Keep handscrews handy with overhead storage
Handscrew clamps, your helpers for so many shop tasks, can leave you feeling helpless when it comes time to put them away. They sure fill up a lot of storage space, fast.
For out-of-the-way yet easy-to-reach storage, hang those handscrews high on a wall with the storage rack shown below. Make it out of 3⁄4 " plywood 12" wide in a length to suit your situation.
Allow 1⁄2 " spacing between clamps when you lay out the 1⁄2 "-wide slots. To determine slot depth, measure from the front side of the threaded rod nearest the clamp tip to the back of the clamp and add 1⁄2 ". For each slot, drill a ½" hole the proper distance from the front edge of the rack, and then cut to it with a portable jigsaw. Screw and glue a 1x2" strip, on edge, to the topside of the rack at the back edge.
Mount the shelf high, using appropriate brackets. By leaving 3" between the rack and the wall, you can hook large C-clamps over the back for storage.
—Dan Wilks, Gowrie, Iowa