DIY Slatwall Hangers?

[Homer Faucett]

I have put up some slatwall that I cannibalized from some retail displays snagged from a clothing store that went out of business. This stuff has the aluminum inserts in the approximately "T" shaped slots.

I would really like to hang my nuts and bolt bins from the slatwall, and tried to make some "Z" shaped plywood pieces to act much like the metal hangers that snap into the slots. However, despite multiple iterations, I came to the hasty conclusion that if I made a "Z" thin enough to snap into the slat, that it would probably not be strong enough to reliably secure a bin of hardware without risk of breaking the bracket.

Has anyone come up with a decent DIY bracket for these walls, or am I just going to have to suck it up and buy more of the pricey metal brackets? I'm sure someone with a decent metal brake could whip some of these out of aluminum or steel, but I was hoping there was an easy solution for a guy without much in the way of metalworking equipment, or an extrusion I could buy from the hardware store with the right cross-section that I could just cut with a sawzall or other crude metal-cutting tool.:D

Many thanks for any help.

[Philip Rodriquez]

Screws :-)

[Jay Maiers]

How about a strip of 1/8 aluminum with a wood or metal spacer between the aluminum and the back of the bin? As long as you don't get silly with the bin weight it should hold fine.

[Jim O'Dell]

I bought a bunch from a store going out of business for about .20 ea. I do need some more though. I've thought about seeing if I could buy some Z channel and make some, just haven't looked for it. I think I could even make some out of angle aluminum or even iron if one side was longer than the other. Then just make some triangle edges that would rest against the slat wall material below for strength. Jim.

[Jim McFarland]

DIIY using solid wood may not be strong enough for your application, but just in case....Lee Valley sells a slot wall router bit:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=51594&cat=1,46168,46176&ap=1

[John Toigo]

There is tons of that stuff around used from stores that have closed.

[Mark ten Haaf]

If you know of a local metal fabrication shop, you should just waltz in there to "get a price" on what you are looking for. If it is a part that's made of relatively cheap stock, and it is something they can bend in a matter of seconds, they will probably send you out the door with what you were looking for at no charge. I've done this many times. Usually, it's made of something grabbed out of the scrap bin, and they don't want to bother with paperwork; they just want your bigger project in the future. Worth a shot. And, if they actually want to charge you........well, you were just looking for a price anyway.

[Homer Faucett]

How about a strip of 1/8 aluminum with a wood or metal spacer between the aluminum and the back of the bin? As long as you don't get silly with the bin weight it should hold fine.

While I hope there is an easier alternative I think your solution may be the best DIY method, Jay. The big issue is that the strip that locks into the vertical part of the slat has to be quite thin, as does the wood or metal spacer in your proposed solution. Otherwise, you cannot fully insert the hanger into the slat.

One could probably take two long strips of aluminum, and offset them with an oak spacer of the right thickness that is epoxied and screwed from both sides to make a long, continuous cross-section that could be cut into several individual pieces. I just wonder how cost effective it would be. Man, I wish I could find more of those pre-fabbed hangers at Jim O'Dell's price!

Jim, if you find a suitable z-channel, let me know. I'll keep looking, too, as that was what I was hoping to find as the DIY solution. Mark, thanks for the info. I may look into where I can find a metal fabricator around here if I can't find an off-the-shelf solution. Thanks for the input, and keep it coming!

[david brum]

Before you spend the time and money fabricating hangers, you might want to check on the internet auction site. A quick glance shows boxes of 50 basic hooks for under $20. You could just break off the hook portion (not hard to do) and have ready made brackets for pretty cheap.

[Homer Faucett]

Before you spend the time and money fabricating hangers, you might want to check on the internet auction site. A quick glance shows boxes of 50 basic hooks for under $20. You could just break off the hook portion (not hard to do) and have ready made brackets for pretty cheap.

And we have a winner! I did a google search, which usually comes up with ebay hits, with no joy after realizing that I would have little luck making my own out of plywood. All my results came back between $1.50 and $5.00 each, plus shipping. This is much better at about $.50 each. Thanks, David! Either my pliers or angle grinder will take off the hook portion in a hurry.

[Logan William]

I bought my slat wall accessories from KC Store Fixtures, was very reasonably priced plus since I'm just a couple hours north of Kansas City they showed up 1 day after shipping.

[Homer Faucett]

I bought my slat wall accessories from KC Store Fixtures, was very reasonably priced plus since I'm just a couple hours north of Kansas City they showed up 1 day after shipping.

Wow, that would have been even better. Too bad I already pulled the trigger on the others. KC Store Fixtures has these for $.24 each if you buy in multiples of 100. I can only guess that there must be a wide range of weight ratings and construction techniques on these items that results in the huge differences in prices. I guess we'll find out when my order comes in.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thanks for the tip on kc store fixtures! They are now bookmarked in my favorites! Jim.

[Jim O'Dell]

I looked at the KC store fixture site, but the shipping was higher than I thought it should be. I found this place, http://tinyurl.com/3t88jqu and ordered from them Sun evening. Got the package today. Shipping was 25% less than KC for a few more pieces. Put some up this evening, and they seem to be fine. Jim.