Wall clamp rack plans, sized to your space

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Stud finder
• Level
• Block plane or sanding block
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Ease the rail and ledger edges

   On each ledger (A) and front rail (C), pick the straighter long edge to be the top.

   Sand or plane a small 45° chamfer along the top inside edge of each, the edges that face each other across the slot. The chamfer makes a funnel so clamp bars drop in without hunting for the gap.

   Sand the faces smooth: clamps slide against them every time you use one.

   • Tip A block plane takes a chamfer off in two or three passes. Keep it small, about 1/4″.

   ✓ Hold a rail and a ledger together with a scrap of 2×4 between: a clamp bar laid across the top slides into the gap easily.

4. 4Screw the ledgers to the studs

   Slide a stud finder along the wall and mark every stud with a pencil. Studs are usually 16″ apart, measured center to center. Confirm one by drilling a tiny test hole where the trim will hide it: you'll feel the drill bite into wood.

   Draw a level line for the top of each ledger: 72″ and 48″ above the floor.

   Hold each ledger (A) flat against the wall, top edge on its line, its left end 2″ left of a stud. Predrill and drive 2 screws, #10 × 3″, into every stud it crosses, 1″ in from the top and bottom edges: 12 in all.

   • Tip Before drilling, check the wall for pipes and wires: avoid drilling directly above or below outlets and switches, and behind sinks.

   ✓ Each ledger is level, tight to the wall, and every screw bit into a stud.

   STOP. Drywall alone won't hold it. Never hang this with only drywall anchors. Keep the load under about 300 lb, and never hang it over a bed or crib.

5. 5Add the spacer blocks

   Glue the spacer blocks (B) to the face of each ledger, tops flush: one at each end and the others evenly spaced, at 0″, 22 1/4″, 44 1/2″ from the left end.

   Drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through each block into the ledger, one high and one low.

   • Tip Keep the screws 1″ in from the block edges so they don't split it, and away from the middle where the rail screws will go.

   ✓ Every block is flush with the ledger top and none rocks.

6. 6Screw on the front rails

   Spread glue on the blocks and set each front rail (C) on them, tops and ends flush with the ledger, chamfer facing the wall.

   Drive 2 screws, 2 1/2″, through the rail into each block, in the middle of the block so they miss the first screws.

   ✓ Slide a scrap of 2×4 into the slot along the full length: it fits everywhere, so the slot is an even 1 1/2″.

7. 7Hang the clamps

   Drop each clamp bar down into the slot from above, with the fixed jaw resting across the ledger and rail tops.

   Hang the longest and heaviest clamps on the top row so they don't reach the floor, and short F-clamps and quick clamps on the lower rows.

   Group them by size so you can grab a matched pair without looking.

   ✓ Each clamp hangs straight down, with its jaw on top of the rail, and lifts out with one hand.

   STOP. Keep each row under about 150 lb. Don't hang anything else heavy (hoses, bags of fasteners) from the rail.

8. 8Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.