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A wrench organizer is one of the easiest French cleat organizers to make. Since combination wrenches have a box-end and an open-end, it’s easy to build something that they can simply hang from. The box-end side of the wrench makes the perfect place for hanging from hooks or pegs.
If you are seeking a simple and quick solution, I have one for you! While there are numerous ways that you could go about it, I generally create French cleat organizers out of whatever I can find in my workshop. This often means using scrap wood and other odds and ends that I come across.
For my wrench holder, I chose to use a simple hanging solution that would allow me to organize my wrenches from largest to smallest. I also added a few adjustable wrenches as well since they are often used in the same way my combination wrenches are. These wrenches used to be unorganized in my toolbox drawer but I got tired of the mess!
This new organizer allowed me to get my tools out of the drawer and onto the wall where I can see them. Now I know exactly where they are at all times and they are always in proper order. This helps tremendously when seeking a specific size of wrench.
If a hanging system won’t work for you, you can also choose to display your wrenches sideways in a specially made wrench organizer or one that can be built yourself. I prefer my wrenches hanging vertically so I can easily see what I have. I have used pegboard throughout the years and have often organized my wrenches using this same method. Now that I have graduated to using French cleats, I can do the same thing, only sturdier.
Parts You’ll Need
Here is exactly what I used for my holder but you may choose to go a different route. You can use whatever your heart desires but the general idea will be the same.
- 3/4 pine board – cut to size depending on the size and quantity of your wrench collection. Mine was 11 1/4″ x 14″.
- 1/4-inch dowels – for hanging the wrenches on.
- 45-degree cleat for hanging on cleat system.
- Wood glue.
- Screws or nails.
Support Board
To begin, you will create a support board for the wrenches to hang on. You can either build this to cover the entire height of your wrenches or just enough to mount pegs on. Of course, you’ll need less wood if you choose to only use this to mount the pegs.
I chose to create a board the entire height of my wrenches so that they would neatly hang onto the board rather than onto the cleats themselves. I prefer the look of this better as it gives a clear view of all the wrenches.
The support board that I created measures 14 inches wide by 11 1/4 inches tall. Yours may be different depending on how many wrenches you have and the size of the wrenches. This is not a one size fits all measurement and you will need to lay out your wrenches as I have done in the picture below in order to determine just how large your support board will need to be.
Installing Dowels or Hanging Pegs
Once you have the support board cut to size, you will want to determine the spacing between each wrench that you will have hanging. I did not use a consistent measurement between each dowel but instead eyeballed each wrench that I had to hang up and created a consistent gap between each one.
You may choose to space your dowels out an exact width from each other but I chose to space my wrenches out which made the dowel width inconsistent since the wrenches were of different sizes.
My dowels are installed about 3/4″ down from the top of my support board. To mark where these dowels would go, I simply measured 3/4″ down and drew a straight line across. Once a straight line was drawn, I lined up my wrenches and marked each dowel position that I would need to drill.
You can use a basic dowel kit that you can find at most home-improvement stores for this. I used 1/4″ dowels and installed them into the wood so that about 1/3 of the dowel was into the wood. On the larger two wrenches that I have, I used quarter-inch dowels that I cut to size and extended all the way through the wood to the back. This makes for a stronger hanger and provides additional support for the larger wrenches hanging on it.
Once the holes are drilled, you can insert the dowels into place with some wood glue and wait for them to dry. I clamped mine but it’s probably not necessary.
Installing Cleat
Once your dowels have been installed, glued, and are dry, you are now ready to add the cleat so that it can hang neatly on your French cleat wall. This is the easy part and only needs an angled cleat that matches the exact angle of your French cleat system. This is typically a 45-degree angle but yours may be different.
A little glue and some nails or a few screws if you wish will hold the cleat on tightly and securely so that your wrenches will hang neatly onto your French cleat wall.
Conclusion
This simple wrench hanger is quick to make and can create a great-looking area to organize your wrenches. Rather than hanging on hooks on pegboard, this sturdier solution will organize your wrenches and not fall off the wall every time you grab a wrench.
It’s easy to build, requires very few materials, and can be customized to your liking. There are an unlimited number of ways that you can build a hanging system for your wrenches and this is just the simple approach that I used. Hopefully, it helps you in creating your own French cleat system and organizing your wrenches for easy use.
