3D Printing French Cleat Tool Holders | Longer LK5 Pro 3D Printer in Action | 2022/009

As many of you know | am a collector of tools. And for the past few years | have been storing them on my French cleat wall. If you haven’t had a chance to see my videos on how | built the French Cleat wall of the tool holders, | will have links in the video description.

How to build and Install a French Cleat Tool Wall: https://youtu.be/3QSTxWU7WXQ

How to build a RYOBI 18V Battery Charging Station: https://youtu.be/FFceZ4SvYXo

How to build RYOBI Tool Holders for the French Cleat Tool Wall: https://youtu.be/EruulaDvD1A

These tool holders are easy to build, and there is no constraint on to what size they are built, only that they are big enough to hold the tool. And there is the problem with how | have built my tool holders. They were built to hold one specific tool, and in some rare circumstances, they can hold different by very similar tools, like a drill for example. But other than that, each one is semi-custom. So, instead of making modifications to my wood tool holders, I figured I would 3D print more generic versions, that can be used for many different tools. Maybe three different iterations.

I have been incorporating, digital manufacturing into my workshop. | have a CriCut cutter, and a Longer LK4 3D Printer, and soon, | will be adding a laser engraver as well. But today, | am going to introduce a new addition. The folks at Longer 3D wanted me to check out their LK5 Pro 3D Printer. So, let’s get it unboxed and put together, then see how it can help me in the workshop.

Some of the Longer FDM LK5 Pro are:

- 90% Pre-assembled with Stable Triangular Structure
- Quiet Printing and Open source
- 4.3inch Full-Color Touch Screen
- Upgraded Glass Bed Equipped
- High-temperature Resistant Teflon Tube

So where did I get these models? The internet of course. Many of the tool holders you would need for whatever brand, have already been modeled. My favorite page is Thingiverse, but there are many other free and pay for downloads. In some cases, you can even have the model printed and mailed to you for a fee, this is especially true on Etsy.

What I did was download a model from Thingiverse, and import it into Microsoft 3D Builder, which is free and preinstalled on most Windows Computers. You can use any type of 3D modeling software for this purpose, including Sketchup or Fusion 360. This is just what | am comfortable with. I add a few geometric shapes that will provide me with the support board, cleat, and bracing. The width is your choice, but | have been printing everything in a 5MM thickness, and just for the record, the wedge is 24MM x 12MM before it's rotated 90 degrees. These items are all sized, placed adjacent to each other, then I merged the model, it can then be exported to the slicer program and printed.

Print direction needs to be a consideration. The orientation on the bed, while it may give you a faster build time, it may not be the strongest of the option. The way the layers are laid down, may prove to be a weak point that would fail. [demonstrate layer direction with hand] So, consider that when printing, what may save you an hour of print time, may cause you to drop a tool on the floor. Which happened to me in this case.

But using 3D Printing doesn’t need to stop at tool holders, you can use it to print small parts bins, paint trees, drawer pulls just about anything you can think of. These nifty clips are to hold the filter on the box fan for air purification. But my only piece of advice though, is if you need a plastic replacement part for something, even though you can model and print it, sometimes just buying it is the most cost-effective way to do you, remember, your time is valuable.

I hope this video showed you how affordable and accessible 3D printing has become, and that this video gave you some ideas that you can incorporate into your shop, | would love to hear about it in the comments.

Thanks for watching Dad It Yourself DIY!!!

**This post contains affiliate links and | will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.**

Helpful/Affiliate Links:

Longer LGT LKS Pro 3D Printer Standard Kit (LONGER Direct - 20% Discount with Email Signup): https://www.longer3d.com/products/lk5-pro-fdm-3d-printer

Longer LGT LKS Pro 3D Printer Standard Kit (Affiliate) https://s.zbanx.com/r/H4NqmKwOTFLY

Longer LGT LK5 Pro 3D Printer Standard Kit (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3LF5sUG

Tools I use in my shop: https://www.dadityourselfdiy.com/2019/06/power-tools-i-use.html

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