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Custom Pegboard Tool Hangersby Phil B on November 2, 2010

Table of Contents

Custom Pegboard Tool Hangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   Custom Pegboard Tool Hangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   What was available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   Raw material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3:   Customizing the hammer hanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4:   Another variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 5:   Bending hangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 6:   Hanger for side cutter pliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 7:   Making the holder for the side cutters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 8:   Weld the rectangle to the hanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 9:   Add verticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 10:   Angle iron to cradle the tip of the side cutters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 11:   Make your own? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 12:   Making the second bend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 13:   Plan for welding 1/4" stud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 14:   Welding the stud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 15:   Saw the stud to length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 16:   Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 17:   Another style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Author:Phil BI miss the days when magazines like Popular Mechanics had all sorts of DIY projects for making and repairing just about everything. I am enjoying postingthings I have learned and done since I got my first tools.

I enjoy studying the Bible and I am also a Lutheran pastor. I ride a bicycle about 100 miles a week for exercise. I like to dabble with some electronicsprojects. I have a lathe, a radial arm saw, a router, and an arc welder for stick electrodes.

Intro:  Custom Pegboard Tool HangersI began to rearrange my tools on the pegboard above my workbench so that it holds the tools I use most frequently rather than whatever I had room to place there.  In thephoto is my hammer.  Notice how straight the handle hangs.  It was not always that way.  I had to do some customizing.  I may do more of that in the future becauseevery time I go shopping for a pegboard hanger, the available stock has changed.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 1: What was availableOne of the photos below shows how crooked my hammer hung before.  The other shows the commercially available hooks I had been using. 

Step 2: Raw materialIn addition to pegboard hangers, I used some heavy wire about 1/8" in diameter.  Friends built a garage and these are some of the wire stubs left over from reinforcementwire sticking out of the concrete foundation.  Some were straight, but many have a gentle spiral twist that I remove by pounding with a hammer on a flat metal surface.  Insome later steps I will show some 3/16" and 1/4" steel rod I also used.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 3: Customizing the hammer hangerInstead of two hangers next to one another, I bent one of the wire stubs from the previous step and welded it to the tip of one of the commercial hangers.  If you lookclosely, you can see that the right side of the "U" shaped piece is lower (nearer to the camera) than the left side.  This is what allows the hammer to hang with the handlestraight and vertical as in the Introduction photo.

In the second photo below you can see how the "U" shaped piece aligns with the contours of the hammer.  I used this process to determine how much angle to use onthe piece I bent in the setup for welding it to the commercial hanger. 

In the third photo below I placed my customized hanger into the vise to adjust the angle on the customized hanger so the hammer's handle hangs straight up and down.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 4: Another variationI wanted to hang all of my spring clamps on a separate wire hanger.  I decided to lengthen one of the hangers that came with my pegboard.   If you look at the photo youcan see the weld where I added length. 

In the second photo you can see all four of my spring clamps on this hanger. 

In the third photo below you can see how I weld two rods end-to-end.  I have a piece of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" aluminum angle.  Two of the wire stubs from step 2 are used in thisdemonstration.  Although I am using a wire feed welder, which is very easy to start; it is not difficult to do this step with a stick welder.  See my Instructable on starting anarc exactly where you want it to begin using a stick welder.

Step 5: Bending hangersI made a handle for keyhole saw blades and I want to hang that saw on my pegboard.  But, the commercial hangers have a bend in them.  I changed the angle on thehanger so the saw can hang without the blades angling outward from the pegboard.  See the second photo below for the difference between a hanger from the factory(right side) and how I changed the angle (left side).

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 6: Hanger for side cutter pliersWhen using a wire feed welder it is necessary to use some sort of side cutter pliers to trim the end of the wire to length or to remove a non-conductive ball from the end ofthe wire.  I customized one of the hangers that came with my pegboard to hold a pair of side cutters away from the pegboard so I can easily grasp them while wearingheavy leather welding gloves. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 7: Making the holder for the side cuttersI used one of the wire stubs from step 2.  Place the heavy wire and the side cutters in a vise.  Begin bending the wire around the wire cutter with a hammer.  Move theside cutters and bent wire a quarter turn and continue making bends until a rectangle has been formed that fits around the side cutters.  Trim away excess wire.  Weld theends to close the rectangle.

Step 8: Weld the rectangle to the hangerFor the process of welding I wore welder's gloves.  Grasp the closed rectangle with a pair of pliers and hold in position while tack welding it to the hanger.  Finish thewelding after the tack has been made.

Step 9: Add verticalsI added two vertical pieces to guide the position of the side cutters and keep the handles vertical.  Trim these to length so they are about as long as the tip of the sidecutters when they are positioned as you want them to be.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 10: Angle iron to cradle the tip of the side cuttersI cut a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" angle iron and tack welded it to the ends of the vertical pieces.  Then I finished the welds.  This angle iron will cradle the tip of the side cutters. The side cutters should slip in and out of the hanger for it very easily.  File any weld material or the corners where the side cutters stick when moving in or out of thehanger.

Step 11: Make your own?There may be a time when you need a hanger for your pegboard, but cannot find or adapt the right commercial hanger.  My commercial hangers are a little thicker than3/16".  I am using 3/16" rod here.  Do a rough calculation of how much rod is used in the bends on the commercial hanger and make a bend to replicate the first bend asseen here.

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Step 12: Making the second bend

Here you see a cold chisel in use to pound a second, relatively sharp bend in the 3/16" rod.  I alternated between pushing the rod with a cold chisel and pounding on theend of the 3/16" rod until its bends replicated those in the commercial hanger. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Pegboard-Tool-Hangers/

Step 13: Plan for welding 1/4" studMy commercial hangers use a 1/4" stud to catch the hole in the pegboard below the one that accepts the bent section.  The vise will allow me to press the 1/4" rodagainst the vise jaws while welding.  This will give a precise placement, so long as I get this setup right.

Step 14: Welding the studI chamfered the 1/4" rod to make a more complete, stronger weld from both sides.  Grind away excess weld material so the stud can fit neatly into the pegboard holeswhen finished. 

Step 15: Saw the stud to lengthIf the stud had been cut off before welding, the process of welding the stud to the 3/16" rod would have been more difficult.  Cut the stud to length.  Grind away all burrs. 

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Step 16: DoneHere you see my homemade hanger in the pegboard.  From this point it is easy to bend the hanger to suit your needs, also to weld special fittings to it for unique tools. 

Step 17: Another styleSome hangers are this style.  If you needed to make a special hanger, this style would not be difficult to replicate using steps and techniques outlined in previous stepsfrom this Instructable. 

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Comments

2 comments Add Comment

 rimar2000 says:  Nov 3, 2010. 3:45 AM  REPLYPhil, you make me feel ashamed. I should do something like you, because I have the usual tools stored in a plastic box and the others in a drawer of an oldcloset in the garage. Every time I go to work, I lose more time displaying and storing the tools than doing the work. Good idea, these "customized" hooks!

 Phil B says:  Nov 3, 2010. 5:23 AM  REPLYOsvaldo,

I always thought pegboard and hangers were too extravagant. I have sometimes used a piece of plywood and some nails in place of hangers. Once Ihad some commercial hangers, but drilled a few custom holes in some plywood about 3/16 inch thick. That meant deciding where each tool would goand never changing its location, unless I drilled new holes. Only in recent years did my wife insist I have a metal workbench. It came with pegboard andsome hangers.

The good thing about customizing one's own hanger hooks is that you can make them fit a special tool or jig you have that is not easy to hang with thenormally available hangers. And, as I said, I recently went to a store looking for a special hanger, but they had only one or two styles. None of them werewhat I needed. So, I decided to begin modifying standard hangers.

I am still planning what I will hang from my pegboard. I want to limit myself to those tools that I use frequently. Others can go in a box or a drawer.

Thank you for your comment.