Manage Your Power Tool Cords with Cord Wraps
AJ MosesDescription
Nobody wants a rat’s nest of wires in their shop. With every power tool you own having its own power cord, it’s easy for the cords to become a huge mess, tangled onto each other. Contributing Editor AJ Moses has tried a bunch of different cord wraps, looking for the best solution for this problem. Here are his top ideas.
Why cord wraps?
This falls into the category of pay me now, or pay me later. It takes a little bit of time to put cord wraps on your tools when you’re done using them, but you’ll love the positive benefits. When you retrieve your tools you’ll be able to simply pick the tool up, without fighting against the cord braid that seems to develop when one power tool is sitting next to another one. Depending on where you store your tools it’s also possible that you’ll reduce trip hazards by managing the cords, instead of allowing them to run wild.
Make your shop a nicer place
Looking for more ideas on shop improvement? WoodWorkers Guild of America has some great shop improvement ideas you can take advantage of.
More tips and tricks
If you lean toward power tool woodworking, check out the broad array of tips and tricks we have available for you. From belt sanders to routers to table saws to bandsaws (and more) we’ve got a boatload of power tool woodworking ideas for you.
Here’s another great idea for managing cords in the shop:
Hi, AJ Moses here, and I have a pretty compact shop. So storage and organization is critical. I came up with some ways to manage all the cables on my power tools. Out of the box, you simply get a twist tie, and it gets lost, or it gets broken. And it's a little inconvenient to attach to a cable. Well, I started using rubber bands to replace some of those broken twist ties. They're really inconvenient to put on and they break easily. Finally, I was poking around the local Home Depot and I found these cable minders. So they're simply ratchets that you can wrap around the cable and push up, and your cable is secure. They come in multiple sizes. There's a really large size which you can use for hoses and other things. I use it, one of those for my air compressor hose when I have to move that around. There's a very small one. And then there's a really nice medium size that's pretty universal for use in the shop, especially with these small power tools. Here's an example of one of the small ones around a video cable, and one of the larger ones wrapped on this really large cable. And there's another option that I ran across, and that's these memory cords. And they simply go around the cable. Give 'em a twist and tuck 'em in. They're out of the way. I really like the bright colors of those, because they get lost easily, especially outdoors. So those are some of the solutions I've come up with for managing the cables that are hanging around my shop all the time.
For things like extension cords, air hoses, etc. I simply use 1/8" cotton tie line. I tie the center of the piece of line around the cable at the male end, with enough line length on either side of the knot to wrap completely around the hose or power cord. The tie travels with the cable, and it's easy to add more ties as needed. Velcro cord wraps work well too, but with tie line (or string) it's simple to adjust the length and it's extremely cost effective.
I've been using those ratcheting clamps from Home Depot for years now for extension cords. After I have all my cords clamped I wrap a bungee cord around them and hang them off the corner upright support of a shelving unit. This keeps them neat and close at hand when I need them.
A more cost-effective solution to cord management that I use are hook-and-loop cable ties with and eye cut in one end. This allows you to fasten the tie to the cable so that it won't get lost and lasts virtually forever in use.
I use pieces of # 14awg electrical wire. I usually get scrap of Romeo 14/2 which is solid wire. I cut them to length I need and loop them around the cord so they stay in place. Easy and handy to use. You don't have to worry about losing them as they are always attached.
I find the velcro "wraps" work best because you can attach them to the cord or hose and they are always there, not like the two other types that are lying on the far side of the house when you want to wrap the hose. They also come in bright colors. Check the internet/ebay for best pricing on large quantities and sizes.
My favorite cord keeper is the Velcro cable ties. For example Model # 90438ACS at Home Depot. These attach to the cord itself, so there is no chance of losing them. They are easy to untie, easy to tie back and they hold great. I tried using the cable clamps shown in the video, but they seem to get in the way, and the hard plastic just feels like it will break if I throw stuff around like I normally do. You can get different lengths of these velcro ties. Work great, you can drag them around on the floor on the cord when working, and I never lose them.
Where did he find the Memory Cords? I did a Google search with no results
Hello...Just another thought on cord storage. All my hand held power tools have a 12 inch power cord. I don't have to waste time winding and storing a 6 foot cord that usually is not long enough to use without an extension cord anyway. I use these tools with a 25 foot extension cord that is similar to a coiling telephone cord. It is always plugged in and ready to use .Storage is quicker easier and a real space saver for the tools also. Time is money
I use caribabiners to contain my power cords, microphone cables, and speaker cables. I can then hang them from a large "L" hook.