17 French Cleat Tool Holder Ideas For Every DIY Enthusiast

A versatile storage solution is a workshop must-have for DIY enthusiasts juggling an ever-changing array of materials and tools. While easy-to-install organizers, like pegboards, take out much of the hassle, savvy creators know the unique benefits of a French cleat system. Effortlessly add, remove, and rearrange a selection of shelves, racks, holsters, and other storage pieces as needed in countless setups. The sturdy design can hold substantial weight for numerous uses. And when you need a new bespoke tool holder, it's super simple to make one to attach to your French cleat system. Simply grab a board, cut it at a 45-degree angle with a table saw or circular saw, and apply it to a vertical backing. You now have a support bracket to easily apply to custom holders for any and all of your tools.

Not sure where to get started? It's easy to underestimate the items you can store with a custom holder or miss out on innovative designs that will optimize your storage areas. A little research can go a long way as you plan your layout, especially when you consider all the neat DIYs that have popped up over the years. If you use the DIY storage system that outshines pegboard and other alternatives, many of these French cleat tool holders can easily translate to it as well. Find the inspiration to revolutionize your storage system by planning and constructing any of these French cleat tool holder ideas.

From pruning saws to backsaws and hacksaws, hand tools make up many of the saws that will cut through any type of wood. A helpful storage system to keep them together, organized, and easy to grab can make an ideal addition to the French cleat wall. With this DIY, you can use magnets in the holders to grip the saw blade or hidden rollers that roll up a ramp as you insert the saw from the bottom. As soon as gravity pulls the saw down, the roller creates friction against it to lock it in place.

A drill charging station is one of the more exhaustive French cleat tool holder ideas, but when done right, it's a one-stop power port for numerous tools you use daily. Mount your battery chargers on a flat surface, such as the side of your station, and create slotted hangers where your drills can dangle in an organized row. Although it's time-consuming to build, the customization options are endless. Add hooks to hold nailers and other large tools, magnetic strips to organize your favorite bits, and drawers for accessories — there's no wrong way to do it!

A woodworker can never have too many clamps, but they can certainly do with a space-efficient organizer. In this build, a line of open slots sit on a cleat, leaving spaces for clamps to slide on and suspend by the jaw. Design it for each slot to hold one clamp in a long, low-profile line, or save space on your French cleat wall by making them deep enough to hold multiple clamps of the same size. Add enough space for your existing pieces, plus a little extra to accommodate the extra clamps you'll surely collect in the future.

Sanders and the wide array of grits and pads they carry demand sensible organization to make it easier to locate the right tools. A simple design for this storage unit is a set of shelves. A top shelf holds the sander, and the underlying shelves manage stacks of compatible pads. Create utility by making the shelves pull out so you can just press the sander onto a fresh pad to grab it. You can also make more columns for other sanders and accessories and drawers for materials like wood filler and sanding sponges.

An angled circular saw holder saves side-to-side space on your French cleat wall and puts the handle facing out, making it ready to remove and put back as needed. A classic design is to make an L-shaped holder with a board set at the hypotenuse featuring a cutout slot for the circular saw blade to rest in, allowing the body to rest flat on the ramp. The design can also hold items like belt sanders for added versatility. To keep everything in one place, you may even put a small shelf underneath to hold spare blades.

Having a spot for your many hammers and mallets only makes sense for a French cleat wall, solving a common organization problem in the workshop. An easy add-on to build, a workable hammer holder can be as straightforward as making a bracket with two parallel rods that the hands can slip through and support your hammers by the head. But rather than have to lift your hammer up and then out every time, a design like this DIY from the YouTube channel Bitner Built Woodworking allows you to simply pull your hammer of choice away from the wall.

A slotted chisel holder is one of the easiest tool holders to assemble, with simple designs that work similarly to how you would store screwdriver sets. Bore a hole in a board and cut a slit to insert the shaft, and hold the chisel up by the handle. Basic builds are ideal for the 4 or 5 essential chisels in many sets. But if you want to expand to sizes between the typical ⅛-inch intervals, the YouTube channel Start Making (Woodworking) provides a foldable design that saves space while being able to fit a wide assortment of chisels.

You'll need a level while setting up your French cleat wall, so doesn't it deserve a spot when the project is complete? A set of hanging hooks (or dowels) is an easy installation to keep your levels clear and accessible. Take the design as far as you want to incorporate other measuring and leveling tools. With extra hangers and shelves, you can keep your combo squares, tape measures, framing squares, and much more in a dedicated space.

A jigsaw can fit onto a slanted shelf similar to a circular saw, but a flat shelf works equally as well. Make a shelf with a slot in the bottom so it can hold a jigsaw with or without a blade installed, facing the handle out for easy access. Don't forget the extra shelf to hold your saw's carrying bag and replacement blades.

Screwdrivers are fundamental for DIYers at any skill level, so it's only sensible to integrate them into an organized French cleat holder that makes it quick and simple to find the right-sized tool. Much like the chisel organizer, this consists of a flat board with holes to hold the drivers up by their handles. Drill holes to give all of your pieces a spot, or go an extra step and cut out slots running to the edge that make your tools easier to remove and put back.

Whether you like building in the workshop or crafting in the hobby room, DIYers of all kinds appreciate the fun that comes with the painting step of their projects. Rather than pile them deep on shelves and make it impossible to find the can you need, a vertical holder can create an organized layout that makes every can clearly visible and easy to grab. All it takes is a flat board with PVC piping cut to equal lengths, with a slight angle on one end, to lift the tube and prevent the cans from falling.

Disposable gloves and cleanup gear are critical for almost any kind of project. With a wall-mounted dispenser, there's no more hunting down or fiddling with boxes. A few pieces of plywood create a slot to hold a standard box, with a cutout letting you pull out gloves while the box stays in place. A similar attachment can give you a place to store clean shop rags, and you could hang a paper towel bar underneath to hold a fresh roll to keep everything cleaning-related in the same place.

Much like the spray paint can holder, PVC tube sections can create a smart organizer to make it easy to choose the perfect caulk for the job. Build a simple box sized to fit a grid organizer, and you'll be able to keep all of your tubes in plain view. Add a hanger hook on the side to holster your caulk gun. If you have the space under or above the holder, consider a shelf for putty knives, painter's tape, cleaning supplies, and any other accessories you use to apply clean caulk lines.

Whatever your hobbies, every DIY enthusiast eventually needs tape to maintain straight paint lines, temporarily bond pieces, mark cuts, and much more to finish their projects. You can use simple dowel holders to save space, hanging multiple rolls of tape on each. Otherwise, a shelf will let you line up several different kinds of tapes and give you the versatility to repurpose it for other odds and ends later. Using the shelf, you can also integrate dispensing systems for your most often-used rolls, letting you get the length you need without taking the tape off the wall.

You can build holders for your squares in several ways. Choose the most space-saving options based on the amount and style of your squares. Speed squares, combo squares, and tools with lips can hang in slotted organizers. Framing and drywall squares, meanwhile, can hang on dowels and hooks. And if you want to use one piece to hold an array of squares, lay them on a flat plywood panel, nesting them together in a puzzle-like fashion to save space, and attach blocks that will hold them in place when the panel hangs upright on the wall.

With so many types of pliers to help across a variety of projects, it only makes sense to keep them visible and available over the workbench. One of the easier builds for your cleat wall, this addition works similarly to a towel bar, only requiring a long dowel between two brackets. Hang your pliers, snips, and wire strippers, and if needed, use any leftover space for extra clamps and other accessories that can hang on the bar.

Few DIYs would be possible without the hardware to keep everything together, and your ability to keep it organized can make all the difference in making your projects more efficient. To that end, it's worth making some dedicated hardware bins for your French cleat shelf. Make a large holder to fit several plastic bins you can remove and replace, or use small French cleat bins for each type of fastener. By adding French cleats to your workbench, you'll make it easy to conveniently organize your hardware wherever you need it.