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As with any small workshop everywhere, the wall space in my shop is always at a premium. And with the
growing number of bar clamps I'm starting to accumulate, I found myself with a dilemma--should I keep adding
them on the wall rack for easy access or should store them somewhere else to save the real estate at the
expense on accessibility?
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Unwilling to sacrifice any, I came up with the idea of the space-saving bar clamp racks as shown in
the pictures below. Basically, it is a set of notched wood frames with varying lengths stacked on top of
each other. Each are attached to the other by the sturdy hinges so that they can be opened like a book.
With this design, I can put 30 clamps on the wall within the space for ten, and each clamps are still
within easy reach.
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To make the racks I cut all the pieces from the scrap lumber I have lying around in my shop and put them together
like picture frames. The top and the bottom pieces of each frames are cut into series of notches wide enough for the
thickest bar clamps and with the spacing that allows each clamp to fit side-by-side comfortably. I cut all the notches
with this jig which makes it a lot easier to get exact same
width and exact same spacing with less than one-tenth of the time.
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Once all the pieces are cut, I assembled them together with biscuits, glue and screws into three frames.
Then I attached them all with the hinges. I tried to use more hinges than usual to make sure the doors
won't sag under heavy load.
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I attached the support blocks underneath each notches to prevent them from breaking just in case
the heavy clamps get accidentally dropped on the racks (left).
The magnet clip (above) keeps the frames in place when closed.
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After I put some protecting finish on the the racks and let them completely dried, I cut a roll of foam weather
strip commonly used for sealing around the door (bought t home store for a few dollars) into small pieces. Then
I stickered each pieces on top of the upper frame between each notches. This is to protect the racks from heavy
clamps as well as keeping the clamps from moving around with the doors are opened.
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The racks are finally installed to the wall, ready for use.
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