Custom Pegboard Tool Hangers

I began to rearrange my tools on the pegboard above my workbench so that it holds the tools I use most frequently rather than whatever I had room to place there.  In the photo is my hammer.  Notice how straight the handle hangs.  It was not always that way.  I had to do some customizing.  I may do more of that in the future because every time I go shopping for a pegboard hanger, the available stock has changed.

Step 1: What Was Available

One of the photos below shows how crooked my hammer hung before.  The other shows the commercially available hooks I had been using. 

Step 2: Raw Material

In addition to pegboard hangers, I used some heavy wire about 1/8" in diameter.  Friends built a garage and these are some of the wire stubs left over from reinforcement wire sticking out of the concrete foundation.  Some were straight, but many have a gentle spiral twist that I remove by pounding with a hammer on a flat metal surface.  In some later steps I will show some 3/16" and 1/4" steel rod I also used.

Step 3: Customizing the Hammer Hanger

Instead of two hangers next to one another, I bent one of the wire stubs from the previous step and welded it to the tip of one of the commercial hangers.  If you look closely, you can see that the right side of the "U" shaped piece is lower (nearer to the camera) than the left side.  This is what allows the hammer to hang with the handle straight and vertical as in the Introduction photo.

In the second photo below you can see how the "U" shaped piece aligns with the contours of the hammer.  I used this process to determine how much angle to use on the piece I bent in the setup for welding it to the commercial hanger. 

In the third photo below I placed my customized hanger into the vise to adjust the angle on the customized hanger so the hammer's handle hangs straight up and down.

Step 4: Another Variation

I wanted to hang all of my spring clamps on a separate wire hanger.  I decided to lengthen one of the hangers that came with my pegboard.   If you look at the photo you can see the weld where I added length. 

In the second photo you can see all four of my spring clamps on this hanger. 

In the third photo below you can see how I weld two rods end-to-end.  I have a piece of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" aluminum angle.  Two of the wire stubs from step 2 are used in this demonstration.  Although I am using a wire feed welder, which is very easy to start; it is not difficult to do this step with a stick welder.  See my Instructable on starting an arc exactly where you want it to begin using a stick welder.

Step 5: Bending Hangers

I made a handle for keyhole saw blades and I want to hang that saw on my pegboard.  But, the commercial hangers have a bend in them.  I changed the angle on the hanger so the saw can hang without the blades angling outward from the pegboard.  See the second photo below for the difference between a hanger from the factory (right side) and how I changed the angle (left side).

Step 6: Hanger for Side Cutter Pliers

When using a wire feed welder it is necessary to use some sort of side cutter pliers to trim the end of the wire to length or to remove a non-conductive ball from the end of the wire.  I customized one of the hangers that came with my pegboard to hold a pair of side cutters away from the pegboard so I can easily grasp them while wearing heavy leather welding gloves. 

Step 7: Making the Holder for the Side Cutters

I used one of the wire stubs from step 2.  Place the heavy wire and the side cutters in a vise.  Begin bending the wire around the wire cutter with a hammer.  Move the side cutters and bent wire a quarter turn and continue making bends until a rectangle has been formed that fits around the side cutters.  Trim away excess wire.  Weld the ends to close the rectangle.

Step 8: Weld the Rectangle to the Hanger

For the process of welding I wore welder's gloves.  Grasp the closed rectangle with a pair of pliers and hold in position while tack welding it to the hanger.  Finish the welding after the tack has been made.

Step 9: Add Verticals

I added two vertical pieces to guide the position of the side cutters and keep the handles vertical.  Trim these to length so they are about as long as the tip of the side cutters when they are positioned as you want them to be.

Step 10: Angle Iron to Cradle the Tip of the Side Cutters

I cut a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" angle iron and tack welded it to the ends of the vertical pieces.  Then I finished the welds.  This angle iron will cradle the tip of the side cutters.  The side cutters should slip in and out of the hanger for it very easily.  File any weld material or the corners where the side cutters stick when moving in or out of the hanger.

Step 11: Make Your Own?

There may be a time when you need a hanger for your pegboard, but cannot find or adapt the right commercial hanger.  My commercial hangers are a little thicker than 3/16".  I am using 3/16" rod here.  Do a rough calculation of how much rod is used in the bends on the commercial hanger and make a bend to replicate the first bend as seen here.

Step 12: Making the Second Bend

Here you see a cold chisel in use to pound a second, relatively sharp bend in the 3/16" rod.  I alternated between pushing the rod with a cold chisel and pounding on the end of the 3/16" rod until its bends replicated those in the commercial hanger. 

Step 13: Plan for Welding 1/4" Stud

My commercial hangers use a 1/4" stud to catch the hole in the pegboard below the one that accepts the bent section.  The vise will allow me to press the 1/4" rod against the vise jaws while welding.  This will give a precise placement, so long as I get this setup right.

Step 14: Welding the Stud

I chamfered the 1/4" rod to make a more complete, stronger weld from both sides.  Grind away excess weld material so the stud can fit neatly into the pegboard holes when finished. 

Step 15: Saw the Stud to Length

If the stud had been cut off before welding, the process of welding the stud to the 3/16" rod would have been more difficult.  Cut the stud to length.  Grind away all burrs. 

Step 16: Done

Here you see my homemade hanger in the pegboard.  From this point it is easy to bend the hanger to suit your needs, also to weld special fittings to it for unique tools. 

Step 17: Another Style

Some hangers are this style.  If you needed to make a special hanger, this style would not be difficult to replicate using steps and techniques outlined in previous steps from this Instructable.