Rebuilding my Roller Saw Horse Stand

My workshop is fairly limited in size.  While that can be changing, in the immediate time, I don't have a lot of space.  It means I have to be able to set up in a mobile fashion, e.g. I take over the back patio when I need to.

I've used saw horses to set up a large work bench before.  And about 6 years ago, I did what I shouldn't do, and I used roller stands (the kind you'd use to allow long boards to roll off of a table saw, jointer/joiner, or a planer).  Now, they "roll", which they are supposed to, so the idea 6 years ago was tested to keep them from rolling when needed.  I used some 2" PVC pipe, which (when cut lengthwise to allow the arms supporting the rollers to slide into the "pipe") seemed to fit absolutely perfectly on the rollers.

The problem is that over time, the wood split, warped, and encountered some heavy water damage.  They became unusable (not quickly, but just over time).  I needed something that would last a little longer.  So, I made a few purchases, and set to work on "revision 2".

Here's what you'll need : 

• Two HDPE sheets measuring 3/4" thick x 12" wide x 48" long
• Four aluminum angle iron 1-1/2" x 1-1/2", with legs that are 1/4" thick (thick enough to act as a "nut")
• 48" of 2" PVC pipe, cut into 12" lengths
• Eight 2" wide x 1-3/4" thick x 3" long HDPE bars
• Sixteen heat-set threaded inserts for assembly screws of your choice
• Two thread inserts for "locking pins"
• At least two transfer punch screws (4 is preferable)
• One countersink screw bit
• One drill bit for tapping screws of your choice
• One drill bit for clearance of the same screws
• One drill bit for the thread "locking pin" inserts
• One drill bit for the heat-set threaded inserts 
• Eight spacers (I used drops from other projects) that need to be the same length - about 1" in length, maybe 1" in diameter
• One (or more if you break them) tap
• A soldering iron with a heat-set insert tip
• A screwdriver

How to :

1. Identify (and mark) which side of the angle iron is to be the "surface" side.
2. Drill the tapping-size holes for the screws of your choice into the aluminum angle iron.  I used 5 on each surface-side, with spacing at uneven (check that, my CDO/OCD had issues, but I wanted to decrease linear distance the surfaces would be screwed down with).  Two pieces of angle-iron are used per "saw horse", and the downward legs will face each other.  Orientation is key here.
3. Tap the holes.
4. Drill four holes along the downward legs of ONE of those angle iron bars per horse (if building two horses, you'll do two).
5. Tap these holes.
6. Use the transfer screws in the downward legs and bring the two pieces of angle together to mark the other set.
7. Drill the clearance size holes in the second piece of angle aluminum.
8. Put your spacers in between, and screw the two pieces of angle together into a structural arm.
9. Center the arm on one piece of HDPE sheet, and mark ONE hole on the HDPE sheet.
10. Drill that hole for the clearance size.
11. Bolt the HDPE sheet and the structural arm together with that one bolt.
12. Mark the opposite end of the structural arm to the HDPE sheet.
13. Drill with the clearance size, and connect the two together.  The two parts should not move at this point from each other.
14. Use the remaining holes and either use transfer screws, or use transfer punches.
15. Drill the remaining HDPE holes for structural arm attachment.
16. Countersink the holes from the top-side of the saw horse table top. 
17. Attach the two together (note, they might come off the table later in this process, see step 27).
18. Use a hole-saw in a jig (I just built a square "box" I could clamp them to on the drill press, then clamped that box to the drill press table) to cut an arc on one side lengthwise.  This should be about 2-3/8" in diameter, but I just used a 2" hole saw and made two different runs so that they matched.
19. Drill two holes (threaded insert sized)that will be perpendicular to the arc all the way through the bars.  These will allow threaded inserts to be set in from each end, and allow the pipe to be screwed to these blocks.
20. Use threaded inserts on the back side of the HDPE blocks as well (allowing the blocks to be attached to the HDPE table top surface).
21. Heat-set inserts into the blocks.
22. Once cooled, use transfer screws on the non-arc side of the blocks to mark them onto the HDPE table top.
23. Drill (clearance sized) holes for each block.
24. Countersink the remaining holes.
25. Attach the blocks (permanently - we shouldn't have to remove them again) to the table tops.
26. Use the PVC pipe as a guide and mark the arc pattern into the angle aluminum structural bar.  If the pipe clears, you don't need to do anything.
27. If the pipes do not clear the structural arms, remove one piece of aluminum angle at a time, and grind or cut the clearance so that the pipe will not touch the aluminum. I gave between 1/16" to 1/8" of clearance.
28. Once clearanced, re-install the piece of angle aluminum and tighten the screws.
29. Repeat for the other one as necessary.
30. Use a table saw to cut the pipe lengthwise. A word of caution - PVC pipe is under tension, and when it is fully cut through, will snap together and pinch your saw blade.  This is extremely dangerous.  There are other options, but if you go this direction, find a good way to hold the pipe securely without having your fingers close, go slowly, and if it pinches the saw blade and brings it to a halt, do NOT panic.  Just turn off the saw, and work things free.
31. Use the table saw to cut the pipe to the width to clear the roller arms.
32. Use the transfer screws to mark the pipe in conjunction with the HDPE bars.
33. Drill the holes in the pipe and countersink so that you can attach the pipe to the HDPE bars.
34. Drill the CENTER of the table top to take the threaded inserts.
35. Countersink the remaining clearance holes (PVC pipe, table top, etc).
36. Screw everything together. 
37. Heat the inserts up and screw them into the table.  These allow you to put in a pin and prevent the workbench from sliding on the HDPE. 

The screws themselves won't be holding the weight; they just keep things from moving around and shifting.  It means that you don't need shear strength in picking your hardware.

The end result can just clip together when you need a "saw horse" mode from your roller stands.  When you need roller stands, just take them back apart.

They are quite nifty for the "mobile" or "temporary" workshop.