I’ve come to the point in life where I’ve accumulated enough clamps that I need to get them organized. While searching around for different storage ideas it dawned on that there are probably some great ideas in this forum. I’m sure the ideas are widely varied, and the response (hopefully with pics) could prove an interesting study in organization.
I must confess that I am gradually turning my garage into my shop and my goal is to combine some of the neat ideas into my own rack.
So, how do you store your clamps?
Jeff
Replies
My solution is not super high-tech. I'm just getting started too, and while I've probably got about 15 clamps I hardly have a huge collection. I've simply hacked together a piece of wood and screwed it to my workshop organization center (see attached picture). It's got enough room for my six long-ish clamps, and I keep my shorter ones in cubby-holes in my shelving unit.
I'll probably add a scrap of wood between the legs of my workbench to keep the shorter clamps closer by where I work. But, I just finished the workbench yesterday, so that'll probably wait a few days!
Norm built a nifty rolling cart for his clamps last season, you can check out the pic and order the plans at http://www.newyankee.com/GetProduct2.cgi?0207.
Neil
Jeff,
Clamp storage is one of those problems that simply can't be solved. It's beyond anyone's ability. Trust me on this one. Just pack them all up and send them to me, and your monumental problem will be over.
I like to help.
Rich
This is really high tech so bear with me. I screwed together two 6 ft long 2 x 4's to make a block basically 3 1/2" square. I used Tapcons to anchor it to a concrete block wall. Jaws up, body hangs down. Holds a lot of K Bodys.
The rolling cart idea works great if you have a pile of clamps and enough space to be able to roll things around in. When all I had was a basement I clamped them all to the floor joists over my head, which works great if you're tall but no so well if you're a short feller.
JT,
Let's get a little creative here. The problem with clamps is that you want a storage system that keeps them organized, fairly stable so they won't drop and hit your toes and relatively near where you do your clamping. Attaching a board to a wall and hanging the clamp works fairly well. Putting up shelf brackets and storing them horizontally is more stable..but takes up more wall space. The rolling cart makes the most sense and saves a lot of work. The question is can one be designed that would consume little more space than the other alternatives but provide the security and convienance.
Perhaps a small base on wheels, with a 4x6' sheet of 1/2 ply going long side up and some 2x4 providing support to the sheet of ply.
Awesome idea on the clamping to the floor joists. My pipe clamps are a pile in the corner wall next to the furnace.
Simple works best.
For the small bar clamps I took a 3 inch piece of oak scrap and drilled thru the edge 2 inches, then made a pilot hole for Drywall screws. About #8 into the basement stud every stud makes a short shelf that you clamp the bar clamps on. Not too tight, just snugging the clamp up the bar will hold them. You can store about 1 per inch.
I've borrowed an idea from home construction to rack my clamps and my lumber. It works better if you have exposed studs in your garage, but you could adapt it even if you had to contend with sheetrock.
Split a stud lengthwise and butt joint two L's, with long tails. Use left-over sheet stock of 1/2' or greater thickness to shear both sides of both L's, using screws. Lag the assemblies onto studs and screw scrap lumber onto the short sides of the L's as shelfving. Now you can store lumber flat, overhead and out of the way, while attaching your clamps to all the exposed surfaces of the shelving unit. These are real knuckle savers if you been attaching clamps to exposed studs. Because of the shearing, these things are incredibly strong and will support an enormous amount of lumber and clamps. Of course the larger you make it, the more edges you can expose to hold clamps.
I've attached a rough diagram.
jt:
I tried to get close ups of how I got the clamps secured. The Poloroid didn't take to well. I drilled 1" holes 2" apart and then ripped the stud down the center. Cut into 9" pieces and mounted on top of adjustable shelf brackets. The half-moon hole keeps a pipe clamp from rolling. Can get 4 pipe clamps on one set of brackets.
The bar clamps are attached to a rack I built that will not let them slip off. The bar itself slips into a 3/16" slot on the outside and keeps it hanging straight. Did the same with the 12" quik-clamps in right of picture. There are many ways you can achieve what you're doing. Figure a way to keep them stable, organized and as close to your assembly area as possible. Much time and frustration saved if you do so.
Picture is dark, hope you can get idea of organization in relationship to the assembly table at right.. Good Luck..
sarge..jt
Nice job on the racks racks, Sarge, and getting the picture attached. I think yer pullin' our leg about this "I'm not a computer person..." gibberish! (hehehehe)
I have to ask, though, - you folks that post pictures of your shops - do you ever do any work in them? My home office doesn't look this well organized or clean! (grin)
That was, BTW, a compliment.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Dennis
Ha..Thanks for the compliments. I'm kind of a fanatic about detail and organization. I clean up each time I use it. Keep in mind I took over a year to design and build all the benches, racks, cabinets, etc. Used the space I had to make everything as convenient as possible. I live there about 8 months of the year so it's an extention of my home. It's only about 800 sq. ft., but I purposely put it in the double garage. If things get over dusty, I just open the doors and start in back of shop with a 75 MPH electric leaf blower and the dust is outside in a heart-beat. I have another 900 sq. ft. available by stepping through the door in the back of the shop. I've got the wood-racks and a low-boy assembly table in there. All ladders, paint supplies, mechanical tools, storage and etc. is there also. All hanging and organized ( I probaly didn't have to tell you that, did I ).grin<>
The First Lady calls it My SHRINE. She's probaly close as there's 30 years worth of my life within those walls. Sort of sacred ground that like I, has been blessed by the Great Spirit!!
sarge..jt
I'm going to build one of these mobile racks... someday
http://members.cox.net/jfrantz/shopweb/clamp_rack.htm
I'll make a few modifications to accomodate the type of clamps that I predominately have, but I like the overall concept and that it is mobile.
thats organized. Im envious
Ooooooohhhh, I like it! Any idea which issue of Shop Notes it was in?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
no idea, I even searched through their website to find it. I was going to build it based on the photo in the link I posted, a sheet of plywood and a couple of dados should do the trick...
Any shopnotes subscribers out there that can help?
Jeffn7, Forrest Girl, et.al:
I built this rack from the picture--don't have Shop Notes--and love it. I made quite a few modifications to it though:
First, I treated the Rack as an "assembly station" rather than a clamp rack. I built it a little larger than the picture.
I offset the middle so that on one side it is about 5 inches deep and on the other it is about 18 inches deep.
On three sides, it holds all of my Bessey K bodies...Each side holds 12 clamps. In the middle and on the bottom of the 5 inch side, it holds my small K bodies. Above these small clamps, I made four 5" deep shelves to hold containers of nails. On the top, I made a shelf which holds my glues, brushes, biscuits, etc.
On the other sides it holds my other clamps (including my 50 inchers.)
On the deep middle side, I have a drawer on the bottom that holds my biscuit jointer.
above that drawer I built a cabinet door--inside this cabinet there are spots for my c-clamps and various other clamps.
Above this cabinet there is a shelf that holds more glue, etc.
My spring clamps are attached where ever there is a place for them.
This rack has made glue-ups and assembly much easier and more enjoyable--I just move the rack where I want and everything is within easy reach. When I'm done, I move the stuff out of the way where it is not a big mess and where I'm not tripping over this stuff. I wish I would have made this some time ago. It has made a big difference.
thanks for the description, the mods that you made sound interesting. Do you have a picture you could post?
Unfortunately, no picture...no digital camera and computer is waaaaayyyyyy toooooo sloowwww. I would suggest utilizing the basic design and modify it for those tools that you have, and those you wish to get in the future... Think about hou YOU approach your work and design it with those things in mind.
If you build this, don't skimp on the wheels. Get good swivel wheels with a lock. One thing I forgot to mention is the fact that because it is on wheels you can utilze all four sides--it is amazing how much this thing holds.
I plan on doing something similar for my air compressor--I'll put the compressor on top, hose and hose reel on the side, nails and staples on the shelves, and nail guns/staplers nice and neat in the cabinet...sometimes you need to take the time to sharpen the saw to make your work go faster (and better!). Good luck.
It is in Woodsmith No. 137
see:
http://www.BackIssueStore.com/backissuesstore/wsback137.html
Or it maybe it is recycled in ShopNotes No. 19, or ShopNotes No. 46, but the web site for those do not show it.
It's not in ShopNotes. It's in Woodsmith (same company) #137, October, 2001, on pages 28-31. It looks great. I hope I can get around to actually building it someday.
I screwed a 2x2 to the wall that is about 5' long. I hang all my pipe clamps, bar clamps, and cast iron clamps from it. I also do my spring clamps the same but to a 1x1 screwed to the wall. But, I can buy any more cause I have no more wall space!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
Here's my solution. Lots of clamps with little wall space.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne
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