DIY Drill Holder

Get your tools organized with this DIY drill holder. This cordless drill storage rack is easy to make with a few pieces of wood and these simple plans.

Get your tools organized with this DIY drill holder. This cordless drill storage rack is easy to make with a few pieces of wood and these simple plans.

DIY Drill Holder

Are your drills disorganized? Tame your power tools with this DIY drill holder. It’s the perfect way to organize both corded and cordless drills. 

This drill storage rack is easy to make with a few simple cuts and a few common woodworking tools.

The free plan includes all of the measurements and detailed step-by-step instructions. Get the free plan now and build one today.

Originally published April 23, 2019, updated March 23, 2021

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Before we get into how to make a DIY drill holder, be sure to click the subscribe button at the bottom of this page to sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter loaded with helpful pocket hole tricks, space-saving workshop ideas, clever DIY tips and more!

Table of Contents

Inspiration for This Project

For years, my tools were scattered across my small workshop. I was constantly moving them from one flat surface to another. 

Related: My 12×13 Small Woodshop Layout

Then, I installed these DIY tool storage cabinets. These space-saving cabinets nearly tripled the storage space in my shop. It felt great to finally have a permanent home for my tools.

Related: 9 Clever Ways to Make Your Small Workshop Feel Bigger

The tools were off my workbench, table saw, and flip-top workbench, but the inside of the cabinets were not as organized as I hoped.

The spot that could be better organized was the area for my drills. My corded and cordless drills were taking up too much space on the shelf. 

Related: How to Organize Tools in a Small Workshop

So I made a little design tweak to my storage cabinets. First, I added a divider in the center of the cabinet. Then, I made a smaller shelf and designed some hangers that would act as a drill storage rack. This simple change would allow me to store four power tools like drills, impact drivers, etc.

Related: Impact Driver vs Drill: What’s the Difference?

DIY drill holder with four drills

What I like about the design of this drill storage rack is that it rests on shelf pins. This way I can easily move the rack up or down within the cabinet or even to another cabinet.

I don’t have an electrical outlet near my cabinets. But if you have an outlet, then you can also use the shelf as a charging station.

Related: How to Make Adjustable Shelves

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What Tools Do You Need to Make a DIY Drill Holder?

This drill storage rack is a quick afternoon project. It can be made using basic woodworking skills and just a few common woodworking tools.

Tools like a miter saw, pocket hole jig, and a drill. We’ll also need an additional saw to rip the shelf and the bottom of the inside holders to width. 

Miter Saw

I used a miter saw to cut nearly all of the parts for this project. 

Related: 7 Miter Saw Tricks Every DIYer Should Know

Pocket Hole Jig

We can use any pocket hole jig to drill the pocket holes for this project. I used the Kreg Jig 720PRO to drill the pocket holes for my drill holder. The inexpensive, user-friendly Kreg Jig 320 is also a great choice for drilling pocket holes. 

Related: 9 Pocket Hole Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Hand removing a drill from a DIY drill holder

Drill

The drill was used to drill the pocket holes and with a countersink bit to make countersink holes. The drill was also used to drive the screws that join the parts together.

Related: How to Use a Countersink Bit

Additional Saw

We’ll need an additional saw to cut the shelf and bottom of the inside holders. I used a table saw to cut these parts. If you are not comfortable using a table saw, you could use a circular saw instead.

A circular saw and a Kreg Rip-Cut or Kreg Accu-Cut could be used to rip the parts to width. 

Related: 4 Ways to Make Straight Cuts with a Circular Saw

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What Wood Should You Use?

This DIY drill holder can be made with just about any type of wood. I used common pine to build mine. Pine is easy to work with and relatively inexpensive compared to other types of wood. You could also build this drill storage rack with plywood instead.

I purchased the pine 1×2s, 1×3s, and 1×4s at my local home improvement store. 

Related: Beginner’s Guide to Wood Sizes

Front view of a DIY drill holder with four drills
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How Do You Finish the Drill Holder?

This drill holder could be finished in a variety of ways. It could be left natural, painted, etc.

I applied three coats of shellac to the rack and sanded with 220 grit sandpaper between each coat. 

Related: What You Need to Know About a Shellac Wood Finish

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DIY Drill Holder

Printed Plan

Supplies

Tools

📝 NOTE: This drill holder was designed to fit these DIY tool storage cabinets. I needed to install a center divider in the cabinet so that I could install the drill holder. Instructions to make the center divider are included at the end of the printed plan. You may need to adjust the measurements of the drill holder if you are not using it with the DIY tool storage cabinets.

Step 1. Make the Shelf

Cut 4 pieces of wood to length for the shelf. Apply glue and clamp to form a panel.

When the glue was dry, I used my table saw to rip the shelf to width. If you’re not comfortable using a table saw, you could use a circular saw and a DIY crosscut jig, Kreg Rip-Cut, or Kreg Accu-Cut to make this cut.

Related: 4 Ways to Make Straight Cuts with a Circular Saw

Next, I used a jigsaw to cut a notch for the back brace. 

Use the diagram in the printed plan to layout the locations for countersink holes. Use an awl at each mark to make a starting point for the drill bit. 

Related: What is an Awl? (and How to Use It)

Then, use a countersink drill bit to drill a countersink hole at each mark.

Related: How to Use a Countersink Bit


Step 2. Assemble the Drill Holders

Cut 5 pieces of wood to length for the uprights.

Outside Holders

Cut 2 pieces of wood to length for the bottom of the holders. Use the diagram in the printed plan to layout the locations for countersink holes. Use an awl at each mark to make a starting point for the drill bit. Then, use a countersink drill bit to drill a countersink hole at each mark.

Apply glue to an upright, position the bottom, and clamp. Attach using 1-¼” wood screws. Repeat for the remaining outside holder.

Inside Holders

Cut 3 pieces of wood to length for the bottom of the holders. I used my table saw to rip the bottoms to width. If you’re not comfortable using a table saw, you could use a circular saw and a Kreg Rip-Cut, or Kreg Accu-Cut to make these cuts.

Use the diagram in the printed plan to layout the locations for countersink holes. Use an awl at each mark to make a starting point for the drill bit. Then, use a countersink drill bit to drill a countersink hole at each mark.

Apply glue to an upright, position the bottom, and clamp. Attach using 1-¼” wood screws. Repeat for the remaining inside holders.

To help space the holders, I cut 4 pieces of wood to length. These pieces will later be used as the back of the drill holder. I temporarily placed these pieces between the holders.

Clamp the holders to the shelf and attach through the countersink holes using 1-¼” wood screws.

Use the diagram in the printed plan to drill pocket holes in the pieces that were used as spacers.

Hands holding the back of a DIY drill holder

Position the pieces at the back of the holders.

Hands pushing the back into a DIY drill holder

Attach using 1-¼” pocket screws.

Drill driving a pocket screw to attach the back of a DIY drill storage rack

Step 3. Finish the Drill Holder

See How Do You Finish the Drill Holder? for more information.


Step 4. Install the Drill Holder

Insert shelf pins into the shelf pin holes and slide the drill holder into the cabinet.

Hands pushing a DIY drill holder into a tool storage cabinet

Video: How to Make a DIY Drill Holder

Watch now and see how I made the drill storage rack!

Back to Table of Contents

Final Thoughts

Tame your power tools with this DIY drill holder. It’s the perfect way to organize both corded and cordless drills. 

This drill storage rack is easy to make with a few simple cuts and a few common woodworking tools.

Click here to get the free plan (including the detailed instructions and measurements) now!

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7 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the work shop plans they helped me out so much. With out them I would be stuck again. I build stuff all day long for other people . but when i get to the shop my mind goes blank. Thanks again Earl

  2. I have downloaded several of your plans. I just saw the shop plans. I have a 12 x 14 storage shed. I am going to try to create a shop out of this. I like this idea, now I can maybe be able to walk around in my shop. Thank you for all the sharing you do.
    I will be buying you some cups of coffee.
    Thanks again.

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