Stupid question about pegboard hooks...

[docrowan]

Loring,

Thanks for the post. I've been noodling with this for a while now and your solution turned a lot of lights on for me.

[LCHIEN]

Chris, glad its of use. thinking back, maybe the pegs on the back that engage the pegboard were only like 3/16" dia., not 1/4" which might be a tight fit. And if you're going to be hanging heavier stuff, you should get the thicker pegboard.

L

[LCHIEN]

...

I am not really finding anything worthwhile as far as plastic hooks are concerned. But the ball end hooks are something I should look into. I am trying to reduce / eliminate any possibility of injury in my shop for myself, my friends, their kids, and my kids to be (with any luck and the good Lord's help...).

...

You can always go tothe hobby store, buy some wood balls in various diameters real cheap. Drill a small hole in them and glue on the ends of the hangers if you feel eye-poking is a real danger. Probably get a dozen 3/8" or 1/2" balls for a buck. You'll then have to get a jig to hold them while drilling with a drill press but that's a topic for another post!

[dbhost]

Loring,

I found my local Ace Hardware started stocking American Hardware (brand name, not generic description) peg hooks, with the ball ends. The ones I have seen at the borg stores all have cut ends which concern me. I am waiting until their truck gets in on monday and they get their stock in place, but I am also going to check out HF in Pasadena TX to see if the peg hook kits they sell are ball end or cut.

The ones I want to stay away from are cut ends which can more easily poke, jab, or otherwise injure young visitors, and older folks with short attentions spans....

[LCHIEN]

ypu can custommake hangars for bigger stuff.

Take a 1x2 about 4 inches long. We'll make it hang vertically, the 2" side against the pegboard.
About 1/4" down from the top on the back, put a threaded L-hook into the 1x2, centered. Leave about 1/4" between the back and the "L" of the hook, with the hook pointed up.
Now drill a 1/4" hole about 1/2" deep into the back of the 1x2, exactly 3" from the location of the L-hook. Put a piece of 1/4" dowel into this hole, cut it off about 3/8 to 1/2" above the 1x2.

Now you can drill a 1/2" or 3/8" hole or holes into the front of the 1x2, at an angle upwards if you wish. You can put a dowel of any length - 4" to 8" being reasonable into this hole.

Now slip the tip of the L-hook into the pegboard, rotate the 1x2 down so the 1/4" dowel peg enters a hole 3 spaces below the L-hook and you have a pretty solid bracket with a substantial peg. If the L-hook fits too tightly, you can back it out a few turns until it slips into place neatly. (you may have to do this because pegboard comes in thin and thicker weights, like 1/8 and 1/4" I think.) The 1/4" dowel you may have to push in place, but it holds the main shear weight. The L-hook only provides the cantilever and pull-away strength.

The dowels won't be sharp (round off or chamfer the ends if you want) and they can hold alot.

you can make wider ones with multiple L-hooks for supporting much larger stuff. You can use trianghular braces with end caps. I made shelf brackets for my daughters dorm room where they could only use the existing pegboard and not make any holes in the wall. They were 8" deep and for pics and knick-nacks, not books of course.

found the bookshelf-supporting ones I made, I didn't use 1/4" dowel for keeping the bottom from swinging, I just used a small finish nail... Here the pics (my daughter did the painting) - these were to support 8-inch shelving:

[docrowan]

Loring,

Your daughter did an amazing job painting those brackets!

Question - did you find that it was a 3/16 L hook you used?

[Len]

The 'Hook Store' also has all plastic hooks of various lengths. They are on their web page at http://www.hookstore.com/plasticx.htm.

As you noted, one drawback is you have to order in lots of 100. Another is there is a $50.00 minimum order requirement. On the bright side, a lot of 100 plastic hooks is relatively cheap. You just need a bunch of lots.

Len

[dbhost]

Problem solved for now. I have been using the ball end type metal hooks mostly because they are readily available from the big box stores. The ones with the cut ends are getting dipped in plasti dip for safety reasons. It is working out well so far...

[LCHIEN]

Loring,

Your daughter did an amazing job painting those brackets!

Question - did you find that it was a 3/16 L hook you used?

Thanks, I'll be sure to tell her you said so.

I guess 3/16ths would be about the right size, I don't recall how they sell them. Obviously that would allow them to clear the 1/4" holes. Just have to hunt the hardware aisle at the HW store until you find something that looks right.

You need to put them close to the top so you can rotate the bracket up the hooks. And you can adjust the amount the hook protrudes to get it close to the peg board and adjust for the thick or thin peg board.

[billfrommich]

dbhost or others, if you are still looking for pegboard hooks without the pointy end, you might try looking at BigLots. They have a variety of hooks (most with pointy ends) but one in particular that might be of interest. The hook consists essentially of a "U" shaped wire that extends out of one hole in pegboard for about 4" and then bends smoothly around and returns back into an adjacent hole in the pegboard. This I think should make the peg stronger and safer than a "single wire" hook. These hooks seem to be one of BigLot's regulary stocked items, not a special closeout.
I also would like to compliment Lchien's daughter for the beautiful painting she did on those angle brackets.