Doesn't Anyone Make Good Baseboard Clips?

[Jason Dunn]

I try to keep my office tidy, and with the U-shaped Ikea desk I have, all the cables running from PC to wall are exposed making it all too easy for things to look messy. Baseboard cable clips were a good solution I found to allow me to group power, networking, USB, and other types of cables together. The problem is that the Belkin clips I purchased aren't strong enough - they seem designed for only a couple of thin, light cables. Over the past year since I installed them they've all fallen off, looking like this:

http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/baseboard-cable-clips.JPG
(baseboard dust - gross!)

Essentially being a problem of adhesive strength versus the stress the cables place on the clip, as each one fell off I re-attached it to the wall with Krazy Glue. That worked for a few weeks, but all of them fell off again - this time leaving the adhesive pad on the wall. What I'm looking for is some sort of cable clip that's much stronger: I'm thinking something that screws into the drywall, something that will hold the cables in place and not fall off. Has anyone heard of such a thing? All my Google searches have been in vain...

[Damion Chaplin]

Uh, you do know I work for a hardware store, right? :)

You've got a number of options. I'll research a little and email you later today...

[mrozema]

Jason, Panduit offers some of the best solutions for wire management. Something like the following would work really well, if you wanted to do a "cool guy" cable management system. :D
http://www.panduit.com/Panduit/images/details/W!JMOD-b1.jpg

Check out the following link for many more options.
http://www.panduit.com/products/browse.asp?classid=311
Rona and Home Depot should have a number of these products in stock, although not necessarily by the same name.

[rlobrecht]

for a second I thought I was on Lifehacker. I've seen things like you're decribing at Home Depot, but a quick look at their website didn't turn anything up. They are on the aisle with the wire ties (which I also didn't find on their website.) You may need to buy ones that only hold a small number of cables (or even one coax) attach that to the wall and then wiretie or velcro the remaining cables to the one in the clip.

[Filip Norrgard]

Uh, you do know I work for a hardware store, right? :)

You've got a number of options. I'll research a little and email you later today...
Please post some of the options here as well, I'm quite interested in cable management options, although not all may be available around here... ;)

[mrozema]

You may need to buy ones that only hold a small number of cables (or even one coax) attach that to the wall and then wiretie or velcro the remaining cables to the one in the clip.

I'm sorry and I don't mean to slam your idea, but for those of us who are perfectionists and want the job done right the first time, that just wouldn't do. Below is a great idea because you don't need to keep cutting zip ties (because you're using velcro ties) AND it screws to the wall.

http://www.panduit.com/Panduit/images/details/WATKTMBRP.jpg
http://www.panduit.com/search/product_details.asp?N=5000001+78+3002004+&Ne=1&region=USA&recName=ABMT%2DS6%2DC&Nao=5
Check the link for the info on this product.

[Jason Dunn]

Uh, you do know I work for a hardware store, right? :)

Well, I knew SOMEONE could help me out. ;-)

[Jason Dunn]

for a second I thought I was on Lifehacker.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...? ;-) I think cable management is a part of digital media "everything", so I think it's pretty on-topic...

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.panduit.com/search/product_details.asp?N=5000001+78+3002004+&Ne=1&region=USA&recName=ABMT%2DS6%2DC&Nao=5
Check the link for the info on this product.

Hmm. That looks QUITE good - I'll have to find them! The biggest problem in finding stuff like that in Rona or Home Depot is that the staff rarely has much of a clue because there are just SO MANY products...but I'll print out the product page and bring it in. :-)

[timmy]

Since you have a Swedish desk, I'll give you a Swedish tip (but you probably have this product in North America as well)

Hollow baseboard...

Site below unfortunately only in Swedish, but the pictures tell the story..

http://www.kanallisten.com/index.html

[Wojo]

http://www.panduit.com/search/product_details.asp?N=5000001+78+3002004+&Ne=1&region=USA&recName=ABMT%2DS6%2DC&Nao=5
Check the link for the info on this product.

Hmm. That looks QUITE good - I'll have to find them! The biggest problem in finding stuff like that in Rona or Home Depot is that the staff rarely has much of a clue because there are just SO MANY products...but I'll print out the product page and bring it in. :-)

Jason, you should be able to find Panduit or other products at a Professional Electrician Supply store. In the US I would go to a company called Graybar. You can also order items like this from a company called Mouser Electronics. Nice thing about Mouser is that if you wanted to order 1 zip tie they'll sell it to you. Minimum order is .50

Good luck. Panduit is the way to go. Screw it to the wall, don't use the double stick tape.

[Jason Dunn]

Good luck. Panduit is the way to go. Screw it to the wall, don't use the double stick tape.

Turns out Panduit stuff is all special order here, and the part I wanted is $1.70 per piece and sold in bags of 100. I'm not paying $170 for a bag of plastic clips. Matt found me a place in Calgary here that sells something similar - it uses zip ties instead of velcro - for $9 for a bag of 100. So I'll try those. And yes, I'll definitely be screwing them to the wall and not using tape. I want this to be "the" solution for many years.

[karen]

Jason -

I hear ya. We've purchased hundreds of dollars of clips over the years and NONE Of them actually work for more than a few weeks.

I finally found some great ones at Frys in the US. They are a brand called Master Caster Cord Away - you can see some of their stuff here http://www.mastermfgco.com/wireclips.html and http://office.pricegrabber.com/furnishings/m/620919/ .

The ones I use that have stayed up for years, in the exact same application you are showing in your pic. They come in 6-clip packages and are black. The great thing is is that they are CHEAP.

When I need to use them on the underside of a desk, I do use a screw to hold them up....but the vertical application on top of trim works just fine with just the adhesive. And I have mine WAY over loaded - you can barely close them.

I found these in the electronics section of Frys, not the computer section. This is where all the professional cable management system stuff is merchandised.

Have never seen them in Canada, so when I'm in the States near a Frys, we always buy more for friends.

Karen

[Damion Chaplin]

Mouser and Graybar are both good places to try. They're both vendors of ours, and I work right next to Graybar in SF.

Oh, and hollow baseboard? Now that's cool. 8)

My first though is Wiremold conduit:
Baseboard Conduit (http://www.wiremold.com/www/consumer/products/baseboard_organizer/index.asp) Wall Conduit (http://www.wiremold.com/www/consumer/products/chairrail/index.asp) All-around Conduit (http://www.wiremold.com/www/consumer/products/cordmate2/index.asp)
The problem being that Wiremold gets awfully expensive once you expand beyond the deskular area.

Second thought: Cable ties with screw-on cable tie bases:
Cable Tie catalog (PDF) (http://www.gardnerbender.com/Catalog2005/pdf/Cable_ties.pdf). These are the exact opposite of Wiremold: cheap and plentiful enough to use anywhere.

Third thought: Cablezip organizer (http://www.colecomputer.com/cable_zip.htm)
A good alternative to baseboard clips or conduit. Basically a plastic spiral that wraps around the cords (using a cool zippy tool) but leaves openings everywhere to route cables out of and into the line.

Fourth thought: Plastic cord staples (PDF) (http://www.gardnerbender.com/Catalog2005/pdf/Staples.pdf).
Yeah, they look a little funky, but your cords aren't going aywhere.

Fifth thought: Mounting Cable Ties (PDF again) (http://www.gardnerbender.com/Catalog2005/pdf/Cable_ties.pdf)
These are basically cable ties with a hole for a screw. Probably the cheapest alternative you'll find.

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for the input Damion. For one reason or another, most of those aren't what I'm looking for - the zip ties with a hole for a screw come closest, but I think the anchors that Matt found are my best bet because the zip ties are removable while the base stays intact. I think that gives me the best of both worlds.

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

[Damion Chaplin]

the zip ties with a hole for a screw come closest, but I think the anchors that Matt found are my best bet because the zip ties are removable while the base stays intact. I think that gives me the best of both worlds.

The second item I listed was that exact thing: A zip tie with a square base you thread it through that's screwed to the wall.

Unfortunately, it's in two parts:
Base (http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1292817&cp&kw=34808&origkw=34808&sr=1) and Ties (http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1307396&cp&kw=3035136&origkw=3035136&sr=1) (I could only find a pic for the black bases, but they do come in white).