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Hey All!

Fun little project made from left-over box store 1/2" luaun and 3/4" birch plywood! The rear rack holds 18 larger clamps, including pipe, bar, and parallel clamps. The front rack swings open from the center and holds 36 smaller bar and hand clamps. I used piano hinges to attach the front rack to the rear one. It's hanging from the wall by a french cleat. I'm trying to find a nice latch, hook, etc., to hold the thing closed; right now, I'm just using a spring clamp. I'm also trying to figure out a finish. I bought some BLO, which I've never used before, and I'm thinking of trying that, since shop furniture makes a good testing ground. Let me know if you have any recommendations!

Thanks!
Kevin

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Comments

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12,450 Posts
Well thought out and executed. I may have to plagiarize your plan! Nice work
 

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4,054 Posts
Wow, that's a great looking, functional rack ! Nice idea using those hinges : )
 

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119 Posts
Great looking Rack….well, you know what I mean!!
 

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24 Posts
I looks great and very functional. I really like that it is compact because of the hinges. Are they able to hold the weight.
 

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29 Posts
Very nice clamp rack, lots of room for lots of clamps…
 

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535 Posts
very nice rack, well done
 

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925 Posts
Great looking Rack….well, you know what I mean!!

Lol I was going to say the same thing but usually I get slapped or a dirty look when I say that normally
 

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1,276 Posts
Nice rack, did the Stumpy Nubs rack influence your design? I really like your side panels breaking up the square boxy look …
 

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4,967 Posts
Good use of wall space … I like it!

For finishing in shop furniture, I have played around with shellac, lacquer, BLO, etc. The one I keep coming back to is Minwax Polycrylic (water-based). It gives a nice protective finish, dries crystal clear, and cleans up with soap & water. I have even gotten good results spraying it.
 

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1 Posts
I like your desaign and beautiful way to have comfortable terminals
 

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Thanks for the feedback, All! Please, feel free to use any design elements you like! I checked out the racks of quite a few fellow LumberJocks (c'mon, lets get our minds out of the gutter; we don't want to make the gutter any dirtier than it is! ;^)>), before I developed this design, and I'm sure they had an influence.

I did see Stumpy's podcast, but it was not until after I had decided on a two-layer construction. I got a kick out of the fact he used door hinges, because I had already bought some off a clearance rack (Great minds think alike! But, then again, so do broken ones…)! But, I eventually decided to use piano hinges for support along the entire length of the joint. Speaking of hinges, I had originally thought about trying to hinge the rack on just one side, but decided to split the front layer in the middle and use hinges on both sides, because I was worried about the ability of the side and the hinge to support a long, single layer.

I tried to make the design a little more organic by adding some flowing curves. It's a wonder what you can do with a template, some double-stick tape, and a flush trim router bit to make repeatable shapes.

My clamp collection is pretty ecclectic, having bought a few, here and there, when they came on sale. Jorgensen Cabinet Masters from Menard's, Besseys from Woodcraft and Grizzly, and a wide assortment from Harbor Freight. I'm hoping to pick up some parallel clamps in the 12" to 24" range, the next time I can find them on sale.

I am definitely a fan of shellac and poly! In fact, those are what I used on my table and bandsaw boxes. I took a cue from the WoodWhisperer, and tried using the shellac to pop the grain on the curly maple and topped it off with a couple of coats of water-based poly.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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