Clamp Racks

[Bruce Page]

Have you ever noticed that there seem to be about as many different clamp rack designs as there are wood workers? I remember spending hours scouring woodworking websites, looking for ideas, before I built my clamp rack. I had an idea, if everyone could post pictures of their clamp rack design with a description, into the same post, it could make the search much easier for other woodworkers that are building their first rack and potentially save some trial & error.
So, what do you think? Post or repost your clamp rack pictures into this thread for posterity. :cool:

I’ll kick things off with a repost of my, ahem, Rube Goldburg clamp rack…

“Where do you store a bunch of bar clamps in a 2-car garage shop when your wall & floor space is limited?
I have been pondering that question for sometime so a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a decent rack for all my Bessey & Quick-Grips and hang it above an unused garage door.
I started by having a friend of mine who owns a machine shop order me a piece of 4”x 6”x 3/8” 6061 aluminum angle, 8’ long. Next, I drilled a .250 hole in each of my Bessey clamps for a roll pin - the Quick-Grips already have a pin. I also drilled a hole in the 4 Gross-Stabil bar clamps that my dad bought back in the 50’s. Next, I milled 52 slots of varying widths & depths through the angle. Using a ball end-mill, I also milled a keeper slot to capture the roll pin. It took about 8 hours and a few Millers, but I now have a decent clamp rack with plenty of open slots for future Christmas presents.”

[Erik Stol]

Hi Bruce,

This looks great. My clamps aren't that well organised. Maybe i should pickup this issue after the extension on my house is ready.

Erik Stol
The Netherlands

[Bob Marino]

Bruce,

Very elegant solution to the problem, real nice job.

Bob

[John Weber]

Bruce,

Very Nice, just keep that door shut. I had to come out from the wall for my k-body style clamps. In a small shop I didn't have enough wall space the hang them side by side, but was able to install a few brackets that do the job. My tradesman clamps are in a standard sloted racks, and others on the peg board. The key is to have a system where you can access the clamps fairly easily.

John

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picsw04/clampstorage1.jpg

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picsw04/clampstorage2.jpg

[Bruce Page]

Bruce,

Very Nice, just keep that door shut. I had to come out from the wall for my k-body style clamps. In a small shop I didn't have enough wall space the hang them side by side, but was able to install a few brackets that do the job. My tradesman clamps are in a standard sloted racks, and others on the peg board. The key is to have a system where you can access the clamps fairly easily.

John
Looking good John! This is what I'm talking about - different solutions to a common problem!

[Kurt Aebi]

I made a clamp cart for mine, so I could roll it anywhere in the shop or out of the way when they are not needed.

Great idea Bruce and man, I wish I had that mill in my shop - I have to use the ones at work in between job setups.

[Tim Sproul]

Bruce.... :eek:


I don't have any metal milling capability...or experience, other than the odd drilling of holes into metal every now and then. That is one fine storage set-up :cool:.

I didn't want to lose floor space...seeing as I've only got nominally 350 sq ft or so...so I used Andy Rae's published method (Complete Illustrated Guide to....) which he says is a copy of a friend of his:

http://www.woodworkersweb.com/modules/gallery/albums/albur43/Clamps.jpg

smaller clamps are in the drawers.

The idea is simple - screw some triangles to a board. Space between these triangles enough to accomodate the bar. Attatch the board to the wall. I used some scrap plywood I have left over.

[Jim Becker]

I didn't have any current pictures when this thread first appeared last week, but wanted to contribute what I'm using for clamp racks in the shop. These are all made from scrap plywood by drilling a series of holes that are slightly wider than the particular clamp's bar and then cutting out the two sides of each slot on the table saw using a miter guage. The holes are spaced to allow clamps to live side by side. I like this design because it allows the clamps to remain fully open and ready to use. As you can see, this design works for both large clamps and small ones.

[Bob Hyde]

Bruce, really slick solution for the clamps! Have to admit it was hard to keep focus on the clamp storage with that milling machine sitting there and looking so pretty... I'm envious!!!
bob

[David Rose]

Shot a quick one of my simple A-frame rack on castors. Please ignore the dirt and trash.

David

[Chris Padilla]

Mine aren't really anywhere special...but they work for where they are now. :)

[Bruce Page]

Bob, that old mill does come in handy at times! ;)

Jim, I think Norm would be envious of your Bessy collection!

Chris, does that MM20 suck so much juice that you can't even turn the lights on anymore? :p BTW, what size wire & breaker did you have to use on that monster?

[JeffKranz]

This is a simple rack to hold mostly Bessey clamps.

Also, the clamps that are blocking the cirucit panel have been inverted and now point up so I have access to it.

<BR>
<IMG src="http://members.accesstoledo.com/beagly/besseyrack2.jpg">
</BR>

[Bart Leetch]

This is my clamp rack which is behind the shop entry door.

I was looking to move all my light duty bar clamps & aluminum bar clamps to
the same wall that the pipe clamps were hanging on, this made it easer to walk up & get a clamp as needed..

For the light duty bar clamps you see the lower racks with dowels to hang the clamps on.

For the aluminum bar clamps I looked up I saw that if I drove headless nails between each pipe clamp & drilled a hole in each clamp bar I could hang these clamps.

I now only have 2 problems.

1. I don't have enough clamps.

2. I don't have much more wall space to hang more clamps.

[Bruce Page]

Hey Bart, I have the same two problems!

Nice rack!

[Chris Padilla]

Chris, does that MM20 suck so much juice that you can't even turn the lights on anymore? :p BTW, what size wire & breaker did you have to use on that monster?I picked up some waterproof soft 10/3 cord from the borg ($$$s, $1.39/ft.) and have it connected to a 30 A 2-pole breaker. The motor is 4.2 HP (240 V) so this should work out just fine.

I just had the lights turned down and figured the pic was good enough! :)

[Pete Harbin]

We're traveling today, so no access to pics of the shop. Mine are very simlar to Jim's. I like to hang that clamps so that they're open and ready to go. I've pinched a few fingers over the years when I used to hang the bessey's in the closed position.

The shop is still in transition...we've only been on the new house a year now! I'm using any available wall space right now, but that's got the collection spread out all over. Still working on the total layout...:rolleyes:

My problem is that I have more 40" and 50" Besseys than I need...remember the HD and Lowes blitz a few years back? I think I paid about $18-$19 average per clamp. I'd almost trade them straight up for more 24's...almost...:p

Pete

[Walt Nicholson]

Here is one I built a while back that has really been handy in the shop.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=68946&highlight=clamp+rack

[glenn bradley]

I have cleats down the walls so I went modular. Things have been rearranged quite a few times. They've ended up back almost where they started but will move again on the next project I imagine.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=89678&d=1212197584

[Glenn Clabo]

Here's mine...simple...and it continues to work just fine even with twice the clamps.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14628&d=1105117430

[glenn bradley]

Here's mine...simple...and it continues to work just fine even with twice the clamps.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=14628&d=1105117430


Ahhh, no earthquakes in your neck-o-the-woods I'll wager :D.

[Ben Martin]

Well, not to raise the dead here, but instead of posting my own thread I thought that I could keep this one going...

I built my clamp storage rack tonight, took all of 30 minutes, actually took longer to put the clamps on the rack then it did to build the thing. I was originally using the exposed I beams in my basement shop for a rack but this proved a little un-safe so I decided to exploit the exposed joists in my basement shop in the corner by my drill press.

All this is is a piece of 3/4" ply wood screwed to the bottom of my joists with 1 5/8" drywall screws at 6" intervals (which my structural engineer wife asked why there were so many screws...)

This shows the over all view:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/General%20Workshop%20Pictures/IMG_2571.jpg

This shows it from the end:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/General%20Workshop%20Pictures/IMG_2572.jpg

And here are some pics from underneath showing the 75+ F-Clamps and 25+ Parallel Clamps on it:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/General%20Workshop%20Pictures/IMG_2574.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp325/martbj/General%20Workshop%20Pictures/IMG_2575.jpg

[Mike Heidrick]

A few pics of mine. JLT panel rack and the shopnotes racks. Second pic is from JLT's site showing it with clamps in use. I have about doubled the Jorgy numberss since this picture - found a deal on 18 more of them in one fell swoop buy when a localish guy was moving. I have since moved the F-bar clamps to another rack also from shopnotes.

[Mike Cruz]

Wow, this thread seems more like a peeing contest than a help/aid! :D

Well, here's what I did. It is for all of my F style bar clamps 6" to 36", parallel clamps, and spring clams. The 4 foot heavy bar clamps are going on the wall.

[Cory Hoehn]

Here's my small and simple clamp collection. I don't have a lot of wall space, so i had to go out off of the wall. I've got the slots sized so that I can store any of my clamps. On this rack, which is about 24" wide, I've got 4 Jorgy's, 4 pipe clamps, 2 quick grips, and 8 f-style clamps. I've got another small rack that holds more f-style and quick grips near my work bench.

http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac184/coho10/IMG_0110.jpg

http://s898.photobucket.com/albums/ac184/coho10/?action=view&current=IMG_0110.jpg
(http://s898.photobucket.com/albums/ac184/coho10/?action=view&current=IMG_0110.jpg)

[Jason White]

Here's my solution in a post from last week...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=127054



Have you ever noticed that there seem to be about as many different clamp rack designs as there are wood workers? I remember spending hours scouring woodworking websites, looking for ideas, before I built my clamp rack. I had an idea, if everyone could post pictures of their clamp rack design with a description, into the same post, it could make the search much easier for other woodworkers that are building their first rack and potentially save some trial & error.
So, what do you think? Post or repost your clamp rack pictures into this thread for posterity. :cool:

I’ll kick things off with a repost of my, ahem, Rube Goldburg clamp rack…

“Where do you store a bunch of bar clamps in a 2-car garage shop when your wall & floor space is limited?
I have been pondering that question for sometime so a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a decent rack for all my Bessey & Quick-Grips and hang it above an unused garage door.
I started by having a friend of mine who owns a machine shop order me a piece of 4”x 6”x 3/8” 6061 aluminum angle, 8’ long. Next, I drilled a .250 hole in each of my Bessey clamps for a roll pin - the Quick-Grips already have a pin. I also drilled a hole in the 4 Gross-Stabil bar clamps that my dad bought back in the 50’s. Next, I milled 52 slots of varying widths & depths through the angle. Using a ball end-mill, I also milled a keeper slot to capture the roll pin. It took about 8 hours and a few Millers, but I now have a decent clamp rack with plenty of open slots for future Christmas presents.”

[Mike Heidrick]

:D

Wow, this thread seems more like a peeing contest than a help/aid! :D

:D Well now that the clamp cart peeing target is here ..... :D

BTW - if you need the shopnotes number for the wall design I copied I will search it out.

[jack duren]

A couple... Some when I can get to them and we use two wheel clamp at work similar to these...

[Jim Becker]

I looked at my previous submission to this old thread and had a chuckle...it was clearly before I bought my MM16. This is the clamp rack today:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/shop/IMG_7353_zpsbmwjvdmn.jpg

[jack duren]

Only thing I get confused on is the amount of wall space consumed by efforts to showcase clamps. There not displayed at the store this way so why display them in the shop?

[Bruce Page]

Only thing I get confused on is the amount of wall space consumed by efforts to showcase clamps. There not displayed at the store this way so why display them in the shop?
For me, it has nothing to do with display and everything to do with quick & easy access.

[jack forsberg]

hopefuly I will not needs words and the pics with speak for themself. here is my decorating with clamps



http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20032_zpscxtvagqm.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20032_zpscxtvagqm.jpg.html)


http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20004_zpsrgrrlrzd.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20004_zpsrgrrlrzd.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20005_zpsnowbcwws.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20005_zpsnowbcwws.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20006_zpsimaxt895.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20006_zpsimaxt895.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20010_zpssdodoor1.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20010_zpssdodoor1.jpg.html)
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20011_zpswn8sb1ox.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20011_zpswn8sb1ox.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20012_zpsj9cfevnp.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20012_zpsj9cfevnp.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20013_zpssom1zk3a.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20013_zpssom1zk3a.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20014_zps5uiprl0w.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20014_zps5uiprl0w.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20015_zpstvkvyxwf.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20015_zpstvkvyxwf.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20017_zpszqqnzex7.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20017_zpszqqnzex7.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20019_zpscvpwmj2w.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20019_zpscvpwmj2w.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20020_zpsxpa7hity.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20020_zpsxpa7hity.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20021_zpsklwnkbzb.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20021_zpsklwnkbzb.jpg.html)

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll29/oldtool1/clamps%20025_zpsjqcpwny6.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/oldtool1/media/clamps%20025_zpsjqcpwny6.jpg.html)


my 8 and 10 footers are not martha worthy . Still need more because you can never have enough clamps when decorating the shop ;')

[jack duren]

Decorating for sure... It takes three guys to unload and fill 80 racks per day. And this is using hydraulics.
334151

[Mike Heidrick]

I think I have fixed my wall space issue for a bit. Still love the JLT for panels though. Its reduced the need for more parallels but I still don't turn down very many local Jorgys Jets or Besseys for $20ea or less just out of principle.

[jack forsberg]

Decorating for sure... It takes three guys to unload and fill 80 racks per day. And this is using hydraulics.
334151

I see you got a lock them in there to do that job. Lol

[jack duren]

Just on the back side. One or two have fallen out before. The operator in front can't see the back and someone could fall in by mistake without the cage.

The company is paying for someone to come in and manage "The Toyota Way" and we are not allowed to stock parts anymore. So... we have to cut,joint and fill the next days panels each day.

We are doing about three Chilli's a week and will soon be doing five. Not sure how they will keep up without reserves...

[Jim Becker]

Only thing I get confused on is the amount of wall space consumed by efforts to showcase clamps.
I have them the way I do for my convenience, not to "showcase" them...they are out of the way until I need them, easy to grab and organized so I can find what I want quickly. Where I have them would have limited utility for other things because of how the people-door opens, so rather than wasted space, it's now functional space.

[Mike Heidrick]

I like the rack that triple stacks them on piano hinges and the layers open like a book.

[Jared Sankovich]

I would have liked to do a hinged rack, but I can't have that much stick out from the wall and still open the drawers.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/jar944/rps20160102_225610_748_zpslshn9lwa.jpg

[Mike Nguyen]

Here's mine. I had to stagger the parallel clamps due to limited wall space.
Mike
334252334254334255

[Ben Rivel]

Only thing I get confused on is the amount of wall space consumed by efforts to showcase clamps. There not displayed at the store this way so why display them in the shop?
Ha! For as much money as I spent on all my clamps I LIKE them displayed nicely in my shop. In fact I display everything in an organized and neat manner. Makes things easier to keep track of and easier to get to.

[Frank Pratt]

Here's mine. I had to stagger the parallel clamps due to limited wall space.
Mike


That's just how I'm going to build my clamp rack. You can get a lot more clamps in a given space doing that. But mine will be on a rolling cart.

[Alan Lightstone]

I like the rack that triple stacks them on piano hinges and the layers open like a book.

Me too:
334346
334347
334348
334349
A lot more in there now, but that's the idea.

Built it a few years ago. Amazingly space efficient. Not my original idea, though.

[Rob Damon]

Those are not clamp show cases that I see in the previous post, just efficient mounting of clamps to suite your working space and work style.

If you want to see a clamp display showcase:

334422
334423
334424
334425

Every clamp sorted, organized and color matched/coordinated shelf .....including an official Bessey clamps banner courtesy of Besseytools....:D

(450 clamps in all shiny and clean, but that's the way I keep them. )

[Ben Rivel]

Those are not clamp show cases that I see in the previous post, just efficient mounting of clamps to suite your working space and work style.

If you want to see a clamp display showcase:

334422
334423
334424
334425

Every clamp sorted, organized and color matched/coordinated shelf .....including an official Bessey clamps banner courtesy of Besseytools....:D

(450 clamps in all shiny and clean, but that's the way I keep them. )
LOL Wow! Bessey/Powermatic fanboy!

[Rob Damon]

LOL Wow! Bessey/Powermatic fanboy!

Sure, why not, I don't make a living from it, so may as well have some fun with it.

[Dave Zellers]

You have too many clamps.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Those are not clamp show cases that I see in the previous post, just efficient mounting of clamps to suite your working space and work style.

If you want to see a clamp display showcase:

334422
334423
334424
334425

Every clamp sorted, organized and color matched/coordinated shelf .....including an official Bessey clamps banner courtesy of Besseytools....:D

(450 clamps in all shiny and clean, but that's the way I keep them. )

WOW, and it even looks like you have two dozen of the 8-9 footers! I was going to be happy getting just two, but now it seems so inadequate!

Rob, I am obviously envious, but I think you just disproved, and rather convincingly so, the oft quoted adage " . . . you can never have enough clamps . . . . "

[Stew Hagerty]

Well here are the majority of my clamps. I mainly have a combination of Bessey K-Bodys, Quick Clamps, F Clamps, and Wooden Handscrews.

334470 334471

[Jim Becker]

You have too many clamps.

Bawwwaaaa!!!! "Too many" and "Clamps" in the same sentence just doesn't sound realistic! :D

[Roy Harding]

Bawwwaaaa!!!! "Too many" and "Clamps" in the same sentence just doesn't sound realistic! :D

+ 10,000. "Too many clamps" is a paradox.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Those are not clamp show cases that I see in the previous post, just efficient mounting of clamps to suite your working space and work style.

If you want to see a clamp display showcase:

334422
334423
334424
334425

Every clamp sorted, organized and color matched/coordinated shelf .....including an official Bessey clamps banner courtesy of Besseytools....:D

(450 clamps in all shiny and clean, but that's the way I keep them. )

Yes, that is a showcase that I wouldn't mind having. Hope the drool doesn't short out my keyboard :)

[Steve Kinnaird]

I looked at my previous submission to this old thread and had a chuckle...it was clearly before I bought my MM16. This is the clamp rack today:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/shop/IMG_7353_zpsbmwjvdmn.jpg

Jim,
Do you have any close-up PIC's of the racks to show how the clamps rest into the rack?

Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Jim,
Do you have any close-up PIC's of the racks to show how the clamps rest into the rack?

Thanks!
AH...this question apparently has been asked before...I already had a pic... :) And as you can see, this is a very simple arrangement. I built these clamp racks from leftover materials. Drilled holes spaced appropriately and then, using a cross-cut fence, cut the sides of the slots.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v646/a-j-adopt/Woodworking/IMG_2944_zps144b18b3.jpg

[Dave Zellers]

Bawwwaaaa!!!! "Too many" and "Clamps" in the same sentence just doesn't sound realistic! :D


+ 10,000. "Too many clamps" is a paradox.

:D Been patiently waiting to say that. :D

I have a fair amount of clamps but got frustrated last year that I didn't have any short strong ones. I got tired of always using my Jet 24" parallel clamps (I have 10) for narrow but long clamp ups (and finishing up with the 42" if needed) so I ponied up (pun alert!) for a dozen 3/4" Pony pipe clamp sets and 2 dozen 18" 3/4" threaded pipe nipples plus a dozen couplings. Soooooo glad I did. An 18" pipe yields 13" of clearance and I use them ALL the time. Just the other day I used all 12 and still needed 4 of the 24" Jets to finish. I have maybe a dozen other 3/4" pipe clamp sets that go back 40 years to when I was just starting out. Wall space is way too precious for any display or organization. They are spread out all over the shop tucked into corners, in between cabinets, and hanging from the ceiling.

One of these days I might lead a photo rebellion of the cluttered dusty shop people against these overly organized shops that look cleaner than my house.

Don't tell my wife I said that. :eek: