A Magnetic Tool Holder Bar for 1/4" Pegboard

A white 3D printed magnetic bar on white pegboard holding a hex key, a Phillips driver bit, a palette knife and a 6 inch steel ruler

The small steel tools are the ones I lose on the bench: hex keys, driver bits, a short ruler. This bar keeps them on the pegboard where I can see them. It has 13 magnets across the front. Pull a tool off with one hand, and when you're done, put it back against the bar. There's no hook to aim for and no slot to fit it into.

Update 10/13/2026: I added a second version of the bar that holds its magnets horizontally. See A second bar with horizontal magnets below.

Download the bars and screws free on Printables

The files are on Printables: STEP files for both bars and the screw, and the SolidWorks part files for both bars. I've also entered it in the Printables Designer Challenge: Pegboard Wall Organizers.

Magnets that press in, no glue

Close-up of the empty magnetic bar on pegboard, showing 13 silver cylindrical magnets sitting in slots across its front

The magnets are 1/8" across and 3/8" long (3.2 x 9.5 mm). Each one lies on its side in a slot and you press it in with your thumb. You don't need glue, a tool or a pause in the print to drop them in. The front of each magnet is left bare, so a tool touches the magnet, not plastic.

I got the idea of pushing cylindrical magnets into slots from Slant 3D's video Stop Gluing Magnets Into Your 3D Prints.

The slots are sized for imperial 1/8" magnets, so order that size and not a metric one. I used AplysiaTech N52 1/8" x 3/8" magnets. A pack of 100 is enough for 7 of the 13-magnet bars or 10 of the 10-magnet bars.

What it holds

It works best with light steel tools that have a flat side to sit against the magnets. On my board it holds a hex key, a 1/4" hex driver bit, a palette knife and a 6" steel ruler. The magnets are small, so the bar isn't meant for heavy tools.

A second bar with horizontal magnets

The second white 3D printed bar lying on a dark surface, with 10 magnets lying horizontally in two staggered rows of five, one row near the top edge and one near the bottom

On the first bar the 13 magnets run up and down, across the height of the bar. On the second bar they lie horizontally, along its length. It has 10 magnets in two rows of five, one row near the top edge and one near the bottom, 1" apart. The rows are staggered, so no magnet sits directly above another.

I made it to hang above my magnetic chisel holder, where the chisel blades lean back against the bar. On the first bar the magnets are 1/2" apart with gaps between them, and I was worried a thin mortising chisel could lean back into a gap, miss the magnets, fall off the rack and damage its edge. With the magnets lying horizontally in two staggered rows, the gaps a narrow blade could slip into are about half as wide.

Render of both bars in orange on white pegboard: the first bar on top with 13 vertical magnets in a row, and the second bar below it with 10 horizontal magnets in two staggered rows

The second bar is 6.99 x 1.49 x 0.50 in. (178 x 38 x 12.7 mm), half an inch shorter than the first. It hangs on two printed screws 5" apart instead of three. It uses the same 1/8" x 3/8" magnets, the same screws and the same keyhole slots, and it prints and goes up the same way as the first bar.

How it hangs

Three white 3D printed slotted screws threaded into a row of pegboard holes, three holes apart, with their heads standing out from the board

The first bar hangs on three 3D printed screws, and the second bar on two. They're the same screws I use on my screw-in pegboard holder for a driver set, now on version 5. On that holder the screws go through the holder into the board. Here they go into the board first and the heads stay out for the bar to hang on.

They grip the hole. The 1/4-20 thread is slightly oversize, so it bites into the edge of the pegboard hole.
They center themselves. A tapered tip drops into the hole and lines the screw up as you start it.
They take a flat-head screwdriver. The head has a slot for an ordinary screwdriver.
They lock the bar on. The underside of the head is a cone. It fits a tapered pocket in each keyhole slot on the back of the bar, so the bar stays on the board when you pull a tool off.

SolidWorks drawing of the first bar: 7.490 in. long and 1.490 in. tall, magnets on .500 in. spacing, screws 3.000 in. apart, and a section showing a magnet in its slot and the screw head in the keyhole pocket

The first bar is 7.49 x 1.49 x 0.50 in. (190 x 38 x 12.7 mm), with the magnets 1/2" apart and the screws 3" apart. Both bars stick out 1/2" from the board. They fit standard pegboard with 1/4" holes on 1" spacing, and I tested them on 3/16" thick board. They are not for IKEA Skådis or other slotted boards.

Printing it

The printed bar with all 13 magnets in place lying on a brown work surface next to three white printed screws

The bar and the three screws print together on one plate with no supports and no brim. The bar lies on its back with the magnet slots facing up, and the screws stand on their heads. I printed mine in PETG on an Original Prusa i3 MK3S with the stock 0.20mm QUALITY profile in PrusaSlicer 2.9.6. The Printables page has the full settings and my config file.

Putting it up

Press a magnet into each slot with your thumb.
Pick three pegboard holes in a row, three holes apart. For the second bar, pick two holes five apart.
Start a printed screw in each hole. The tapered tip centers it.
Turn each screw in with a flat-head screwdriver until the underside of the head touches the board. Stop there, because plastic threads strip if you overtighten them.
Line up the round ends of the keyholes with the screw heads. Push the bar flat against the board, then slide it down until it stops.
Stick your tools on.

To take the bar down, slide it up and pull it off the screws.

I drew both bars in SolidWorks. If you want a longer bar or a different magnet size, the STEP files and the SolidWorks parts are on Printables.

Get the files

Magnetic Tool Holder Bar for 1/4" Pegboard on Printables. It is free under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license. If you print one, please post a Make there and show what tools you stuck on it.