Best Saw Horses in 2021: Portable, Folding and Adjustable Units

Most of my friends made their first saw-horses themselves. And when homemade wooden ones come to the end of their life they have upgraded to better unit. The same it true with me. I was tired of the weight and the size of my DIY units too. So, I did a little research and in this post I will share with you my priorities and opinion on the best saw horses in 2021.

General information

A saw-horse is a tool that helps to support wood, plastic or other material that is being cut either with a jigsaw, hand saw or other tool. Sometimes they are used to create a sturdy work surface for your work. Saw horses should be low enough to reach across the width of a sheet of material. It’s also good if you are able to keep a couple sacrificial 2x4s. 3 work better and you can put the 3rd one under the lengthwise cut, the piece doesn’t drop.

Horses with a broad top that can easily support a 1×10 that’s two feet long say.  They are also preferable to have the sides flat. For me, sawhorses are all about sawing, but not about standing on or raising up furniture. These are in fact “work stands” and they are designed by very different factors.

Best Folding Saw Horses

I have a good experience using the Trojan Horses. They are strong and durable and with a couple of pieces of 2x lumber you can create horses of any size. My fellow carpenter has several sets in which he cut the legs and added some angle iron so that they can be adjusted for uneven ground. The  set up requires no screws or nails, the saw-horses are gripping teeth, and legs self-level to any terrain.

These saw horses are at the top the list for portability and strength. They will last you 10 years and more and all you’ll need is to add some missing paint and add a little oil on the joints. You won’t find a more versatile set of saw horses. Yes, they are pricey, but worth it, these are the best folding saw horse. You can’t beat the Trojans for heavy duty durability.

Although I love the Trojan saw-horses for their reliability and the fact you are able to use scrap lumber, their significant downfall is that they are not adjustable.

If you really need to change the height, I recommend ToughBuilt Saw-Horse – best collapsible saw horses. They are advertised to hold up to 1300 lbs per pair. If not for the fact that they can take a finger off when folding them up, they are perfect. You can clamp things down to them, the feet are adjustable and cleverly they have convenient yellow clips which allow you to mound large sheets of material at angle. This way you can rip them along the long and short edges. ToughBuilt saw horse with triton superjaws are all I need when I am out and about.

On the top of the horses there are holes to screw 2×4’s onto. They are fully adjustable, and the rubber feet won’t damage a nice deck. When breaking down sheet good I use them for a cutting table.

The main disadvantage is they are a bit heavy to carry but the slim nature means you can just stack one on top of the other in the garage. The metal clamp on each side comes out to accommodate various sizes of timber.

Best Plastic Saw Horses

Plastic saw horses are often adjustable, therefore no matter what your height is, the work height will be comfortable. What I like the most about the plastic saw horses is that they compact in folded state, so they store easy and flat. They’re light-weight and easy to carry.

Great example here is Stanley STST60626 Adjustable Sawhorse Twin Pack – good unit for for medium to light-weight use. They are made entirely of plastic and are not flimsy at all. Each set held a large stack of lumber with no ill effects – rated load is 1000 pound per pair.  Each horse has height adjustment latches and allows to adjust width. The tray opens for holding tools. Good choice for the small repair or decorating DIY projects.

Best Log Saw Horse

I’ve used a several different types of log sawhorse for myself and customers. And my opinion is that the best way is to build your own stand.

DIY Saw Horses

Making  own folding horses is pretty easy.

I’ve made 3 sets like these on the picture out of spare 2x lumber I had. Three sets total so far. They are cheap, rock solid and  nest perfectly on top of each other, so all six horses are stacked in the corner and doesn’t take much space. I have poured 3 kitchens worth of concrete counter tops on them and wouldn’t hesitate to put my truck on them. They are a little heavy though.

Conclusions

Toughbuilt C600/650 setup  are pretty sturdy and height-adjustable (key feature for many carpenters). Trojan Horses are the most strong and durable model which will work virtually forever. Plastic saw-horses are great if you need lightweight and portable tools, easy to carry and store.