Introduction: Quick Universal Clamp Rack
In this Instructable, I'll show you how I made this quick universal Clamp Rack from 18mm Birch plywood fasten together with some 50mm screws. This is a great solution for organizing your random shaped clamps in just a few steps. You can make this entirely with just a Circular saw and a Drill in a few hours.
Hope you find some inspiration to make your own!
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Step 1: Materials and Tools
Tools Used:
- Circular saw
- Miter saw or Table saw ( this is the one I used: http://amzn.to/2jL1PnX )
- Orbital sander ( or anything that you can sand with)
- Drill or drill press (doesn't really matter )
Materials/Supplies:
- 18mm Plywood
- Wood glue
- CA Glue (superglue)
- Tape measure
- Speed square
- Pencil
- Sandpaper
- Clamps ( Of course Duh....)
- Water-based poly
Step 2: Rough Cutting the Pieces
If you have scrap pieces of 18mm (3/4") plywood you can modify the dimensions or you have more clamps feel free to adapt the measurements.
Start by arranging your clamps in groups so that the ones that have close to the same sized bars can stack in one row.
I made mine so that it can hold 5 rows of clamps and in each row, I can stack up to 6 clamps so I have some room for expansion.
I've started by cutting one piece to 100cm by 20cm with my circular saw that will serve as the back of the clamp rack, and one piece that is 115cm by 22cm that will become the support arms for the clamps.
Then I used my table saw sled to cut 22cm by 22cm squares from the 115cm long board
Step 3: Cutting the Support Arms to Size
After the 22cm squares have been cut I screwed a piece of wood at a 45degree angle to the table saw sled to cut two triangles from each board.
Afterwards, I cut off the pointy corners of the triangles to get a final dimension of 20cm's on the two short ends of the triangle so that it matches the back panel. It also looks better that way and you can avoid to hurt yourself when reaching for clamps.
Step 4: Drilling, Sanding and Screwing
Now that every main piece is cut to the final dimension you can Pre-drill and countersink the holes with the matching drill bit for the 50mm long screws that hold the triangles to the back piece.
I measured the spacing for the clamps that I laid out carefully in groups so I don't waste more wall space then what is absolutely needed but you can still easily remove them.
After sanding all the Plywood to P120 grit on my Orbital sander I Applied 2 coats of water based poly before I assemble the rack.
I didn't use any wood glue to strengthen the joints so that when I later want to expand or modify I don't have to struggle. and these long screws are more than enough to hold the weight of the Clamps ( or even me when I just want to "hang" around....)
Use a speed square when assembling the rack to avoid goofy looking and pinching support arms.
Step 5: Some Additional Dingdongs and Doodads for Smaller Clamps
I had some Space in between and on the side of the supports so that was the perfect place to store some of the smaller f-style clamps and spring clamps.
I just used some small 2cm wide strips of plywood that I found in my scrap bin and cut them to fit the space.For the spring clamps I just glued them in their place and for the F-style clamps, i cut some notches in the strip so that the bar of the clamp slides in, I attached it to the back piece with a little amount of CA glue on the sides so that it acts like a clamp until the wood glue dries.
Step 6: They Are Just Hanging Around
For mounting it to the wall I just used some long screws and fastened it to the studs.
I hope you enjoyed this article and found some
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