Newbie, so be nice .........

[Steve B]

I am making a work bench backboard. I want to make some 1 x 4 (or whatever) racks for screwdrivers, etc, for fast easy grabbing and keeping things organized. (Something I've been wanting to do once I get my procrastination under control ............) But, some things, like pliers and chisels and

****'s don't have a round shaft. I need to have some slots, like would be made by three or more holes in a row. Or a routed slot.

Is there a wood bit made for side cutting specifically? Drill three holes, then use the side cutting edges to round out? Or should I set up my router with a fence and stops to cut the slots, then use a rounding bit with guide shaft to make a nice rounded shouldered hole? More work, but fun stuff that I like to do, and the results are worth it, IMHO.

I don't need it to look like Grandma's black cherry hutch, but I'd sure like it to look nice like it wasn't made with a rusty chisel and warped sawzall.

I do welding, so can easily make some ornamental metal brackets to go with the wood pieces.

Other ideas for tool organizers for the wall or pegboard? I got a ton of crap I need to mount so I can find it when needed.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[Puckdropper]

"Steve B" wrote in news:jk69s3$v2o$ [e-mail]:

For slotted holes, I'd probably make a simple router jig and just cut them with the router. If you don't mind having to watch the start and stop lines closely, all you need is a simple piece of wood for the bearing/collar to ride against. Another one would be a good idea to give the router support. Two pieces at a right angle would provide a positive stop for the end of the hole (which is the part I find most difficult).

I went with slatwall for part of my tool organization. The slat wall itself isn't all that cheap, but it isn't all that expensive either. Menards carries it for around $40 a sheet. The hooks are available in large quantities cheaply, especially the single hooks. I got a box of 96 for around $35.

Puckdropper

[Bill]

Maybe a rasp and/or file will be adequate?

Or maybe a mortiser (j/k)!

The materials for this job are cheap. If you are not satisfied with the way it comes out the first time, do it the hard way.

Bill

More work, but fun stuff that

[Gerald Ross]

If you want slots, you could rip off 1/2 inch from the front of the board, cut out the slots with a jig saw or bandsaw then glue the front back on.

[Stuart]

I use spring clips like these

stuff sits/hangs on nails, screws or dowels.

For my mallet, for example, I drilled two 1/2" holes just a bit further apart than the thickness the the handle and put in two dowels long enough to support the head.

My pliers and cutters just sit astride a single screw.

"G" cramps can also be hung on long dowels.

Some rather hastily taken photos, some tools are absent - "on site" elsewhere in the house.

[Keith Nuttle]

I don't know what others may say, but as for me the cost of custom hangers is not justified. You can go down to the local hardware or big box store and buy all of the pegboard hangers you would want for about

40 dollars.

While you may say 40 dollars is a lot, the materials and time you spend on making the fittings is much more that the 40 dollars.

To answer you question you are looking for a spiral cut bit. With this bit you can make all kinds of neat side ways cuts. While they are available for standard routers, they are also available for the Dremmel which is easier to control for detail.

Looking at what I originally said you could buy a Dremmel and the spiral cutting bit and happily making neat cuts until you ran out of stuff to cut.

[Bill Gill]

Ok, just my preference. I don't like pegboard. I actually prefer to just use nails. They can be driven in and removed as needed. They might not look all that fancy, but I will take functionality and convenience any day.

Bill

[Greg Guarino]

I generally prefer drywall screws, which can (more easily) be added and removed, without knocking off any of the tools that are already hanging. When I have a tool that might be damaged by the threads, I cut a piece of thin metal tubing (whose diameter is slightly smaller than the head of a drywall screw) to act as a metal "dowel". I hold that into the board with a screw, and sometimes a washer to keep the tool from falling off. I used a piece of larger (plumbing) tubing with a really large washer on the the end to hold a bench plane on the board. (it's held by its handle)

[Lee Michaels]

"Bill Gill" wrote

Same here. I have tried to use pegboard in a number of shops. Same thing each time. It became a big dust magnet. And the pegs only held up things that were a certain size and weight. Any thing that was a little irregular or heavy, the pegs did not do that great of a job. And the pegs often fell out when lifting the tool of of it. And if you do use pegboard, go to the thicker stuff. The thin stuff warps and tears out.

The only place where I found pegboard to work well was on an electronics bench. I built two of those. I could hang all kinds of small tools up and did not have to worry about dust. It worked well in that application. Any dust there was easily vacuumed out with a small hand vacuum.

If I need to hang a bunch of tools, I will just use nails. And if I need a stronger surface to nail into, I just put up some pine boards and screw it into a stud. I can even use some kind of screw in hook on the pine. Allowing me to hang something quite heavy.

[Jack]

Here is a pic of my workbench back board that is made of 1 x4 or close to that:

bench is about 8' long and has lots of holes for screwdrivers and what not. I would not use it for roomy things like pliers.

My garage already had 1/4" pegboard on two walls, and that holds a ton of stuff. For pliers, chisels, C-clamps etc. You can easily make your own pegboard racks with scrap wood. Here is a Woodsmith link for some ideas, I made both the chisel rack, the c-clamp rack and they are great.

pegs for peg board are not so hot as they fall out easily, but they make a variety of styles that do not pull out. Peg board is ideal for this task as it is both functional and flexible.

[Robatoy]

I thoroughly dislike pegboard. It's awful stuff.

[Swingman]

I use Alligator Board (metal "pegboard") ... advantages of pegboard, without most of the hassle, like accessories/hangers that screw in, so they don't move.

[Steve B]

"Puckdropper" wrote

I used to work conventions in Las Vegas. We got all the slatwall and gridwall we could take home after some conventions. Ah, wish I had taken more, but at the time, I was elbow deep in it, and thought I'd never use what I did have.

Handy stuff.

Steve

[<jmohnike]

For pliers ect. I stretch a coor closeing spring sideways, and with a center hook for support, has worked for me for 40 yrs.

[Artemus]

To directly answer your question (Gasp! What a concept around here), yes, it's called a drill saw.

use these for the majority of my screwdrivers, pliers, etc. I got mine at HF for much less but I don't see them on their website right now.

[Larry Jaques]

Ditto. The pegs always come out when you remove a tool, spiders get behind them, they look ugly, they break easily, etc.

And they're soooooo '40s!

-- When you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they'll remember and be kind to someone else. And it'll become like a wildfire. -- Whoopi Goldberg

[Larry Jaques]

so little pieces of sharp swarf covered all my tools quickly since they were magnetized by the action of storing them on magnetic strips. NO MO! It didn't matter how well I cleaned, the magnets found the missing bits and they bit me.

-- When you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they'll remember and be kind to someone else. And it'll become like a wildfire. -- Whoopi Goldberg

[Swingman]

Hell, so am I.

[Puckdropper]

Larry Jaques wrote in news: [e-mail]:

It's cheap at around $10 a sheet, easy to cut to size, deceptively useful, easily adjustable, and the hooks are available cheaply. Better hooks are available, but they cost a lot more.

For those reasons, I've been thinking of putting some up in the area I work on my trains. I might be better served by using only a little pegboard and filling the rest of the space with narrow shelves and lots of bins. (Athearn Bluebox boxes.)

Puckdropper

[Larry Jaques]

Having pegboard in a decent shop is like selling HF tools right next to Festools in a store. It just isn't _done_!

-- When you are kind to someone in trouble, you hope they'll remember and be kind to someone else. And it'll become like a wildfire. -- Whoopi Goldberg