Clamps storage:

[Reynaud]

I'm looking for idea's to store my C clamps , bar clamps , spring clamps it seems every time I need them I have to hunt all over. Anyone have something unique?

Rey

[bob]

Check out the New Yankee Workshop website. Norm did a kick butt clamp cart a few seasons ago. I built his cart earlier this year. It rocks. I have close to 50 bar clamps (mostly K Besseys and Jorgenson's) and a bunch of smaller clamps all stored in 28" x 28" x 72" tall.

Bob

[Guess who]

Unique? There's nothing new under the sun.

C-clamps occupy a drawer in my workbench, which is maple and has 12 large drawers.

Large clamps are clamped to a 1x2 secured to the wall.

What matters is what's handy for you. Some like a gun-rack approach for bar clamps. Just keep them off the floor so you don't trip over them.

[CW]

I always know where mine are. I am quite good about returning them to the same disorganized pile after use. Need to organize.

[www]

LOL sounds like me :) too much mess and too little time to do anything but woodworking (the cleanup is a low priority). I'll clean up when I retire!

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[Joe Wells]

Hardly unique. I took an old wooden ladder, hacked it in half, leaned 'em against the wall, and hung clamps on 'em. It was the perfect project for me- I didn't need to think too much.

[Upscale]

I posted a picture of a clamp rack to abpw.

[loutent]

I'll second Bob's choice of Norms clamp cart/rack. I copied it about a year ago. For just a few hours of work and some scraps, it has turned out to be a great organizer - I now know where every clamp I have is located.

My only regret is that I didn't make it a little wider since I started adding Besseys to my pipe clamp collection.

Lou

[Larry Jaques]

I built an A-frame mobile cart which works well. I have 50+ clamps on it in a 24x36x60ish" space.

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[Stephen M]

Regarding Upscale's clamp rack:

(Usually reserved for the ladies) Nice rack!

Seriously though, I have something sort of similar. Two reasons why the clamp rack concept works well are:

1. Its multi-sided, therefore you have more surface area to store clamps than, say, a wall-mounted storage space. Like upsale, I store my bar clamps on the back side. If I need those, I just spin it around.

1. Wheels enable you to move the storage to your work area. I tend to use my outfeed table in the middle of the room for glue-ups. It is not unusual for me to use 16 F-clamps. When I stored clamps on the wall in a corner, I would have to take five steps over with each "handful".

[Bob Schmall]

For bar clamps, I use a 5-gallon plastic container bolted to a 24-inch square piece of 3/4 plywood with small casters at the corners. The bucket is filled with various appropriate lengths (18-30") of 1 1/2" plastic pipe into which I slide the clamps, bar and all. It takes up 4 square feet of space, rolls around and keeps everything in place. Not elegant, but effective.

Bob

[Bob Schmall]

That is tres cool. Now where did I put that old ladder?

Bob

[Knothead]

I chose the Tom Plamann "gun rack" style myself. Since I have a pathetic few good clamps I'll send the link to his clamp racks ;-)

[arw01]

For simple bar clamps, a number of HF pitsburgs in the 24" and under sizes. I hung a french cleat upon the wall, then mortised a square

1/2" piece of baltic birch about 8" long by 1" wide into a 7"x10" piece of another BB. The clamps are closed and the "prong" of BB slides between the jaws. SInce it is flat the clamps are flat on the underside of the top jaw, they site square to the top. I can put 8 or 9 together this way alternating handle to jaw pads and back and forth.

My small bessy/jorgy collection is housed in a two lawer dovetail jig like configuration. I made it a bit too skinny to hold all the k-body blocks, but with one hanging out they all fit on a shelf underneath the clamps themselves.

photo:

[Dave Hinz]

I clamp all my assorted clamps on the lower chord of the steel I-beam holding up the main floor of my house. Right down the middle of my shop. The taller clamps go towards the wall, the small ones clip on above the walkways.

[Patrick Conroy]

"Reynaud" wrote in news:LlHye.6940$ [e-mail]:

C-Clamps are in the rolling tool cabinet as I don't use them that often. Quik-Grip and Spring clamps are clamped onto a wire shelf that's holding up other crap in my garage. And the bar clamps are hanging from the garage door tracks.

[Tom Watson]

[Reynaud]

Rey

[Guess who]

you hide the sawdust? Do you wax everything after cleanup?

No kidding ...I'd like the space, but my wife insists on us keeping our cars in the garage. I'll keep my clamps clamped to the roughly

1x2 secured to the wall.

[news.east.cox.net]

I concur. I made my own without needing to purchase the plans. I simply watched the PBS episode. It was really easy. I have a about 50 assorted clamps as well, about 1/2 Bessy and 1/2 aluminum bar clamps and it's perfect. I added a small fixed tray in the center to store cauls.

"....this just proves, you can never have too many clamps"

- Brother Norm