How to Build a Crossbuck

Cut the 2-by-4s into four-foot lengths. Use the tape measure to mark the length, and use the speed square and pencil to scribe the cut across the face of the 2-by-4. Do all the cutting on the sawhorses while using safety goggles.

Select four of the four-foot pieces of 2-by-4 and mark each one at 32 inches with the tape measure. Then extend this mark across the face of the 2-by-4, but do not cut the 2-by-4. These marks are only necessary for aligning the cross pieces.

Set one of the marked 2-by-4s on top of another to form a X shape. The pencil marks should line up to form a V. That is to say the bottom point of each mark should visually meet at one point to form a large X with the two pieces of wood.

Nail the two pieces of 2-by-4 together with 12-penny galvanized nails. Drive the nails from both the top and bottom side of the pair of 2-by-4s. Do this for both pair of crosses.

Set the crosses in an upright position so the short ends are above the long ends. Then make a pencil mark 1 1/2 inches up from the V-shaped notch. Do this on all four upright boards.

Nail the remaining pair of four-foot 2-by-4s to the upright members. Use the inch-and-a-half marks as the starting point when setting the four-foot boards in place. These two boards should run horizontally, connecting one X-shaped support to the other.

Run the 1-by-4 diagonally from one support leg to the other. Ideally, this brace should be about six inches off the ground. Nail the brace in place with the 6-penny galvanized nails and lop the ends off with the crosscut saw.