Mention pegboard and most woodworkers picture a wall covered with hooks and hand tools. That's certainly one of its best-known uses, but pegboard can be surprisingly useful as a building material for shop projects and jigs, too.
The evenly spaced holes are the secret. They can provide airflow for dust collection, create a ready-made layout pattern, guide drilling operations, or provide adjustable mounting points for tools and accessories.
Here are four easy DIY pegboard projects that take advantage of those features in different ways.
1. Build a Pegboard Downdraft Sanding Table
Sanding creates fine dust right where you're working. A simple downdraft table helps capture some of that dust before it has a chance to spread around the shop.
Pegboard makes a natural top for the table because its grid of holes allows air and dust to be drawn through the work surface.
The table itself is essentially a shallow box. Inside, a baffle directs airflow toward the dust-collection port. Cut an opening in one side of the box for a shop vacuum or dust collector connection.
The pegboard forms the sanding surface.
To improve airflow through the top, add a shallow countersink to the existing pegboard holes. The enlarged openings help funnel sanding dust down into the box.
This won't eliminate the need for appropriate dust collection and respiratory protection, but it puts collection directly beneath the workpiece where much of the sanding dust is being generated.
Woodsmith Tip: Keep the Air Path Clear. The downdraft table works by pulling air through the pegboard, so don't cover more of the surface than necessary. For small parts, leaving plenty of open holes around the workpiece gives the dust a direct path into the table.
2. Make a Rotating Finishing Platform
The evenly spaced holes in pegboard are also handy when you're building a finishing turntable.
This simple carousel allows you to rotate a small project as you brush or spray the finish. Instead of walking around the project—or handling it to reach another side—you simply turn the platform.
Pointed pegs support the workpiece above the surface. This provides access to the sides and lower edges while minimizing the amount of the project that actually touches the supports.
A piece of pegboard attached to the plywood platform makes laying out the support holes easy. Use the pegboard itself as the drilling template, then leave it in place to help support the pegs.
The result is a simple finishing accessory that can be customized by moving the support pegs to suit different projects.
3. Use Pegboard as a Shelf-Pin Drilling Jig
Sometimes the simplest jig is the most useful.
Because pegboard already contains a uniform grid of holes, a small scrap can become an instant shelf-pin drilling guide.
Start with a narrow piece of pegboard and attach a straight cleat along one edge. The cleat registers the jig against the edge of the cabinet side and keeps each row of holes consistently positioned.
Place the jig where you want the shelf-pin holes and drill the first hole. Insert a dowel into that hole to help lock the jig in position, then use the remaining pegboard holes to guide the rest of the layout.
It's a quick way to take advantage of pegboard's existing hole pattern without laying out every shelf-pin location individually.
Woodsmith Tip: Make a Test Piece First. Before drilling into your project, test the pegboard jig on scrap. That lets you verify the hole spacing, setback from the edge, and fit of your shelf-pin hardware before committing to the cabinet parts.
4. Build a Rotating Pegboard Tool Caddy
This final project brings pegboard back to tool storage—but instead of mounting it on the wall, it turns it into a portable rotating tool organizer.
The caddy consists of pegboard panels captured in grooves cut into four corner posts. A 3⁄4"-thick bottom is screwed to the assembly to keep everything square.
When assembling the caddy, make sure the holes in opposite pegboard panels align with each other. This allows 1⁄4"-diameter dowels to pass completely through the caddy.
Those dowels serve two purposes. Inside, they divide the storage area into smaller compartments. Make them extra long and the projecting ends become convenient hangers for small hand tools.
Self-adhesive magnetic strips can also be attached to the outside for small metal items such as driver bits or a short steel rule.
Mount the entire caddy on a rotating base and you can simply spin it to bring the tool you need to the front.
Why Pegboard Works for More Than Storage
What makes pegboard useful isn't simply its ability to accept hooks. It's the regular grid of holes already built into the material.
On the sanding table, those holes move air and dust. On the finishing platform, they locate movable support pegs. For the shelf-pin jig, they provide a repeatable drilling pattern. And on the rotating caddy, they create flexible mounting and storage options.
So before you toss that leftover piece of pegboard in the scrap pile, take another look. A small piece may be all you need for your next useful shop jig.
Looking for Better Pegboard Tool Storage?
If your goal is getting more tools onto the pegboard you already have, shop-made holders can make much better use of the available wall space. Build angled racks specifically for chisels, router bits, drill bits, wrenches, and pliers.
BUILD CUSTOM PEGBOARD TOOL HOLDERS → Custom Pegboard Tool Holders That Save Wall Space
GET THE BOOK ON PEGBOARD → Ultimate Pegboard Projects
