A new angle on clamp storage...got your interest peaked?

[Eric Commarato]

So I posted this on my Facebook page to some of the woodworking groups I belong to there and have gotten rave reviews. I'm not sure anyone has done this, or I have never seen it done, but the idea just popped into my head at work on Wednesday. I never liked the "unfinished" appearance of clamp racks where brackets are made of plywood triangles then screwed to a backer board then to the wall. I wanted a simpler cleaner look and easier to build. So I got the idea to simply use shelf brackets, the kind you buy from Lowes for $6.97. Space them close enough together to hang almost any kind of bar clamp, or parallel clamp. These shelf brackets will support 1000 pounds each. I simply screwed them to a 2x10 that I sanded and finished with water based poly, then screwed the 2x10 to my studs with 4" deck screws. It worked really well and I thought I would share it. Thanks, Eric Sorry for the rotation on the photograph...

clamp rack.jpg

[Jim Becker]

I've seen this method posted previously and it's a great idea for compact storage of clamps since those brackets are pretty stout.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I dig.

Apparently the board software doesnt like short posts so I have to post more than just "I dig" to submit. So here we are.

[Mike Heidrick]

I like this idea better than my current one as it allows for a few stacked up and is a super short build time and will work great with my slat wall wall build THANK YOU.

Mikie

[Charlie Jones]

I like it because several clamps of one type can be stacked. My present rack is slots cut into boards. It works fine but I have run out of space. I may build this one. Thank you.

[Charles Lent]

I've been doing it this way for years, but made my shelf brackets from 2by lumber. I resorted to this because my small shop space had minimal wall space that I could dedicate for clamp storage, but had too many clamps to store any other way.

Charley

[Al Launier]

Good idea Eric. I'm going to look into this.

I copied your picture to my hard drive, rotated it 90° CW, then posted it here. I think you could try this as well and there may be better ways to do this.

[Mike Heidrick]

Charles buddy, do you have a sense of what is the acceptable length for your 2X solution? Have any pictures?

[Bill Carey]

yes, good idea. I've run out of room as well, and will be trying the brackets. I also added angle horizontally to hang smaller clamps on. This has worked well and I'll incorporate it into my new setup. Besides whats on the wall, I have another 20 clamps in use, and another 20 or so piled on my work bench ready for the next thing. Can never have too many clamps.
20180521_092735.jpg

[Charles Lent]

Charles buddy, do you have a sense of what is the acceptable length for your 2X solution? Have any pictures?

I'm not near my shop right now, and I don't have pictures of my clamp rack, but it can easily hold eight Bessey parallel clamps per slot, I have pipe clamps and other kinds of clamps stored there too, so some of my brackets were made with 2 X 4 and some were made with 2 X 6 stock. They hang from a "French Cleat" type of mount made from a 2 X 4 notched to accept a mating piece on the rear end of each bracket, but screws were driven through the bracket and into the "French Cleat" once I had the brackets spaced the way that I wanted. This 2 X 4 was screwed to every wall stud with two 3" hardened screws (a lot of weight is hanging from it). Each bracket was made with a diagonal brace of the same 2 by material and all joints were glued and screwed together. Before adding the clamps, I hung my full weight from each bracket (240 lbs) to convince myself that they would hold the weight of the clamps. I built and installed this about 14 years ago. I probably have a total of 45 clamps hanging from it of 2-6' lengths in a wall space of about 4'.

Charley

[Mikail Khan]

Nice. Thanks for posting.

MK

[Ted Reischl]

Terrible idea. The problem is that usually only a few clamps are used at a time. So the same 4 clamps get used over and over and wear out before all the others. You will need to rotate them on a regular basis to make sure they all wear nice and even.

(all this from a guy who put his clamps above a gas heater. The gas heater ate the springs in short order. Of course I am also cheap so all I have is Jorgensens from 25 years ago. BTW, the folks at J's sent me all new springs for free. Nice people.)

I suggest you rotate them every week, and keep records.

[Mike Heidrick]

You can reuse clamps?????????

[roger wiegand]

Once my interest is piqued it might reach a peak.