Simple Steel Cable Tool Rack

Hey all, I decided to do a little work organizing my work van today. I had been toying with the Idea of making aluminum brackets to hang my tools but that seemed like something I wasn't really tooled to take on. The only real goal was to get some stuff off of the floor, having a mobile office gets cramped pretty quickly.. So I figured steel cable would be cheap efficient and easy to rig up. I hope you enjoy, and that maybe this helps you somehow!

You'll need some basic stuff from your local hardware-mart:

One Turnbuckle,(threaded 10-24)

One threaded eyelet,10-24

Two 10-24 nylon insert nuts,

One 10-24 2" machine screw,

4 feet of 3/32" cable,

Two ferrules for 3/32" cable,

(everything is doubled in the picture because I am going to make two racks)

Tools I used,

Drill, bit set, adjustable wrench, screw driver, linesman's pliers, 3/8" socket, bolt cutters (to crimp ferrules)

Don't forget to stop at your favorite gas station to BS and get coffee,

I measured from the top of the divider to 3.5" on either side of the center panel, drilled the holes with a bit... I forget what size, just a hair bigger than the machine screw. It is always easier to use a center punch and drill a smaller pilot hole before drilling the final size.

Put the eyelet in one of the holes and thread one of the nylon insert nuts on the other side, tighten it down.

On the turnbuckle one of the eyelets is reverse threaded, leave the reverse threaded one in. Remove the standard threaded eyelet.

Put the 2" machine screw in the other hole and tighten it with the other nylon insert nut you have, thread on the turnbuckle only about halfway and loosen the other side of the turn buckle.
You'll want room to tighten the cable.

Slip the ferrule onto the cable then loop it through the eyelet then through the second space on the ferrule, I crimped it using a bolt cutters I had it the van. Be careful not to use too much force or (obviously) you'll cut the ferrule and cable... do the same on the turnbuckle side but pull it fairly tight when you're crimping the ferrule to take up some of the slack.

Use the adjustable wrench to tighten the turnbuckle, you can pluck the cable with your finger to make funky beats. WARNING If you do find yourself lost in the funky rhythm you're are laying down on that sweet cable, make sure your neighbor isn't standing outside your van waiting to talk to you....

Once the cable is tight and your coffee is gone you should be ready to hang all your tools gizmos and gadgets!

Thanks for checking this out, Happy building!