Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: EssexMame on April 05, 2013, 07:28:56 am
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How do I clamp wood to a saw horse? To a workbench=easy, simply clamp onto the wooden top but the saw horse doesn't have anywhere to clamp too.
Its a Stanley junior pair, cheap but seemed decent enough but do more expensive ones make clamping possible?
http://reviews.homebase.co.uk/1494-en_gb/269442/reviews.htm (http://reviews.homebase.co.uk/1494-en_gb/269442/reviews.htm)
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You can usually just clamp to the top of a regular sawhorse but the ones you have are a little different.
I would say maybe best would be to put a piece of wood on top of the saw horses to give it kind of a tale top and then clamp to that.
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I use the same sawhorses and I just clamp under the yellow bar between the legs. It flexes the plastic a bit but never hurt it.
When that doesn't work for whatever reason, I simply put a sheet of plywood to make a table and clamp to the edges of that. It also has the added benefit of giving the structure a bit more stability.
-Steven
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I have those same sawhorses as well. They were the cheapest available, and it shows.
I'd say be very, very careful trying to clamp anything to them (or even to another sheet on top of them, as has already been mentioned.) I've noticed with heavier pieces of wood (and heavier tools) that those sawhorses will have actually have some movement/flex to them. Also, be sure you're on a stable, flat ground surface.
The last thing you need is your table shifting on you when you've got both hands on a router or circ saw rolling at full speed... :o
Seriously: be super careful, and/or get sturdier horses when you can.
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I found the best, cheap saw horses for my needs are those folding steel ones like this. I found a pair of these at Menards for $12 each. Normal price (at least in the US) is usually around $20 each. It takes some easy modification to be able to clamp with them.
(http://www.menards.com/main/store/20090519001/items/media/Hardware/EBCOT001/ProductLarge/243-8010.jpg)
By themselves, they are ok, but the nice thing is they usually have mounting holes for a piece of lumber on the top. (If not you can drill holes in the top). What I did was screw in a standard 2 X 4 piece of lumber to the top of the saw horse. Then, on top of the 2 X 4, I screwed in a piece of 1 X 8 lumber. In the end, I had a sturdy set of foldable saw horses. My modifications raised the height 3 inches, much more comfortable, and I had a 2 inch lip around the top of the sawhorses for clamping. And all for cheaper than a generic plastic set. :cheers: