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View Full Version : Classy clamp rack made of birch



Ryan Gallo
02-28-2016, 1:56 PM
Inspired by this "How to Build the Ultimate Clamp Rack" (http://www.familyhandyman.com/tools/storage/how-to-build-the-ultimate-clamp-rack/view-all) article, I set out to finally create a home for my accumulation of clamps. I recently scored a collection of used Bessey K Body Revo clamps, and they looked too good to be on the ground -- and really, they're too heavy to hang on the wall. But I also have a random collection of other clamps, including Festool hole clamps, and I wanted them to have a home as well. I also decided I would use birch for the trim and supports, since I had some spare birch left over from a past project, and also had some birch-veneered plywood sitting around.

So, I borrowed from the basic design above to create my custom version:
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Most of the design remained the same, but I added slots in the top platform to accommodate my hole clamps, and moved the platforms to be equidistant.
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As you can probably tell, I really enjoy using SketchUp to initially design my projects. In fact, I will often spend twice as long in this design phase as my woodworking phase - and trust me, I am a slow woodworker!

I use a SketchUp plug-in called CutList that takes my model, and generates a spreadsheet of materials. Now, you do have to be careful to assign the correct materials in your model before relying on CutList to work, but as long as you are careful, it can really speed things up.
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I'll then tidy up the CutList output into an Excel spreadsheet and bring this to the lumber mill:
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Here's the completed project, finished with some clear poly:
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Thanks for reading.

Bill McNiel
02-28-2016, 2:03 PM
Very nice.

Yonak Hawkins
02-28-2016, 2:14 PM
It looks very handy.