How to Store Clamps

This handy under-mount rack keeps your pipe clamps right where you need them. Simply cut a series of 1-1/4-in. diameter holes along the center line of a 2x6 and then rip the 2x6 in half to create the half-circle slots. Next, screw 1x4 sides and top to the cradle and screw it to the bottom of your workbench.

Since these caps screw tightly on 3/4-in. pipe threads, you can use them to store your pipe clamps on a shop wall. Drill holes in the top of the caps, tighten eye bolts in the holes with nuts on both sides, then attach them to your clamps and hang them up.

Are your pipe clamps missing in action right when you need them? Never again, thanks to this slick snap-in, snap-out storage rack, made from PVC pipe. For 1/2-in.-diameter iron pipe, use 3/4-in. PVC, and for 3/4-in.-diameter pipe use 1-in. PVC. To make the rack, cut 2-in. lengths of PVC, and with a hacksaw or band saw, slice them lengthwise about 3/16 in. past the diameter's center line. This creates the gripping action to firmly hold the heavy iron pipe. Drill and countersink two holes in each PVC piece, then space and screw them along a pair of 2-in.-wide boards. Attach the upper board to your shop wall and snap a pipe clamp in either end to position the lower board for screwing to the wall.

Need a way to store pipe clamps? Cut two 12 x 16-in. pieces of 3/4-in. plywood and temporarily screw or nail them face to face. Drill 1-1/4-in. holes (if your pipes are 1-in. outside diameter), spaced 3 in. apart, through both pieces. Pry the plywood apart, then screw them to two 16-in.-long pieces of 2x8 to make an open-ended box. Add a couple of narrow 3/4-in. boards on the bottom for feet, then set the box in a convenient spot along a shop wall. To keep it from sliding, attach it to the studs with screws driven through the 2x8s.

Clamps scattered and hard to find when you need them most? Here's a way to keep them in one spot. Hang bar clamps on horizontal scraps of 2x4 screwed between openwall studs. Add another board or two for glue bottles, dowels and biscuits. To hold C - c l a m p s and spring clamps, drill holes in the studs and install lengths of 3/16-in. threaded rod, tensioned with 1/4-in. fender washers and nuts.

You'll love this bar clamp rack because you can holster pony clamps securely without tightening the lower jaw against the rack. Just drop in the clamp and pull it out when needed. Notch the top piece of 1/2-in. plywood with the keyhole-shaped cutouts as shown, then screw it to the bottom piece of plywood. Make brackets from scrap wood and screw the rack to the wall.

With this sturdy, easy-to-build pipe clamp rack, there's no fuss when you're hanging up the clamps, and they're just as easy to take down when you need them. Plus, the generous width and depth of the 2x4 won't let a clamp fall off the rack if you bump the bottom end. Build the rack from scrap pieces of 2x4 and a 3/4-in.-thick backer board of whatever length you need. Cut 6-in. lengths of 2x4, with 45- degree corners on the bottom ends so it's easier to slide the clamps into the rack. Measure the O.D. (outside diameter) of your pipes, then add 1/8 in. for clearance between blocks. Space and screw the 2x4s along the backer board, creating gaps 1/8 in. wider than the pipe's outside diameter. Finally, screw the backer board to the wall and load it up!