Clamp Rack

Don Taylor

Former Member (by the member's request)
Messages
1,287
Can anyone tell me a good place to order the Flange Bolts in bulk for this?



Thanks in advance

DT
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Don, I am not sure what you mean by flange bolts. I would assume something like toilet bolts? Perhaps somewhere like https://reidecom.reidtool.com/xephr/qbe/HOMEPAGE?

While that system looks nice I think it uses too much wall space. How about something like this??
Cnv0106.jpg


Cnv0105.jpg


This was my solution and it allows me to change brand/type of clamps easily. All it cost me was a few pocket screws and some scrap wood. Its using a french cleat, which I am mounting everything (including my upper cabinets) on to allow me to re-arrange as I need to without a major production.
 
don keep it simple:)

i would have to agree with brett, the rack you pictured sure looks nice butthere is alot work and hardware put in to that one that in my opinion is unesacary ,, you could save your time and technique for bigger and better things. i just took and nothced a 2x4 and put some braces under it for support. thats what steveC has to but he used 1" hardwood. so think it over again maybe and you can come up with a simpler design:wave: :wave: just my opion don,, we know you got lots of ideas tha thave been clever like your set at style bench:thumb:
 
Don

To use space that would go unused behind a door in my small shop I hung F style clamps 4 deep on dowels like the top part of your pic. For pipe clamps & other clamps like bar clamps I just bored holes 1 1/2" in from the edge of a piece of 3/4" plywood & cut slots to the hole then screwed the plywood to s 2x4 & screwed the 2x4 to the wall. I later on purchased some light weight aluminum bar clamps like in your picture & drove headless nails into the 2x between the pipe clamps & drilled holes in the ends of the light weight clamps & hung them on the nails. I ran out of room for the last batch of spring squeeze clamps & found I could just let them grip on between the pipe clamps on the same rack.

This is an earlier pic there are now many more

I would encourage you to keep it simple & inexpensive.
 

Attachments

  • Old hand tools.jpg
    Old hand tools.jpg
    96.6 KB · Views: 102
Last edited:
Don,

My Ace Hardwares around here will usually sell me stuff like that by the box if I ask and the price per unit is much, much less. I never see them marked by the box so I have to ask.

I notice that most guys seem to have their clamp racks mounted to the walls and I do also but I do not like it. I have to carry three or four clamps twenty feet or so and make two or three or four trips and then do the reverse when I am done to put them back. It seems to me that it is a waste of time and effort. If I had your uncluttered room I think that I would consider making that rack, or whichever one that you use, into a mobile rack.

I can tell that you work a lot neater than I do which would help, but I end up piling up clamps all over the floor and pretty soon there is no place to walk without kicking them somewhere else. I think that if I had a mobile rack that I would hang them up when I am finished and keep them out of my way and save a lot time in the process.
 
I notice that most guys seem to have their clamp racks mounted to the walls and I do also but I do not like it. I have to carry three or four clamps twenty feet or so and make two or three or four trips and then do the reverse when I am done to put them back. It seems to me that it is a waste of time and effort.


Not at all Allen just think of all the good exorsize your getting. Yes I know I spelled Exorsize wrong but not really Exorsize as in Exorsizing the fat..:thumb: :) :D :wave: :eek: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
 
Last edited:
I guess i'm gonna go against the grain and encourage Don with this one. I made the 2x4 blocks and absolutely love this setup. Since my shop's constantly evolving, I'm constantly adding more clamps to the collection. The blocks on t-track makes expanding or rearranging things MUCH easier than making new holders.

For the bolts, I used regular old bolts, 4" long if i remember right. I picked up a box of 100 from the hardware store. Around here, there's a place called Blue Collar Supply that sells bolts by the pound ... like $3/lb ... i don't buy screws at the hardware store anymore! :D

As for the wall space issue, I'm not sure I agree with what's been said. My shop is 8' wide, 23' long with 6'3" ceilings (yeah, short!). After struggling with the notched board style system and a few other ideas, I determined that this system stores more clamps without protruding too far so that the door in front of it can open fully unobstructed. I'm redoing the whole shop now, but i'll take pics when everything's done.

I have doubled my Bessey collection and rearranged everything so the whole system is due for a bit of a reorganization. :)
 
The younger people here need to take note. I looks like being in the clamp selling business would be a sure road to riches. I mean, y'all do have a whole buncha clamps. Mine get hung from joists or piled unceremoniously under the workbench.
 
Don call your local plumbing supply house. They will be able to give you are great deal on them. I went thru a local plubming supply house when reran plumbing and saved huge.
 
I wasn't able to find anything reasonable on bulk T-bolts. There are t-tracks made to accept standard hex head bolts / screws. Maybe this would be an option.
 
Don, seeing how you weren’t asking for a design critique….:huh: I think the Borgs sell flange bolts by the box. Whenever I need bolts that are Grade 5 or higher (the crap at the Borgs are Grade 2 or 3 at best), I go to a fastener supply house. Locally, we have a place called Barnhill bolt. I can walk up to the counter and get pretty much anything that I need. It’s not the cheap way to go but you know that you’re buying quality hardware.

I guess I could ask you why you don't like green...:bang: :bang: :D
 
Last edited:
Don, seeing how you weren’t asking for a design critique….:huh: I think the Borgs sell flange bolts by the box. Whenever I need bolts that are Grade 5 or higher (the crap at the Borgs are Grade 2 or 3 at best), I go to a fastener supply house. Locally, we have a place called Barnhill bolt. I can walk up to the counter and get pretty much anything that I need. It’s not the cheap way to go but you know that you’re buying quality hardware.

I guess I could ask you why you don't like green...:bang: :bang: :D

Thanks Bruce, actually, Green is my favorite color. ;)

DT
 
Can anyone tell me a good place to order the Flange Bolts in bulk for this?



Thanks in advance

DT

Don
I usually grind two sides off of a carrage bolt. Sometimes the square shoulder is to high but it looks like in this application you could just counterbore the back side of the blocks if that is an issue. Takes some time but at a nickel or so per bolt compared to over a dollar a bolt it can make sense. Of course I have also been known to turn down the square shoulder when it was too high.

Garry
 
WOW! :eek:

Thank you everyone for such a grand response! :thumb:

This whole corner is going to be dedicated to clamps. Right behind my worktable, both doors open out.

100_1576.jpg


100_1578.jpg


I like all of the ideas but the interchangeable parts of this one intrigue me. I will use the cleat system too. I am forever changing my mind. :rofl:
As far as using bolts, I already have 8 sets of the Rockler "T" track from when they went on sale at half price. I'm stuck with toilet bolts. :rolleyes:

I have the rack that came free with the Besseys on a sale last year, I figure I can put what clamps I need on it and wheel them right to the project.
Right now it has about a third of my clamps on it. :rofl: :rofl:

100_1179.jpg


DT
 
Last edited:
This was my solution. It was not expensive and it was completed in just a few hours. I do wish I had seen the track system first though. The expandability factor would have made it more versatile. I did have one advantage, during construction I added 2x12 blocks between some of the studs to help support the longer K-bodys.
 

Attachments

  • rack.jpg
    rack.jpg
    93.7 KB · Views: 63
I have a very small shop - 10' by 11' - so I have to maximize the use of wall space. I made some clamp hangers that allow me to hang 7 Besseys on a single set of hangers. This clamp hanger has four hangers, each supporting seven clamps so I hang 28 Bessey clamps in a space about 22" wide.
Please see the attached pictures.

Mike
 

Attachments

  • Clamps 001 (525 x 700).jpg
    Clamps 001 (525 x 700).jpg
    100.1 KB · Views: 68
  • Clamps 002 (850 x 638).jpg
    Clamps 002 (850 x 638).jpg
    47.8 KB · Views: 46
  • Clamps 003 (850 x 638).jpg
    Clamps 003 (850 x 638).jpg
    55 KB · Views: 45
Hey, that will work great. I like that! I should have known that nothing would get by you. Allen

:rofl: I have to keep things as simple as possible Allen, I lose my air toteing these days. I'm thinking real hard about one of those lift tables of yours.... :huh:

DT
 
Hey don, I dunno if you've tried this or not ... but the Rockler T-track i picked up actually uses 5/16" bolts and for me the regular hex-head bolts work like a charm in 'em. Just a thought! :)
 
Top