I have a wood stove so I process a lot of wood. I usually cut it into lengths that fit in my trolley and take it home for the final stages. I will freely admit that the work is hard and plays havoc with my back, so I am very open to things that help me. I started looking for a saw horse online, you know the usual trawl round forums for ideas followed by a search on Amazon. The truth is that I did not like anything I saw - most were made out of metal of some form and I hate metal being anywhere near my chainsaw.
But I did come across a design being given away on an Canadian hardware website. I reasoned that the Canadians know a thing or two about wood so I decided to build one.
http://homehardware.ca/en/index/home-projects/project-ideas/home-at-home/fall-projects/brush-and-log-sawhorse.htm
It seemed simple enough and I set to with my saw and measuring tape. I also use a tool called an OddJob, it is a curious little thing made out of brass with a 6" brass edged rule built into it. I was a bit cynical when I was given it as a gift but I must confess that I have become quite attached to it. With a little bit of thinking it really does do the job of several tools very well. I doubt it would be accepted by a professional joiner but for my purposes it is too handy to be ignored.
You can see the OddJob on the stump with the ruler next to it. I'm pretty sure you can get them on Amazon, if you do get one let me know how you get on with it. http://amzn.eu/4TPCw1Y
Anyway, after a cheerful hour of sawing and screwing I finished my saw horse. What a delight to use! Really it transforms working with sections of wood, it has a massive capacity and once you "get" the logic of it there is nothing better.
Saw horses work on balance, you drop your log of any length into it and start cutting logs off the end. When it becomes close to being unbalanced, you start cutting at the other end, right into the middle of the saw horse. Finally you cut between the closest two supports and pow! you have logged an entire length with no manual handling.
Because the height is comfortable it is safe and your saw always has space around it. If you do get a bit excited and cut into the saw horse itself, it is made of wood so no harm done. I'll honestly tell you that I have done that a buzillion times and my old top board had almost nothing left!
Additionally it folds flat so once you are done you can fold it up and store it in the back of your wood store. It is also very very strong so you can safely drop some massive logs into it no problem at all.
I added a safety chain to mine so it cannot open too far and I have spent many happy hours working with it - I can really confirm that it is an absolute back saver.
So there you have it, my proven cure for back pain - a solid wooden home-made saw horse!
Peace and love!
