Clamp Rack Combo

Where's the best place to hang your clamps? Right where you use them—at the clamping bench. The overhead rack easily holds several dozen small clamps of any type. You can hang your longer bar clamps and pipe clamps directly on the bench itself for convenient, easy access.

1. Cut the 2x4 for the overhead rack to the desired length. (We cut ours slightly shorter than the length of the workbench.) Then drill holes for the two ¹⁄₄ " threaded hanger rods, where shown on the drawing. If you want to hang the rack crosswise to the joists, adjust the length of the 2x4 and/or rod-hole locations to correspond with joist spacing. Or, you can nail support blocks between the joists and suspend rods from them.
2. Use a hacksaw to cut the threaded rods to a length that will position the rack about 6" lower than the final anticipated height. Attach the threaded rods to the 2x4 rack, and then to the ceiling joists, using the fasteners specified on the drawing.
3. Hang a few clamps on the rack, and then adjust the rack to a convenient height. (We positioned our rack about 3-¹⁄₂ " above the table surface so taller projects would fit underneath it.) Cut off the rod ends extending beneath the 2x4.
4. Drill the 30°-angled holes for the pegs, using an adjustable drill guide or the homemade drill guide, shown on Drawing 1B. Space the holes 4" apart.
5. Cut the 2x4 rack to the desired length. To make the notches, use a 1-¹⁄₄ " hole saw or drill bit, and cut the holes 1-¹⁄₂ " center to center; then complete cutout with a handsaw. Attach the rack to the bench, where shown on Drawing 1.

2x4, ¹⁄₄ " lag screws 4" long (2), ¹⁄₄ " threaded rod, ¹⁄₄ " nuts and washers, ¹⁄₄ " hanger bolts, ¹⁄₄ " couplers, ¹⁄₄ " dowel stock.

For more in-depth information on gluing and clamping, visit our Gluing and Clamping section in the WOOD Store.