BAUER Sawhorses from Harbor Freight
Feature Rich BAUER Sawhorses from Harbor Freight
The two BAUER sawhorses from Harbor Freight described here are cost-effective examples of feature-rich versions of this basic tool. After all, every pro and DIYer absolutely need a few sets of sawhorses, and today you have your choice of features over and above a basic stand.
If you haven’t noticed, Harbor Freight has been busy upping its game over the last several years, to the extent that many of its tools can now be considered pro-level. Of Harbor Freight has always been known for superb value in accessories such as sawhorses. It’s because of the value proposition that Harbor Freight offers there that we wanted to look at their takes on two feature-rich sawhorse designs, and they were kind enough to send in the two pairs of BAUER sawhorses that we describe here. If you’re getting by with basic ‘horses now, we think you’ll be happier with more functional tools like these.
Back in the old days…
When I was a wee lad all the tradesmen (and it was all men back then) made their own sawhorses. No one would think of spending good money on something “so basic” that they could easily make themselves. Of course, back then there were no manufactured sawhorses, so rolling your own was a necessity. Most of my dad’s fellow tradies made something a lot like the one pictured below.
On the plus side, these were very functional and lasted a long time (I have a friend whose contracting company, mostly out of nostalgia, still uses ones like these that the founder’s original crew made back in the 50’s). On the minus side, they aren’t height adjustable and – and this is the big, fatal flaw– they take up a lot of room. There’s no way that they pack easily or efficiently in a truck or trailer. Yes, there were and are folding versions of them, but they sacrifice some strength and sturdiness, and they were never very popular.
Today of course almost all tradesmen and women buy some version of a folding or collapsible sawhorse. Modern materials make these as strong as my dad’s (stronger, probably), and the designs are both portable and sports features over and above just suspending a piece of lumber off the ground. Plus, you can’t make one that packs the same functionality for anything approaching what you can buy one for. There are a lot of better choices today.
BAUER 32-inch Steel Adjustable Sawhorse
The first of the two BAUER sawhorses is the BAUER 32-inch Adjustable Sawhorse.
- 2600 lb. capacity per pair
- Collapsible design for easy storage and transport
- 2×4 support arms create a sturdy jobsite table when a second sawhorse is used
- 43-inches wide
- 100% steel construction for jobsite durability
- Powder-coated and zinc-plated surfaces
- Pivoting feet for extra stability
- 9 height adjustments: 24 to 32-inches
- Material support pegs
- Convenient carrying handle
- Aggressive skid tape-bearing surface
- $59.99 each
The photos do a good job of showing this sawhorse and its use, so I’ll just spend a few words describing what’s not obvious from the images. First, each of these ‘horses has a shipping weight of about 24 pounds. The product weight is probably a little less, but with the carrying handle it’s a well-balanced and easy-to-carry weight. There’s no mistaking the sturdy construction of these sawhorses! That sturdy feeling is also present in the smooth movement and sure lockup of the collapsible legs.
The 2600-pound (over two sawhorses) capacity is substantial. That’s the weight of a compact car! I don’t think I’ve ever needed that kind of load-bearing capacity on any sawhorses that I’ve used over the decades. (I don’t do steel fabrication, but even then…)
The adjustable height is useful not just for adjusting to different users, tasks, and tools, it also means that these sawhorses can be used as a low scaffold or as an outfeed (or infeed) table.
The leg height adjustment is easy, smooth, and requires minimal effort. The height adjustment can be locked in with the red lever that you see in the photo below.
The legs are most easily opened (from their collapsed and folded-away position) by setting the ‘horse down on end or on its top. It’s easy and fast after a couple of times, taking maybe 15 seconds per sawhorse. While the legs open and fold away in a certain sequence, that sequence is clearly marked on the sawhorse body.
The material support pegs will probably see the most use as supports for sheet goods that you can then tilt up onto the sawhorse top. See the photo below (I didn’t have a full 4×8 sheet available easily as I wrote this, but you can see how they work).
All in all, the BAUER 32-inch Steel Adjustable Sawhorse is the Mack truck of sawhorses.
BAUER 32-inch Polypropylene Folding Sawhorse with Bar Clamp
The second of the two BAUER sawhorses is the BAUER 32-inch Polypropylene Folding Sawhorse with Bar Clamp
- 1000 lb. capacity per pair
- Convenient 2×4 recesses for supporting dimensional lumber
- Removable bar clamp secures work in place
- Built-in storage shelf
- Handy cord wraps
- Rubberized anti-slip feet
- 110-pound clamping strength
- 32-inches high; 27-inch width
- $24.99 each
Again, I’ll just describe what’s not obvious from the photos (here’s also a short Instagram vid here.) What sets this sawhorse apart from your generic polypropylene folding sawhorse is most obviously the integration of the included bar clamp. You can set the clamp horizontally in a groove on the sawhorses’ top rail in order to clamp items onto the rail. Or you can set the clamp into grooves on the side of the rail in order to hold items vertically. When not in use the bar clamp can be stored on-board the sawhorse as you see in the photo below.
This clamping ability propels this product from just a sawhorse into a portable workstation. How many times have you had to ask a helper to hold a workpiece on top of a sawhorse while you sawed/planned/drilled/painted/whatever it? With more and more tradies working on their own, and with help hard to come by in any case, anything that can provide a second pair of hands is most welcome. Importantly, this extra capability comes for free in that it comes with no tradeoffs at all; if you don’t need the clamp, just store it out of the way! Plus who can’t use an extra set of clamps around?
A half-ton weight-bearing capability for lightweight sawhorses is impressive, and frankly, more than almost anyone will need almost all the time. The honeycomb construction of this polypropylene sawhorse gives it its high strength-to-weight ratio. Unlike inexpensive polypropylene folding sawhorses that I’ve used, the BAUER 32-inch Polypropylene Folding Sawhorse with Bar Clamp is very stable and strong when opened – it does not shake, wiggle, or rock under load.
This style of sawhorse is very popular for good reasons: it’s compact, easy and fast to set up, and adequate (this one more than adequate) for most tasks that a tradesperson will need a sawhorse for. The BAUER 32-inch Polypropylene Folding Sawhorse with Bar Clamp is an enhanced version of this widely used tool. I can guarantee that you’ll quickly find yourself using the clamping function of this tool, and at such a low price it’s foolish to settle for a similar sawhorse without it.
No matter what kind of tradesperson you are, if you’re still using a “regular” sawhorse, I’d suggest that you give one of these two BAUER sawhorses a try. You’ve got more options than Grandpa did, and you will certainly appreciate the differences.
