# Pegboard - love idea, hate the hangers



## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

I love the idea of pegboard. Easily rearrange tools and keep them visible. However, I am so frustrated by the hooks that I'm considering just doing something else.

For some reason, all the hooks I've tried are too small for the pegboard holes. As long as I don't touch the tools, everything is good. But when I try to remove a tool, most of the time the hook comes with it.

It's gotten so bad that I used clear hobby glue in the holes I knew I would use for hooks. That actually worked well, but kind of defeated the idea of easily rearranging things.

Doing research on this, I ran across many posts recommending french cleats. I love that method and I have started using it for a lot of things. There are some things I'd still rather have on a pegboard.

What's your experience with pegboards? Love/hate? Have you found any hooks that don't do this?

PS-I know some will say, just use nails and screws to create hangers. I know, I know and I do that in some cases. But, again, I like the pegboard method for some things.

Thanks


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I use pegboard in a couple of places and here's what I've found.


Get attachments made to fit the size pegboard you have, not the one-size-fits-all assortments.
Use peg locks.

French cleats are great for some things but pegboard is great for some things too


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

Peg board has never worked well for me. It's ugly, rips under stress and the hooks always release when that isn't what you want. I French cleated the entire inside of my shop and while handy I wish I had just applied where needed at the time. A nail of a cheated holder works for me. I do have a longing for the old summer camp tool wall. Shop teacher had a silhouette around each tool in black paint. No I won't do that but I am seriously thinking of a massive tool cabinet but how will I know when I am done buying tools?


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## 987Ron (Apr 9, 2020)

+1 on above. Try the 1/4" wire size hooks and the peg locks. Amazon has both.

https://www.amazon.com/Locks-Plastic-Pegboard-Display-Organizer/dp/B087CKQ8MB/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=pegboard+hooks+retainer&qid=1630087438&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTVFaRU4zQUswU1dUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTEwNTY3MUw4MUxCSzdHVlNTQyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTgzNzIxMU1XNUhTMVlWRDZVRiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=


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## gtrgeo (Mar 22, 2017)

I definitely agree with the suggestions to buy the 1/4" wire size hooks. I have purchased the one-size fits all hooks and find they are frustrating for the reasons you state. Another item to look into is pegboard clips. I found out about these when they were included in a box of hooks I bought. The do help hold the hooks in place better.

The previous owner installed pegboard over the entire wall when he built the wall separating the third bay of my garage creating a shop space. Rather than change it out I have been living with it. I have also found a simple 1/4-20 bolt works well for hanging items on the pegboard.

George


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

+1 on there being 2 standard diameter hooks, sounds like you need the 1/4" variety or switch to the smaller holed (light duty) peg board.

With respect to the peg board concept, I love it, WRT the implementation, I hate it. Same issues, even with the proper hooks, care must be taken to avoid the hook coming out with your tool.

I've never tried the peg locks Ken mentions, worth a try but could be difficult to remove and re-deploy with a changed hook location. An alternative is to wrap a zip tie around the hook to lock it in place, but that is even worse since you need back side access to install the tie easily.

A version of the french cleat are the sheets of commercial panel cleats that take a wide range of hooks and holders, but the price is higher for these accessories.

A hybrid system of french cleats holding smaller peg board panels which can be taken down for access to the clips may help with the ability to keep your peg board and hook investment and use/reposition the black plastic clips.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

> ...
> 
> I ve never tried the peg locks Ken mentions, worth a try but could be difficult to remove and re-deploy with a changed hook location. An alternative is to wrap a zip tie around the hook to lock it in place, but that is even worse since you need back side access to install the tie easily.
> 
> ...


Not at all. They are flexible enough that it's easy to remove them when needed by grabbing the end and pulling over. However, they never come off accidentally because pulling straight out on them in the center won't pop them loose.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I've never liked how pegboard hooks work so I decided to put a sheet of plywood on the wall and simply screw the hangers I make directly into it. Easy enough to move when you need to and actually more flexible than a french cleat.


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## yesIcan (Jan 16, 2011)

This simple, cheap method works well for me. https://www.instructables.com/Keeping-Pegboard-Hooks-from-Falling-Out-when-Remov/


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

The peg lock work very well. I use 'em everywhere. My shop is walled with pegboard (wood grained, and no longer available).


> I use pegboard in a couple of places and here s what I ve found.
> 
> 
> Get attachments made to fit the size pegboard you have, not the one-size-fits-all assortments.
> ...


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

I scrapped peg board and French cleat and just make custom hangers to fit stuff and screw them to wall. Much more versatile and nothing ever falls or comes unhooked.


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

+1 "yesIcan". Assortment packs of pegboard hooks normally don't fit the holes very well. I usually get the heavy duty hooks vs. the standard hooks. Tool boxes are space savers. This is how I use the pegboards


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## hairy (Sep 23, 2008)

I'm a pegboard guy. Look at the pics in my workshop, plenty of pegboard.

These won't come off when you remove the tool. Sometimes a little hard to install and a little harder to remove, but they stay where you put them.










I bought them at least 10 years ago, probably Amazon, maybe Zoro.

The 2 ends of the hook are actually a little wider than the holes are , put the top in first and the bottom snaps in place. What I see for sale now is slightly different, the bottom hook is split, it must compress to fit through the hole. It should also work good.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> These won t come off when you remove the tool. Sometimes a little hard to install and a little harder to remove, but they stay where you put them.
> 
> I bought them at least 10 years ago, probably Amazon, maybe Zoro.
> 
> ...


Cool. I figured there might be something like that. Guess I didn't look long enough when I was searching for hooks.

Thanks!


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> +1 "yesIcan". Assortment packs of pegboard hooks normally don t fit the holes very well. I usually get the heavy duty hooks vs. the standard hooks. Tool boxes are space savers. This is how I use the pegboards
> 
> - WoodenDreams


Ha, that's what my pegboards end up looking like as well. Cram as much as I can on the board and on each hook.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> I scrapped peg board and French cleat and just make custom hangers to fit stuff and screw them to wall. Much more versatile and nothing ever falls or comes unhooked.
> 
> - CWWoodworking


Hmm, interesting. A couple of questions:
1) Could you post a few pictures of your setup?
2) If you end up having to move things around, do you have to move the screws as well? If so, doesn't the board end up like swiss cheese with all those unused holes?


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> This simple, cheap method works well for me. https://www.instructables.com/Keeping-Pegboard-Hooks-from-Falling-Out-when-Remov/
> 
> - yesIcan


Simple usually is the best. That is so clever. I had tried something similar with zip ties, but I like this method even better. Thanks.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> I use pegboard in a couple of places and here s what I ve found.
> 
> 
> Get attachments made to fit the size pegboard you have, not the one-size-fits-all assortments.
> ...


I like the idea, but the execution didn't work out so well for me. I recently bought this and it came with a few peg locks like the one you linked to. They didn't work well at all for me. First impression was that they felt "flimsy". Then once I hooked them up they would still pop out when I tried removing a tool. And before someone says "don't be so rough removing the tool" I tried being gentle and it still popped out.

While looking at your link I saw a "related Items" link and found these. They look like a great idea. Only concern is that they would be a bear to remove with the clips on the back of the phole. I'm going to try them out anyway.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> I ve never liked how pegboard hooks work so I decided to put a sheet of plywood on the wall and simply screw the hangers I make directly into it. Easy enough to move when you need to and actually more flexible than a french cleat.
> 
> - Lazyman


I'd love to see a picture of your setup after you've moved the screws around a few times. How do the old screw holes look? I picture it having a bunch of holes with some tear-out.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Zvonko, So far I have only moved a couple around and I think that they are behind tools and hangers so I can't find any of them. I drill a pilot hole and very slight countersink on the wall and the back of the hanger to prevent both tear out and mushrooming. This ensures that the hanger sits flat and minimizes ugly holes when you move one. The downside of course is that you need make custom hangers which slows down the initial setup but I prefer that to using hooks. The tool board is still a work in process. My next task is hangers or maybe a till for my hand planes.

One other factor that may contribute to your problem is that most pegboard found at Lowes and Home Depot is so thin. It is not just the size of the wire used for the hooks but the thickness of the board that affects the fit. The piece I have is less than 3/16" thick so the hangers that say that they work on board up to 1/4" thick won't be as tight on them. I guess instead of making hangers for the most common type of pegboard available these days, they decided just to sell clips to hold them in place.

BTW, anyone want a free sheet of pegboard?  I bought it before I decided to go the plywood route and it is has been sitting around taking up space ever since. I tried to give it away when we had a garage sale but there were no takers. A couple of the corners are little dinged up from having to move it around every now and then but otherwise it is in good shape. If you live in near me (DFW area), its free to anyone who will come and get it.


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## Bearcontrare (Oct 6, 2020)

I like pegboard myself, but there are a few caveats. The first is the pegboard has to be properly supported from behind and adequate screws used to secure the pegboard to the supports. Some folks try to cheap up when installing pegboard, and you just can't.

Make sure the holes and the hangers are all one-quarter inch diameter. Use the plastic locks on single hook hangers. These WILL keep the hangers in place. There are even homemade versions shown on Youtube.

Space is used more effectively if individual items are not hung flat against the pegboard, but at a 90 degree angle to the pegboard. For instance, I took some long wire hooks and screwed dollar store tool hangers back to back with the wire hook in between. This allowed one tool to be hung on each side on the space normally used for one tool. Different sized hamners can be hung on each side for example.

Think outside the box and make your own hangers, einby repurposing other items. Dollar store wall pockets can have holes drilled in them and secured to pegboard with, wait for it, 1/4 inch screws in plastic drywall locking hangers driven into the holes.
Small wire organizing baskets can be secured to pegboard in a similar fashion, so items can be held either in the baskets or hung through the holes.

Again, Youtube has a lot of homemade hangers which can be adapted for your specific needs.

BE REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO HANG ON YOUR PEGBOARD. OK, we ALL have like 900bscrewdrivers and 700 pairs of pliers. We do NOT need to hang ALL of them up on our pegboard. THow about one each #1 #2 and #3 Phillips head, two or three straight slot screw drivers, and one each needle-nosed, slip jaw, lineman, channel lock and a vise grip. I made this change, hanging only one of each type of these I will need, and it not only helps your pegboard stay nore organized, it's a Hell of a lot easier to find the tool you need when you need it.

Yeah. I'm a pegboard guy, and happy to be so


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## Novamr99 (Oct 9, 2020)

Hey Zvonko,

2) If you end up having to move things around, do you have to move the screws as well? If so, doesn't the board end up like swiss cheese with all those unused holes?

Doesn't a sheet of pegboard start out as a 4×8 piece of swiss cheese?


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## Tony1212 (Aug 26, 2013)

I got into woodworking before the internet and never heard of french cleats. My grandfather used peg board, so that is what I used.

I now use it in my cabinet doors to hold the lighter tools.

I'll be getting a 3D printer in the next couple of weeks and I was planning on printing out some plastic clips, but I really like wire idea from *yesIcan*. I'll probably do that for my cabinet doors.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> ...We do NOT need to hang ALL of them up on our pegboard. THow about one each #1 #2 and #3 Phillips head, two or three straight slot screw drivers, and one each needle-nosed, slip jaw, lineman, channel lock and a vise grip. I made this change, hanging only one of each type of these I will need, and it not only helps your pegboard stay nore organized, it s a Hell of a lot easier to find the tool you need when you need it.
> 
> - Bearcontrare


I've definitely been guilty of this in the past. Now that I have a dedicated workshop, I'm planning to build lots of drawers as well to store extras and stuff I don't use often.


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## Zvonko (Nov 28, 2018)

> Hey Zvonko,
> 
> 2) If you end up having to move things around, do you have to move the screws as well? If so, doesn't the board end up like swiss cheese with all those unused holes?
> 
> ...


Ding, ding, ding. You win the prize. I figured someone would say that as soon as I hit enter.

Yea, pegboard starts out that way, but it's an organized set of holes. HAHA


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

I purchased steel pegboard at Menards. Various size pieces, bright plated finish. Works well, and I also use it with rare earth magnets. The masonite type is junk.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

I have some pegboard, but not a lot of room to put it. It's 3 sections on some melamine cabinets. When I bought some new pegs, they came with the little plastic clips, which I knew were going to have a limited lifetime. I made wire restraints like in "yesIcan's" instructable video, but configured the wire like the little plastic clips instead. The instructable is a better method.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Time was, pegboard was available with 1/8" holes. This is what those smaller diameter hooks were made for. Commercial and retailers used 1/4" hooks and holes. Then people discovered that the 1/8" hooks SORTA worked on 1/4" pegboard.

I won't use pegboard without those little black plastic reinforcements, that snap into adjacent holes.


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I have more of a get it done with wood mentality now. I have wood walls, wood working tools and a scrap wood bin that needs emptying I start looking around and going hmm.


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## ibewjon (Oct 2, 2010)

I like the steel pegboard available at Menards. And others probably carry it. And it works with rare earth magnets. It comes in various sizes.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

In the end, it all depends on your shop. I'm like CWWoodworking. For example, the swinging panels where I keep a bunch of layout items:


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

< cries softly into beer > I really wish I had that kind of room.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I'm fixing to move a piece of peg board to a different wall then replace it with a cabinet. I saw a trick somewhere, using a hot glue gun to hole the peg on the board. I'm going to give that a try during this rearranging things.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

It added several square feet of wall space to my wall space. I have some for the chisels, carving knives and so on too because wall reals-estate is always at a premium.



> < cries softly into beer > I really wish I had that kind of room.
> 
> - Dark_Lightning


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Not my garage is popcorned block. No attaching anything to walls. High wall stuff is hard to reach w/work surface (cab lowers) in front. Large 1" grid on pegboard limits density. People tend to spread, say, 8 wrenches across 16" of panel instead of all on one long hook. Multiple items on same hook are problematic, all front ones need to be removed to get to back item (FILO).

Those little plastic clips prevent you from placing hooks closer than 2", so 1" hole grid might as well be 2" for storing items.

Only a limited amount of available wall space and tools, materials, lumber need space too. Pegboard is only one layer.

I box most things. They pack solid and with clear lids stuff is dust free and easy to locate. I consolidate several similar items into the same box for good packing density and small parts don't get lost.









Metric box is full of meters.

How would you pegboard what's in the box?









7 bushings in one box - set didn't come with case.









Hinge pilots and spare bits are hard to pegboard.

To each their own, but I have a *lot* of parts and tools within reach in my wheeled & powered shop stand.









Its fugly but holds a *TON* of crap - and rolls.


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## Peteybadboy (Jan 23, 2013)

I went with a tool wall. Plywood backer, dowels to hang things, small boxes for other things .

https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/415477


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## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

I don't like pegboard as dust gets behind it. 
I paneled my shop with 1/2 inch plywood. So I can mount anything anywhere. I use a lot of "J" hooks and the cheap stamped shelf brackets as well as large finish nails.


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

this is what you want. Really work well. If you want the Cadillac of pegs, try this


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

A buddy had a deep workbench along about 20' of the wall of his 70' long shop. Of course, there is a whole bunch of stuff on the wall.

The counter is more than capable of holding a VW, so walking on it is no big deal.

Because getting to things on the wall was such a pain, I built short ladder with a notch in the top so when you put the notch on the bench top, you can walk up the ladder to get what you want off the wall.

Fifteen years in and I see the ladder still in play at various positions along the bench.

The thing weighs little, so is easy to move.


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## Bearcontrare (Oct 6, 2020)

RE: My comments about the number of screwdrivers, pliers, etc one hangs on their pegboard. I was guilty as sin about this myself, until I got tired of my pegboard looking like a tool box threw up on it, and started to clean it up.
To be fair to ALL of us, tools have a way of multiplying when we're not looking. I bought a set of six Stanley screwdrivers in 1982. Now I have a cardboard box full of them. I bought a pair of needle nosed and a pair of slip jaw pliers about the same time. Now there is a nedium sized bucket full of pliers. Adjustable squares. Again, bought ONE in 1982. There must be at least 10 of them in the shop. And hammers, well, they do whatever they want. I have bought ONE, 7 oz hammer for driving tacks back in the 90s. All the other hammers have just shown up in the shop from God alone knows where. Don't even THINK about wrenches. You'll have a couple dozen if they even flicker through your mind.
I am NOT making up any of this. It actually happens with these tools, and of course, we need a place to put these foundlings. That is how our pegboards get so crowded so easily. I'm sure many of you have experienced the same expotential tool growth phenomenon…...


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## BugeyedEarl (Sep 1, 2021)

Not a huge fan of pegboard, but that comes from the childhood trauma of having a shed lined with it here in the subtropics, and the certainty that all manner of insects and reptiles were thriving (mostly) unseen behind it. I do have a section of it in my shop that came with the house (it also came with pegs that have a plastic base that are good for one use before they break, but that's another story.)

I recently decided to give it another shot when I saw some overpriced pegboard complete with overpriced accessories at the local Ikea. The hooks lock in pretty well, but naturally "normal" pegs won't work with this board (and vice-versa.) Plus, they only have two or three hook shapes in addition to the little shelves and boxes (at least they're metal…) Just waiting for Ikea to discontinue this line as they inevitably do, and snap up a bunch of it when it goes on clearance.


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## Tony1212 (Aug 26, 2013)

> this is what you want. Really work well. If you want the Cadillac of pegs, try this
> 
> - brtech


Thank you! Getting my 3D printer today. Now I know what I will be designing. Or maybe take a peek through thingaverse.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

> I ve never liked how pegboard hooks work so I decided to put a sheet of plywood on the wall and simply screw the hangers I make directly into it. Easy enough to move when you need to and actually more flexible than a french cleat.
> 
> - Lazyman
> 
> ...


I'm finally making some plane hangers and decided to move my spokeshave over to put the planes in a better spot. You said you would like to see how the holes look so here are a few just to the right of the #7 plane. You may have to zoom in to see them. Note that all of the holes will be covered once the planes are all up.


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