Sawhorse Pipe Vise
Drill a hole through the center of the sawhorse's top rail and use a wrench on either side to hold pipe for threading.
I’m not a plumber, but I occasionally need a pipe vise to thread steel pipe. Pipe vises are expensive, and I didn’t want another single-use tool, so I modified a sawhorse to do the job. I drilled a 1-1/4-in. hole through the center of the sawhorse’s top rail. I then installed two threaded eyebolts through each side of the top rail, spaced from the center hole so that they pass through the slotted ends of two 14-in. pipe wrenches. The threaded eyebolts are held in place with fender washers and nuts on both sides of the rail for strength. With wrenches on both sides of the horse, the pipe won’t rotate as the threader does its work.
—Ken Temkin, Highland Park, Ill.
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
Published in Fine Homebuilding #304