to top rails.
  14. Drill holes for dowels in top rail.
  15. Insert dowels into legs and set the top rail in place pushing the dowels into both sets of holes.
  16. Remove material from top rail so that it can interlock with slot in legs.
Mortise and tenon joint in bottom of feet.
Sawhorse foot. Material is removed from the center of foot to reduce contact with floor, and provide better stability.
Mortise and tenon joint for legs and stretcher. Tenon is wedged for extra strength and protruding tenon is shaped with a chisel.
Top rail is kept in place with dowels and interlocking slots in legs and top rail.