Introduction: 2 Styles of French Cleat Clamp Hanger Brackets

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I've just started to reorganize my shop, and part of this re-org is finding a spot for my clamps that isn't a pile on the floor, or a pile on the bench, or a pile.... you get the idea.

I generally use two types of clamps:

Bessey K-Body Revo, and

Irwin Quick Grip

Both of these I have in a variety of sizes.

I decided to use a french cleat system for some shop organization, so I built these clamp hanger brackets to work on that. Hwoever, the wall cleats are not built or installed yet, so I don't have any 'in use' photos of these.

This was a very fast project, so I also don't have any build photos. What I do have is a photo of my plans, and photos of the finished result. This should be enough for you to copy this idea, or modify it to suit your own clamps. I am very happy with the Quick Grip clamp rack, and I think the Bessey rack will work well. This is also a simple design.

Materials:

  • 3/4" Plywood (I used some scrap Fir plywood for this. I'd recommend Baltic Birch as well, but definitely don't use MDF or particle board. See the plans for size)
  • 1 1/2" #8 wood screws
  • Wood Glue

Tools:

  • Tablesaw (This works best to get the 45 degree cut for French cleats. I have done French cleats using a router table and a 45 degree chamfer bit too)
  • Mitre saw or band saw (The angled parts are easier to cut than on a table saw)
  • Jigsaw, scroll saw, or band saw (Teeth for the quick grip clamp holder)
  • Belt or orbital sander, or sanding block
  • Countersink drill bit (Screws need to be recessed to ensure pieces are tight together, and so that they don't catch on the wall surface behind)

Time:

These took about 1 hour each, excluding glue drying time.

Step 1: Plans

These are the plans that I used:

The first image is for one single clamp rack that holds up to 4 K Body clamps.

The second image is a plan for two matching clamp racks that holds up to four Quick Grip clamps. I made a mistake measuring, which resulted in being able to fit 6 Quick Grips instead of four.

I don't show fasteners here, but on the K-Body clamp racks there are 2 screws per cleat (4 per holder) and on the Quick Grip there are 2 holding the edge onto the long flat piece, and 2 more holding the cleat to the long flat piece. So: Total 4 again.

To make 2 of each, I used 16 screws.

Step 2: K-Body Revo Clamp Rack

I glued the edge of the plywood to the cleat, top & bottom, then screwed them together.

When gluing end grain, I forced some glue into the edge of the plywood before putting another coat on & attaching the parts together.

I also sanded the larger pieces, just to knock down the corners and smooth out the faces a bit.

In the fourth picture I have put two back to back: This shows how the hanger will sit on the french cleat rail that will be fastened to the wall.

The last picture shows the hanger, in a rail (i'm holding the rail upright in this picture), with a clamp.

Instead of using screws, biscuits would work well in this application.

Step 3: Quick Grip Clamp Rack

This one is simpler.

I marked and cut the teeth out using my scroll saw, but a band saw or jug saw would work too.

I glued & screwed the 2 main verticals together, then glued & screwed the cleat onto the back.