Layout Tool Racks/Storage

I’m all over the board on what I do in my shop, so I have a significant and, seemingly, ever growing collection of layout tools. I had dedicated a 4’x8’ section of wall space to storing and displaying them so I could spot what I needed for a given project with just a glance. It wasn’t enough and my many circle templates, compasses, triangles, parallel guides and many other items sat in boxes I had to go through, as need arose.

I solved the space problem by building a storage system similar to the displays you see used for posters. However, my panels are 2’ wide by 4’ tall and about 1-1/4” thick. They mount in two pieces of 4’ long, pre-drilled angle iron mounted to the wall.

The completed project takes up 16 square feet of the 32 square feet I set aside for layout tools and gives me 64 square feet of play area, plus a little between panels.

I have three panels mounted and have room to add one more, which is scheduled to be completed sometime in this decade. Meanwhile, I can also install things on the wall, between the panels.

I built the panels using junk 3/8” plywood, which I used to sandwich 1/2” square stock (spacers) I cut from 2x’s. The spacers ran around the outer edges, and two were spaced evenly through between the ends.

Once the panels were built, because I forgot to add reinforcement at the corners when assembling them, I added five inch pieces of aluminum angle stock I had on hand to the completed panels. These mounted on the exterior of the panels, at the top and bottom, where the panel would sit in the angle iron on the wall. To avoid having to add the aluminum or other reinforcement, I could have added spacers an inch or so wide and the same thickness as the perimeter spacer stock to the corners.

Once the angle aluminum was in place, I drilled holes for 3/8” dowels on the top and bottom. The holes were about 5/16” back from the edge (to allow the panels to pivot without hitting the wall or angle iron). The bottom dowel is glued in place. The top one can be removed, to allow me to install and remove the panels independently.