Finish-carpenter Brian Campbell wanted to keep his tools organized in his work trailer and still be able to transport the occasional full load of cabinets. He took his cue from a slat-wall system, where shelves, brackets, and hangers can be freely inserted behind horizontal slats without fasteners.
Although ordinary hardware brackets would serve as well, the decorative haunched braces supporting Campbell’s shelves also showcase his woodworking skills (1). Made from 2-by framing lumber, the braces are assembled with lag screws from the back (2). The shelves securely engage the cargo rails by means of 20-inch-long cleats, four per shelf, screwed to the underside of the shelf (3). Doubled cargo rails are grooved to receive slat-wall accessories (4).
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The shelves are drilled with system holes registered from the shelf of an old commercial display unit (5). That unit also supplied the wire shelf dividers used to sort and contain the tool boxes and bins (6). Unloaded, the shelves simply lift out to make room for bulk cargo.
