Sturdier French cleat for shelf

[treesner 63]

I’ve got this floating shelf I made that hangs on a French cleat but it wobbles. My only current solution is to make a wedge that you put under the cleat and bottom of inside of shelf. Any better ideas? 

[treesner 63]

Seems to work but I don’t like the idea of having instillation instructions for customers 

[wtnhighlander 5,549]

Wobbles which direction? I've never known a french cleat to wobble. Is the wall not flat, maybe? That could prevent the cleat surfaces from mating properly.

[difalkner 522]

Is the point of the cleat hitting before the cleat seats?  Cut the very end of the cleat off - that's what I do on mine to make sure it seats on the angle and not rests on the bottom of the cleat.

David

[gee-dub 2,673]

Two things come to mind and both have been mentioned.  The cleats need to mate fully.  This fails most commonly in the scenarios mentioned.  The cleat needs to be true and most walls are not.  If the cleat is "wavy" the fixture will not mate properly resulting in movement.  The cleat needs to seat so that the mating surfaces make consistent contact.  I take the point of each edge to assure this happens.

[Tpt life 2,415]

That’s also a super short but deep case for the cleat to be mounted that low on the case. Any wiggle at all in the mating will mean uplift on the front has the leverage advantage. 

[fcschoenthal 5]

A couple of things that you might try. First is cutting the pieces at more than a 45° angle. This will allow more contact surface. Also try to use mating cleat pieces cut from the same board. This will ensure that you have the best match in case there is a wave.

Chris

"It's never too late to have a happy childhood"

[Wimayo 50]

All good advice above. One other thing to consider is that even if your french cleat were a perfect fit, the shallow height of your shelf will tend to lever the wedges apart when the shelf is loaded. Matching rabbets might work better.

Actually, I think the key wedge is a good idea for keeping the cleat from levering apart. Instructions for its use would be simple. I would only add something to keep it in place. Maybe a small screw from underneath. Or, a small screw holding a fender washer against the wedge.

[treesner 63]

On 2/1/2019 at 3:55 AM, wtnhighlander said:

Wobbles which direction? I've never known a french cleat to wobble. Is the wall not flat, maybe? That could prevent the cleat surfaces from mating properly.

like the shelf goes up and down I guess. wall isn't perfect as most walls aren't 

On 2/1/2019 at 4:31 AM, difalkner said:

Is the point of the cleat hitting before the cleat seats?  Cut the very end of the cleat off - that's what I do on mine to make sure it seats on the angle and not rests on the bottom of the cleat.

David

I'll check if I cut off the tip on this ive done that before on other pieces tho

[Wimayo 50]

If the wall is not straight, you will need to shim the wall mounted part of the cleat so that it stays straight. If after screwing it into place it ends up with a bow in it, it won't match up with the bevel on the shelf.