Quick answer: You're not permanently stuck. The Sawhorse costs 2 Boards + 4 Sticks, but taking it apart only gives back 1 Board, which is how players end up with no boards and no way to make more. Smash broken barrels (1–2 boards each), broken shelves (2–4 each) and trash piles around the map, or dismantle another wooden building: players got 2 boards back from the Sluice Box and 4 from the Woodworking Workbench. Rebuild the Sawhorse and it turns 1 Log into 4 Boards again.
Players describe it as no boards, can't make planks, need a sawhorse to make boards and did I softlock myself. It's the same loop: planks need boards, boards need the Sawhorse, and the Sawhorse needs boards.
Quick facts
- Sawhorse cost: 2 Boards + 4 Sticks
- Dismantling the Sawhorse: gives back only 1 Board + 2 Sticks
- Sawhorse recipe: 1 Log → 4 Boards
- Wooden Plank: 1 Board at the Woodworking Workbench
- Buying boards: only once you've built the Builder shop in town
Where to get boards when you have none
| Source | Boards |
|---|---|
| Broken barrels | 1–2 each |
| Broken shelves | 2–4 each |
| Trash piles | sometimes 1 |
| Dismantle the Sluice Box | 2 (player report) |
| Dismantle the Woodworking Workbench | 4 (player report) |
| Builder shop (after you build it) | buy them |
Barrels and trash piles near your house go first. Players who had cleared them found more to smash at the far south end of the village.
How to get out of it
Smash anything broken and wooden
Barrels, shelves and trash piles. Two boards are all you need.
Still short? Dismantle a wooden building
The Sluice Box or the Woodworking Workbench gives boards back. You can rebuild it later.
Rebuild the Sawhorse
2 Boards + 4 Sticks. Then saw a Log for 4 Boards and put them back into what you took apart.
Last resort: load your last save
The game only saves when you sleep. Quit and load to go back to before you dismantled the Sawhorse. You lose everything since that night.
Don't dismantle the Sawhorse unless you're carrying at least 2 spare boards. You never get the full cost back when you take a building apart.
FAQ
Not for good. Broken barrels, shelves and trash piles drop boards, and other wooden buildings give some back when you dismantle them.
Yes, from the Builder, but that's a shop you build in town first (Building Kit I ×4, Wooden Kit I ×3, Iron Kit I ×1). Early on, smashing things is the only way.
Saw a Log into 4 Boards at the Sawhorse, then turn each Board into a Wooden Plank at the Woodworking Workbench.
Related
- Writing Desk: needs Wooden Planks from the Sawhorse
- Polished Bronze: Short Logs also come from the Sawhorse
- How saving works: why loading only takes you back to your last sleep
- Guide: every answer in one place
Sources: a Steam General Discussions thread on the board softlock, wikily.gg, graveyardkeeper2.io, gk2help.com.