Stay-Put Tool Holders

Wall-mounted perforated hardboard provides ideal tool storage—as long as you can get the hanger "pegs" to stay put. Faced with that challenge, we designed tool holders that attach firmly, but take only a minute or two to move to a new, more convenient location on the perforated hardboard.

To make the pliers holder, mark slots where shown on the drawing below, and drill ¹⁄₂ " holes at each end of the marked slots. Drill slightly over-lapping holes to remove the stock between the end holes, and smooth up the sides of the slots with a chisel. Then, attach the desktop fasteners to the holder, as shown.

The 5/0 handscrew-clamp holder mounts to the perforated hardboard with a short length of ¹⁄₄ x 1" aluminum bar stock and two hexhead sheet-metal screws. For larger size handscrew clamps, make the wooden block longer and wider.

By using varying lengths of all-thread rod, you can create multi-purpose hangers for bar clamps or individual tools, such as the adjustable wrenches in the photograph. We dipped the all-thread rod in plastic coating for protection from sharp edges and to provide a no-slip surface to keep tools in place.

Note: When you install the mounting screws in the perforated hardboard, just snug them up; over-tightening will easily strip out the holes in the hardboard.