Cluster algebras give rise to a class of Gorenstein rings which enjoy a large amount of symmetry. Concentrating on the rank 2 cases, we show how cluster varieties can be used to construct many interesting projective algebraic varieties. Our main application is then to construct hundreds of families of Fano 3-folds in codimensions 4 and 5. In particular, for Fano 3-folds in codimension 4 we construct at least one family for 187 of the 206 possible Hilbert polynomials contained in the Graded Ring Database.