How Do >You< Pegboard?

I've never been a fan of pegboard.  Every time I take something down the pegs fall out.  Every time I go to hang something up it takes two hands because the peg flops around.  But I've got a spot in the garage that makes a lot of sense for pegboard and I've got stuff to hang.

So what's the secret recipe for pegboard success?  How do you like to hang the board?  What hooks are good?

I have always just put plywood up and put nails in where I want to hang something. Nothing falls out and you can change it around if you want. Old school but I like it better. 

They make the pegs that have a screw and what is essentially a molly bolt built into the peg. Tighten the screw and now it's stuck in there.

Sounds like you need some pegboard hook locks.

I have some little plastic clips that hold the pegs in and steady. 10/10 would recommend. Think I got them with a peg kit from Menards or HF.

Nails in plywood sounds better! But honestly the one piece of plywood could be more expensive than the peg board and all the pegs.

I generally grab the super heavy duty pegs from retail stores closing down or the scrap yard. They fit quite a bit tighter than consumer grade pegs.

​​​​​​​Try Metal pegboard

Ian F said:

Sounds like you need some pegboard hook locks.

Those are exactly what I was mentioning.

The peg locks are a band aid on an old concept but they certainly help. A move up to slat wall and you'll never want pegboard again. Can use longer hooks, doesn't bow from weight like pegboard, not prevented from placing hooks where slat wall is attached to wall, hooks don't flop sideways as holes for pegs do when they get worn, looks better, easier to clean, etc.

In my parents' business we moved on from pegboard to slatwall because the pegboard doesn't hold weight all that well and after moving stuff around a lot it wears out.

Ian F said:

Sounds like you need some pegboard hook locks.

I have a bunch of those, but they fall off all the time. 

I’ll have to investigate slatwall. 

First thing first. Pegboard comes with one of two standard hole sizes. 9/32" for 1/4" pegs and 3/16" for 1/8" pegs. 

The 1/4" variety boards are what you can buy at your local hardware store and guess what, they usually stock the thin metal accessories for the smaller hole boards!

Those will give you nothing but grief in the wrong board. No wonder everyone is dissatisfied with pegboard.

I like the plastic accessories with the bent lower pin that snaps into board like these on the right. Simply because I have the readily available 9/32" board

I didn’t mean to imply that I don’t love my pegboard, and mine is 3/16” with the proper size hooks, but the locks do pop out often on me. Plus, I’m probably close to exceeding the weight limits for the whole board. Slatwall might be a smart upgrade. 

Aren't slantwall products considerably more expensive than pegboard?

I make a little clip with bailing wire and needle-nose plyers that works better than any commercial retainer that I've seen. Takes about a minute per hanger, so that's sub-optimal though until you think of how many times your tools have clattered to the floor along with the (Unretained) hanger.

I love my tool chest at work, but...

That is some serious organization goals right there. That dude could tell you what was missing the moment he opened the door.

I used to be totally into pegboard back in the day (mostly because it and the hooks and stuff for it were cheap, and I was low on money). These days I much prefer to have all my tools organized in big toolchest drawers. Putting all your tools on pegboard seems to only be a decent option if your garage has a buttload of available wall space - and I truthfully don't think it's a very efficient use of wall space, even though it looks cool to visitors. I'd need to pegboard half my garage just to fit the tools that are in my main toolchest. 

I did always hate when I had pegboard that every time you got a couple new tools, you basically had to rearrange half the wall to fit the new tools in, assuming you want to keep them "with other like tools" and/or didn't leave "spare space" for the occasion.

Both my dad and my father in law have their tools on pegboard, and every time I'm over at their houses helping with something and need a tool, I get strangely annoyed by it.

Funny, I just spent the day putting up (calculates) 50 square feet of pegboard. I love it, it's really convenient to have my most commonly used tools right where I can grab them quickly. Combine it with wrench rolls and socket rails and you have the combination of easy access, simple organization, portability and the ability to spot at a glance if something's missing.

Not everything goes on the wall. Just the stuff that I use all the time. Everything else - weird screwdrivers, drill bits, pliers that aren't my three favorites, allen keys, tape measures, etc - goes in drawers in the toolchests.

Nails or screws in plywood. Done. 

I too went to the toolbox option, a big chest on wheels means I can move the tools where I need them. 

That said, I have a set of tools on a pegboard over the workbench for common stuff.  I use plastic pegboard, the pegs snap in place and stay better than the press board stuff.  

My neighbor did slatwall on 3 walls of his garage.  I'm jealous.

I'm in the process of moving my garage from the old house to the new house, and I've been wrestling with this. 

Current garage has lots of peg board. Pros- more flexible positioning than slat board (more up/down adjustment, more variety of hooks, tool holders, etc..  Cheaper. 

Con- berkeleying hooks pop out all the time and go flying. 

Slat wall looks great and is stronger. But it costs more and has less options. 

When I built my kids workbenches, I ziptied the pegboard hooks in place. Worked great, but no flexibility to move things. 

A friend of mine had a MAC Tools truck with peg board. Hooks don't work so great in a moving vehicle, so he wove elastic through the holes to keep the tools in place. It worked great, I may try that. No hooks at all, the tools were held on place by the elastic alone. 

I have some old pegboard in my garage and it’s pretty useless.  Over my toolbox I screwed about 10 of those HF strip magnets.   Love them!  No hooks or anything, just slap the tool up and it’s stuck via the magic of magnetism.

There is something to be said for slatwall being an easy way to cover a garage wall, even if you don't use all of it.  Won't be cheap, however.  I'm having trouble finding exact pricing, but I seem to remember from when I bought 96 x 24 panels for my music room (to hang guitars), that full 4x8 sheets were around $100 ea.   But it's something I'll definitely consider when I am able to renovate my garage.

I pegboard haphazardly.

May have to upgrade to something I can weld onto the shelves, but this might work for now. 

Maybe we need a "Show Us Your Pegboard!" thread...