Another easy thing to do? Don't make the cleat the exact width of the cabinet, and you have some side-to-side wiggle room to slide it it left or right to get it exactly centered if you're off by a hair. Or even an inch.
you can include a small extra step... with your table saw or a few swipes with a hand plane, rip/ cut a 1/16 or so off the sharp edge of the 45° french cleats... IMO this little extra has a couple benefits, a slightly flattened or blunt edge of the 45° cleat much more comfortable to handle... if you pick-up your cabinet, etc. by cleat, that sharp edge of the 45° can sometimes cut into your fingers. But also, it makes your cabinet, etc. much easier to pop on/ off the wall. especially when hanging heavier things, on that sharp edge on the 45° cleats have a tendency to get wedged slightly under/behind one another, making it a challenge every time you go to lift/ off the cleat. Cut 1/16 or so off the sharp edge of 45° along both cleats, and the cleats don’t get wedged/ jammed behind one another when hanging heavier things such as cabinets, etc.
45 degrees is too steep an angle , 25 degrees works even better, and blunt the leading edge and you have a very comfortable handle. And never had a cabinet fall off the wall. Why is it called a “ French “ cleat?
@@paulbadger6336 Other than your desire for a handle, why is 45 "too steep"? It has worked quite well for me, and 35-45 degrees seems to be the most common implementation. I can't think of any good evidence-supported reason why you need to go with a more shallow angle. I've never had nor seen one break. I haven't seen a definitive source for why it is named a "French Cleat". Lots of ideas, but no real proof.
@@paulbadger6336 ok. Thought of one. If you are super tight in vertical space (like upper kitchen cabinet with almost no clearance above), a very shallow angle can save you a little vertical space, and might make the difference between hanging the cabinet and not. I think that's a good reason, when you have those situations.
Another tip: Trim about 1/8” off the sharp edge off both sides of the cleat, to minimize the risk of debris preventing a solid interface, or glue squeeze out making the attachment permanent.
Short and sweet. I think the big key to French cleats is installing them when you put in the shop before everything is fastened to the walls. I installed strips all around my shop walls when I first built my shop. So handy!
Great tip. Years back I decorated the garage with a bunch of poster size photos that I have taken over the years. I live in the South and occasionally I have to vacuum the spiderwebs from the walls and corners. The French cleat system allows me to remove and reinstall the frames quickly and easily and they are always straight. The wall portion of the cleats are short and hide behind the frames.
Simple and succinct! My wife and I just moved into a new home and our garage is about 2,000 square feet, most of which is being used for woodworking. I love to use vertical space to keep the floor clear, so this presentation shows how I can do that very easily without breaking the bank. Thanks, and happy Independence Day!!
Nice and clear instructions! I see a lot of folks trying to make headboards. They make them really pretty but don’t know how to attach to the wall. The French cleat is a perfect solution. Of course, you need tools and know-how, but, it’s my choice for a diy headboard project. I’ll be making a few of these in our new home soon.
How did you come up with cutting the 3 in.board at 1 1/8 in. to get equal widths and how thick is the material. also are you counting the blade thickness in the measurement.
If you really want to know where you need to start cutting to make it even on both sides, then make a vertical line at the midpoint for the width and then make a 45-degree line cross that at the midpoint for the thickness... The kerf of your blade would have to split that 45 degree line... Why worry about the distance from the edge?
Fair question. Best answer if to cut close to the angle with the hand saw, and then clean up the cut with a hand plane. The good news is it doesn't have to be a very clean cut, or a perfect 45° angle! close is good here as no one will ever see it!
Great vid, short yet complete. I *love* French cleats! Made a pot and wine glass hanging rack for my wife. Sticks out over two feet from the wall, and is heavy being made of oak, plus all the load it carries. Yet it's literally held up magically by gravity. Would've been a bear to screw to the wall working alone, but w the cleats it went up in seconds. My default method for hanging cabinets, storage bins etc
These are just called 'cleats' where I live. No, I'm not in France. Not sure what is 'French' about them. I also add a second cleat to the lower section. Makes it real sturdy, especially for workshop storage.
Great video. Thank you! I am thinking of doing this for an IKEA Billy Bookcase. Their product kit comes with a metal L bracket. I really hate seeing those L brackets in my house. Is there any reason why a french cleat would not work for a bookcase?
I made a French cleat with a 2x2 piece of left over I had but it doesn't seem sturdy. All it is is a 1x4 screwed to the opposing french cleat which I filled holes in for my screw drivers but it's real wobbly when I set it on the French cleat which is on the wall. Any ideas why?
I plan on making and mounting a french cleat system in my garage. My question is this: I have concrete block walls, can I mount the cleats directly to the walls? or should I still mount to a plywood base? or first mount 2x2's to the walls then mount either plywood or cleats to them?? Thank you
This is one of the easiest things to do dont let the sound of the blade cutting the wood scare you. I watched my dad do this many times when I would help him making custom cabinets . I'll never forget the smell of saw dust and the smell of hardwood.wish I would've payed more attention to his work
Let's say you have one half of your cleat mounted to a wall. If you attach a board at a 90 degree angle to the other half of the cleat, so that when the cleats are joined it makes a shelf, will the shelf sit level?
I have seen upper kitchen cabinets hung from French cleats with the cabinet cleat built into the cabinets at the top, with very lose of usable interior cabinet space. They used one long cleat on the wall carefully hung to be level and then just hung the several different cabinets to that, making them all level to one another. (Standardize where the cleats are on the cabinets.) Also you may not always want the cleat sawed in the center. If you had something heavy to hang, cut a 5 or 6 inch board off center and screw the wider part to the wall. Then you should be able to get 2 screws into each 2x4 stud. The cleat on the cabinet could be attached in enough places to hold its part. Also, make the cleat on the wall shorter than the one on the cabinet, then if you get instructions that it needs to be a little to the left, (not that much!) then you are still in good shape. Vary the thickness of the cleat material! On some heavy objects you might want to use 3/4 inch material and on lighter objects use 1/4 inch plywood.
I'm assuming that it is important that the piece that is screwed to the back of the cabinet be level as well. Otherwise, regardless of how level the piece on the wall is things just won't line up.
Helpful thank you, love this system. I'm new to woodwork and basically teaching myself with the shelf of these types of videos. Just made my first long, narrow shelf in my kitchen to store tea caddy etc. I suspect there is no wall support and that is the reason its not staying put. Any ideas?
Thank you for the helpful video. What do you recommend to prevent the cleat from splitting when mounting to the wall? I keep running into this issue. I was hoping you would show that part.
Question for anyone here. If I’m doing two cleats. Like a top and bottom on something heavy, how do I measure accurately so both line up and rest in their respective halves on the wall. Like I would mount the wall portions then how do I measure to ensure I mount the other portions to the work piece properly. Any tips?
Mount the top cleat to the item, put the second cleat into the receiver with double-sided tape, set item into place and push against double-sided tape. Remove the item and either scribe a line or drill and screw. Remove the cleat and tape and reassemble permanently.
