Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building a Clamp Cart Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Problem – Clamp Storage
Like most woodworkers, I have a large variety of clamps. In my old shop, I hung the pipe and bar clamps on the wall. The rest of the hand clamps were stored in a box. In my new shop, I have less wall space available and a lot of equipment to store. I also want my clamps accessible without a lot of walking. A clamp cart seemed like a good solution. However, the commercial carts are expensive and none of them seem to store the exact variety of clamps I have.
So, I decided to build my own custom clamp cart. I looked at my back issues of ShopNotes and found issues 46 and 93 had plans and examples of carts and clamp hangers that I could build and customize to match my assortment of clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
The Inspiration for the Clamp Cart
Shop Notes – Issue 46 Shop Notes – Issue 93 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
The Inspiration for the Clamp Hangers
Shop Notes –Issue 46 Shop Notes –Issue 46 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
The Inspiration for the Clamp Hangers
Shop Notes – Issue 46 Shop Notes – Issue 93 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Clamp Cart
I had an old, leftover, Harbor Freight mover’s dolly that seemed like a good start for the bottom of the cart. It measured 18” x 30” , was rated at 700 pounds and included 4 swivel casters. I removed the rubber treads on each end so the bottom panel of my cart would be flat on the dolly. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
I made the bottom panel with ¾” plywood measuring 24” x 36” (3” overhang all around) with 1½” radius corners. I put edge banding around the bottom (the corners were ‘fun’ to trim). I centered the bottom panel on the furniture dolly and secured it with four 5/16” x 2½” carriage bolts and fender washers. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
Based on my experience with a previous project, I decided to use KREG screws to assemble the cart. The speed and precision are hard to beat. I could also skip cutting the dados, avoid the hassle of clamping and waiting for the glue to dry. I used ¾” Maple plywood - two pieces 24” x 48” and one piece 27½” x 48”. I used my Festool plunge saw to cut the plywood panels. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
I used another new tool – my drill press. Having the large, tilting table with a fence and hold down clamps made drilling the slanted holes a snap. The laser drilling guide is extremely accurate and made the drilling quick and easy. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
Not liking the exposed plywood edges, I used pre-glued, heat activated, edge banding on all of the edges. I used an iron (on dry, cotton heat setting) to heat the edge banding adhesive and a round shank Phillips screwdriver to press the adhesive strips in place. Source: www.woodworkershardware.com - $22.05 for 7/8” x 250 feet Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
I used a ‘FastCap Macro Flush Cutting Trimmer’ to trim the ends of the banding at the corners. Source: www.woodworkershardware.com - $12.66 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
I used a ‘FastCap Quad Pro Trimmer’ to trim the edges of the banding. Even though it’s made to trim both sides at once, I found it worked better to trim each side separately. I used a sanding block with 400 grit paper to sand the edges after using the trimmer. Source: www.woodworkershardware.com - $20.35 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Cart
I used the KREG corner clamps, screws and glue to attach the end panels to the center panel and then the whole assembly to the bottom panel of the cart. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Pipe Clamp’ Hangers
I used the basic concept from the ShopNotes plans, but changed some dimensions. For the bottom board, I used a standard pine 2 x 4 for the bottom board with 1¼” holes, drilled ¾” deep on 2¼” centers. I rounded the corners to match the cart bottom and secured it with four 2¼” square drive screws. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Pipe Clamp’ Hangers
Most of my pipe clamps are 4’ long, so for the top board, I used a piece of maple ¾” x 3” x 24” secured to the end panel at 39” from the bottom board. I attached the clips to the center of the board on 2¼” centers. The bottom board is a pine 2 x 4 with 1 ¼” holes, drilled ¾” deep, 2” from the back edge and on 2 ¼ inch centers. This provides storage capacity for 10 pipe clamps ( ½” or ¾” pipe). Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Pipe Clamp’ Hangers
I added storage for an additional four 4’ pipe clamps (two ¾” pipe and two ½” pipe) to the other end of the cart. The hangers are made the same way as the other side – only shorter.
The clips are National Gripper clips ¾” to 1 1/8” capacity. Source: Amazon.com National Clips# N189498 - $3.99 pkg of 4 Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Excess Pipe Clamp’ Storage
That left me with some seldom used, shorter pieces of pipe and clamp pieces. I strapped an 18” piece of 4” PVC pipe with a cap on the bottom and a coupling (for strength) on the top to store the extra pipe and ½” dowels mounted on a backer board for the clamp pieces. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Excess Pipe Clamp’ Storage
Now if I need additional short pipe clamps, I can select the pipe and add the clamp pieces. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Bar Clamp’ Hangers
Again, I used the basic concept from the ShopNotes plans, but changed some dimensions. The clamp board is ¾” x 4½” x 27½” maple with 3” x 27½” tempered board cladding. The backing board is ¾” x 3” x 27½” maple. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the Bar Clamp Hangers
The slots are 3/8” wide, 1¼” deep and on 1¼” centers. I used a dado blade and miter gauge to make the cuts. I mounted the clamp bar to a ¾” x 3” x 27½” maple backer board with four 2” square drive screws. The assembly is mounted to the cart with five 1½” screws. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Bar Clamp’ Hangers
I made my slots shallower because I’m used to handling and storing my clamps by the bar. The shorter fingers are also stronger. By putting the cladding on the front part of the board, the edge of the top clamp jaw ‘hooks’ on the cladding to help hold the clamp. This configuration gives me storage for 21 bar clamps and the spacing also works well for my small ‘quick’ clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Handscrew Clamp’ Hangers
I used a pine 2 x 4 for the post and ¾” maple for the backer board. I have one 6”, nine 8” and four 12” handscrew clamps. I used an 8” 2 x4 post for the four 12” clamps and an 11” 2 x 2 post for eight of the 8” clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Handscrew Clamp’ Hangers
I attached the holder posts to the backer boards with 2” square drive screws and the assembly to the cart with 1½” screws. I stored the extra 8” clamp and the 6” clamp in the bottom of the cart. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Adjustable Corner Clamp’ Hangers
I used a ¾” x 5” x 5” maple board with a vinyl covered ‘L’ shaped hook to hold the three adjustable corner clamp sets. I attached the backer board to the cart with 1½” square drive screws. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘‘C’ Clamp’ Hangers
I used a ¾” x 4” x 12” maple board with two 1” maple dowels mounted at a 10 degree angle to hold my two 6” ‘C’ clamps. I used a ¾” x 4” x 6” maple board with two ½” maple dowels mounted at a 10 degree angle to hold my four 3” ‘C’ clamps. The holders are mounted on the cart with 1 ½” square drive screws. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Spring Clamp’ Hangers
I used the ShopNotes idea but modified it to provide separate storage for each size spring clamp. I used a 1” dowel for the large clamps and ½” dowels for the medium and smaller clamps. I slanted the dowels 5 degrees to keep the clamps from falling off the holder. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Edge Clamp’ Hangers
I adapted the ShopNotes idea for the ‘C’ clamps to store my edge clamps. I used ½” dowels, slanted at 5 degrees, on one board to store both types of edge clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Storage Bin’
I followed the ShopNotes plans and added a storage bin to the clamp cart. I’ll use it to store my glue, brushes, tape and small clamps. The box is made of ¾’ plywood and measures 6” x 6” x 27½’. I edge banded the exposed plywood edges and mounted it with three 1 ½” square drive screws. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Building the ‘Caul Clamp Storage’
I have a number of two-sided caul clamps that I use to glue up large panels. I stood up the caul boards and secured them to the end of the cart with a bungee cord. I added two ‘L’ hooks to store the caul clamp hardware. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Complete: Side One of the Cart
This is the ‘most used’ side of my cart and provides storage for my bar clamps, ‘quick’ clamps, ‘C’ clamps, adjustable corner clamps and handscrew clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Complete: Side Two of the Cart
This side of the cart stores most of my ¾” pipe clamps plus a couple of ½” pipe clamps. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Complete: Side Three of the Cart
This side of the cart has my storage bin and also stores my spring clamps, edge clamps and the spare pipe for my pipe clamps. There’s also some room left for new clamps I might buy. Building a Clamp Cart Richard Hicks on March 25, 2013
Complete: Side Four of the Cart
This side of the cart stores the remainder of my ¾” and ½” pipe clamps along with my caul clamps.