Take me to the Steps
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The rack shown in this post holds 14 bar clamps, but this can be adjusted by either changing the length of the rack or by cutting a different number of clamp slots.

If you have your own shop, chances are you have a ton of clamps yet find yourself needing more. This is certainly the case over here at the Maker Media Lab. We have so many clamps that they were literally spilling out of their drawer, making them hard to access and creating an eyesore. We thought there had to be a better way to store them; so, we came up with this clamp rack. This rack is designed to hold all of our bar clamps, so that we can access them easily, and utilize the wall space in our shop as storage.

This rack is specifically designed to hold bar clamps and can help with productivity, organization, and can be easily built to your shop’s needs. This design was borrowed from the clamp rack in the shop at California College of the Arts where I go to school, but I made some tweaks to the design to make it more aesthetically pleasing, as I’m a furniture maker by trade. Bar clamps are commonly used in making furniture, and thus I’ve relied on them heavily over the years. It was nice to finally get a chance to build a nice home for them.

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Over here at the Maker Media Lab we are still in the process of setting up our new shop, so we developed this project in an effort to organize and clean up our workspace. This post is part of a larger initiative to document our internal shop setup process, so look out for more posts about shop organization! If you have ideas for great storage solutions, or any other shop setup projects, then let us know in the comments.

Project Steps

Inventory Clamps

Count your clamps and base the number of slots you’ll need off the number of clamps you have.

Determine Depth of Rack

Measure the top arm of one of the clamps.

Add two inches to this measurement to ensure that the whole clamp will fit onto the rack.

Determine Clamp Slot Width

Measure the width of the clamp bar using a combination square or tape measure.

Add 1/16″ in order to insure that the clamp will fit into the slot with ease.

Determine Length of Rack

Take the measurements of the clamp slots and number of clamps; add 2¼” to each side of your clamp slots to allow for ample room between each clamp.

Cut Plywood to Length

Use a full sheet of plywood and cut it to length using a jig saw or circular saw.

Cut Out Parts for Slotted Top Piece

Using the clamp arm measurement from Step 2, rip two identical pieces on the tablesaw.

Prep Parts for Lamination

Place pieces of plywood onto saw horses.

Use an orbital sander to sand one side of each piece of plywood for better glue adhesion.

Laminate Plywood

Spread glue out evenly on each plywood surface.

Apply ample clamps to ensure even clamp pressure.

Use wet rags to wipe off excess glue.

Wait eight hours before unclamping the two pieces.

Cut Slots for Clamps

Account for slot depth so clamps do not hang over the edge (see first picture).

Set depth on chop saw.

Cut slots using chop saw.

Cut Out Remaining Parts

Take the depth measurement of the slotted top piece and double it.

Using this measurement and rip 2 identical pieces.

Example: The depth of my slotted top piece measured 6″, so I ripped two identical boards at 12″.

Prepare for Assembly

Using one of the ripped pieces of plywood, take clamps and temporarily secure pieces together.

Assemble

Pre-drill the hole.

Counter sink hole so that the screws will sit flush.

Drive a 3″ wood screw into the hole.

Cut Support Triangles

Crosscut the remaining plywood so it matches the depth of the clamp rack.

Mark from corner to corner.

Cut out on bandsaw.

Attach Support Triangles

Pre-drill the hole.

Attach 1″ screws.

Drive screws in from the back side and from the top of the clamp rack.

Attach to Wall

Locate the studs using a stud finder.

Pre-drill at least two holes, making sure that they are level.

Use appropriate anchors depending on whether studs are metal or wood.