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Jan 6, 2013
As a followup to the Tool Storage Cabinet, I thought Iʻd share what I learned about making custom tool holders. Most of the following pictures show the holder on the left and the tool in the holder on the right.
If you want you can save photos to your computer for future reference. Or better yet, you can print this page and save as a PDF to refer to later. OR … just make it a FAVORITE.
USING EMBEDDED MAGNETS
Some tools like this marking knife utilized an embedded magnet to hold it in place. The base is 1/4 inch plywood and the knife area was built up with a piece of wood to fill the space. Then a hole was drilled from the back and a magnet embedded so it wouldnʻt be seen from the front. MAGIC. The tabs on the side and the bottom were used to keep it in place
USING EXPOSED MAGNETS
Sometimes I used exposed magnets to hold tools. The little tab on the bottom helps keep it from sliding down off the magnet. The base on this one is 1/2 inch BBP (Baltic Birch Plywood) so that there was room to imbed the magnet. You may have to use epoxy if you drill the hole too big. I drilled undersized holes for the magnets and forced the magnet in the hole.
A LAYERED APPROACH
Some tools like this outside, inside, and sloped angle protractor makes you scratch your head figuring out how to hang this one. I used a layered approach using 1/4 inch plywood as the base followed by 1/4 in ply to outline the tool and another piece to make it all work. The little tab at the top and the turn button on the bottom are used to keep it in the holder. The last third of this image better shows the layers.
TOOLS WITH BATTERIES
Some tools, like this digital calipers that uses batteries, got special treatment. 1/2 inch BBP was used to outline the head of the tool and a little battery holder that slanted to the back was glued on the front. The turn button keeps the tool in the holder. I take the batteries out of my digital tools cause I find that the batteries run down when I need it if I leave them in the tool.
TOOLS WITH MAGNETS AND BATTERIES
Some tools like this WIXEY Angle Gauge have magnets so I use them to help me hang tools like this. I used a 1/4 inch plywood as a border and screwed a piece of metal to the door that the Wixey can grab on to. The same was done with the tool above it. Note the battery holder for the Wixey with the battery type.
LIGHT TOOL SILHOUETTES
Here is a novel way to remember what tool goes here. I used 1/4 inch plywood to make a silhouette of the tool. Here is my scissors. To the silhouette I glued the shapes of the finger holes and added a turn button to retain the scissors on the tool holder.
HEAVY TOOL SILHOUETTES
For heavier tools like these pipe wrenches I used 1/2 inch BBP for the silhouette and a 1/4 inch rod slightly bent at the end and hammered into a tight hole in the plywood to hold the wrench.
HARD TO HANG TOOLS
Sometimes you will have hard to hang tools like my dental picks or offset screwdrivers (project picture). Here I made a something like a little gun rack with a downward slanting slots in which the tools rested. To keep them from sliding out sideways I made a border around them out of some thin wood and glued it in place.
RECESSED HANDLE HOLDERS
For the screwdrivers, files, chisels, and other tools that have handles, I drilled two sizes of holes with forstner bits or spur bits. I first drilled a hole slightly larger then the handle of the tool, and then I drill a second hole slightly larger than the tool shaft. This allowed the tool to be front loading front loading so little room is required above the tool to remove it from the holder. Make sure you leave enough room at the ends or between tools to install mounting screws. Finishing screws with tiny square drive heads work best here.
HOW TO HANG WRENCHES
For my box end/open end wrenches I used wood about 7/8 inch thick and about 1-1/4 inch wide. I cut a dado about 1/2 inch deep on one edge that would accommodate the head of the largest wrench. This photo shows the end view of the stock used for the wrench hangers.
For some wrenches the hanger was horizontal. I laid the wrenches on the hanger and marked where the handle laid. I then cut out the front of the holder to allow the placement of the wrench from the front.
Sometimes I needed to angle the holder to maximize space in the tool cabinet so the holder was placed at the angle I desired and the wrenches were laid as they would hang and marked the handle location.
Or for some wrenches you can just use dowels (with a flat spot filed down so the wrench doesnʻt slide off the dowel) or nails in 1/2 inch BBP if they are not too heavy.
A WORD ABOUT MOUNTING SCREWS
Since all my tool holders are attached to the 3/4 inch plywood tool cabinet case or doors, I tried to have at least 1/2 inch of the screw going into the doors/walls of tool cabinet. Some places I used sheet rock screws. Other places I used finishing screws with tiny square drive heads.
SUMMARY
The name of the game (in setting up a tool cabinet like mine) is to keep things compact and as low a profile as possible.
If you take the time to make silhouettes, the tools will know where to go all by themselves when youʻre done with them. lol …
Also, making indivisual tool holders that you screw to your tool cabinet will allow you in the future to rearrange the tools if you get new tools and need to make room. The only thing you will have are tiny holes from the mounting screws.
Comments are appreciated. Questions always welcomed.
Thanks for looking.
Crafty Puzzles 
