I recently ordered several of these to get my clamp collection off the floor and here's what I found:
formatting link
pipe clamp racks are a perfect fit for 3/4 inch Jorgensen pipe clamps and also work fine with 1/2inch versions. The bar clamp racks are a perfect fit for Bessey K-Bodies. They also work fine with Jorgensen bar clamps, both regular and heavy duty style, although the width of the slot means these are free to twist a bit. The bar clamp racks are marginal at best for holding Bessey "Tradesman" bar clamps, however. The opening in the upturned lip at front is not wide enough to allow to these clamps to seat properly: they're prone to falling off if knocked lightly.
Not to sound coy or anything - but 15 bux for a clamp rack that holds 11 clamps (thats if you by 4 of them) Thats crazy. Dont know about the rest of you - but id rather spend $$ on the clamps vs a commercial clamp holder.
Here is a $3.95 solution that will hold 24 of them.
Go to the borg and buy a 2x4. (ok insert straight 2x4 joke here lol) Next put a 5/8 dado blade in your table saw. Make a 5/8 x 1 1/2"deep dado every 4 inches. Mount it on the wall. That will hold just about any bar type clamp. (adjust dado as needed)
For pipe clamps chuck a fostner bit in your drill press the appropriate size and make some holes then hog out the fronts w/ a dado. To get really fancy - put a peice of hardboard on the front of the 2x4 and over hang it 1/4". The lip will more than enought to make sure they dont slide out.
down and click on "Clamps" and "clamps 2" for pictures. You might also want to check out Tom's lumber storage solution; it looks really effective. The link is right above the clamp pic links: "Lumber storage out back."
at the moment I have my light bar clamps standing in a 5 gallon bucket full of short cuts of 1" pvc pipe. it works pretty well, though I do want to make a clamp cart with room for the c clamps and bottles of glue and whatever clamping/ assembly stuff I can think of to keep there as well... Bridger
Don't need more clamps at the moment and not a believer in needing a gazillion clamps as a hobbyist anyway. Do have a few dozen that needed to get off the floor.
There are two factors missing in your equation: time and space...
Let's say one has a finite and modest number of hours each week to devote to one's hobby. Sometimes it makes sense to spend dollars to have more free time on Saturday and Sunday for using the shop instead of working on it.
It's not a joke, you are going to need to joint and plane said 2 x 4 to get a decent result. Hardly a huge deal, but more work. Likewise, UPS delivers the manufactured clamp racks to your door; going to the lumber yard can easily kill an hour or two.
Don't have a dado compatible saw, though, admittedly, most people don't face this limitation.
True enough, except...I have all of 350 sq ft to work in and therefore need to conserve wall space, as well as floor space, as much as I possibly can. Your design uses up at least twice the space to store the same number of clamps. Since the grain will be running in the wrong direction on the 2 x 4 to allow for narrow fingers, there's no way to space the clamps nearly as tight.
Okay, but a lip or some other positive means of keeping the clamps in place is pretty critical in some situations, not just a fancy conceit. Space constraints mean the racks have to go directly behind the jointer and bandsaw for me. So definitely do not want them falling off unexpectedly! Again, more work.
...not trying to be argumentative here, BTW, or take offense. And not disparaging the idea one could build something just as good or better for less cash outlay. But to get a shop-built result of equal function and durability, you'd need to use decent milled stock, not an off the rack 2 x 4, and a design capable of tightly spaced fingers, maybe of Baltic Birch or MDO, plus invest several hours of building time.
...a $1.80 or so a clamp doesn't seem so unreasonable when you factor in all the costs of making your own.
On 17 Dec 2003 10:00:41 -0800, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Woodstock) scribbled
HERESY!!!
If you want to minimize wall space, just hang bar clamps from a plain old un-notched 2X4 offset from the wall using some kind of shelf bracket. The clamps can actually touch, so this minimizes the amount of space required. The 2X4 doesn't even need to be straight. C-clamps can be hung directly on brackets or big spikes (e.g. 12") hammered into the studs. Ditto for spring clamps. That's what I do, although I am contemplating building a moving stand as I am running out of wall space.
Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.