locking french cleat (yes.. .another one)


Nevermore

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So when wanting to reorganize my garage I came across the french cleat system. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve moved my garage stuff around until more stuff builds up and I have to redo it at some point… many times after a long period of disarray. So I like the idea of it being flexible On the other hand I quickly came across the problem of the cleat system is that it’s easy to pop the mounts off while taking the tool down from the wall. Also coming across all the locking systems.. Some being easier then others. 
 
So with that all said, before I get too far down the cleat path…. I want to run this peg lock idea around. Wanting to make a lock that is universal to all the various mounts and at the same time isn’t time consuming to make or unlock and lock… I found these wooden doll pins at Michaels. The basic idea is to drill a hole on the tool cleat side. When the pin in pushed in, it hugs right under the wall cleat… locking it in place. And since these pins have a slot in the bottom, they can be wedged into the holes and be held tight. 
 
What cha think?
 

Screen Shot 2020-02-05 at 12.56.16 PM.jpg

FrenchCleatLock-01.jpg

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I'm not sure of the need. You'll now have a visible pin sticking out.  And if you do your french cleats properly, they don't move, unless you want to move them. And it doesn't really "lock" them, all you need to do is slide your piece to the end of the cleat and your free of it and the pin is still sticking out.

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Howdy... I am not wanting to screw any of the mounts down to avoid in the future having the wall cleats pocked with old screw holes after i rearrange stuff. These tool mounts will just be resting in the wall cleat along with just gravity holding them in place.

You are correct that this idea wouldn't stop the mounts from moving laterally but my main want is to avoid them popping off vertically and knocking me in the head if take down a rake or weed wacker or sledge hammer, etc.

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If you have a problem with cleats coming off when removing a tool, the first thing I would look at is the angle of your cleat.  I would think that you used an angle that was to shallow to work  properly.  If the angle is correct you would need a straight up motion to have the cleat come off.

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You could try a bit of adhesive sandpaper on the angle part of the moveable cleat. The sandpaper would give the part a bit more resistance to slipping around but still allow for easy use. The other thing to address is how the tools are mounted. If they are catching when you are trying to lift them off of what ever is mounted to the cleat maybe try configuring them in a way that doesn't catch.

With out exact pictures and descriptions of your situation all we can rely on is conjecture. More specifics might yield in better responses that would address your specific needs. In a broad french cleat discussion a locking pin would be undesirable to most users as it would defeat the mechanic of the system.

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Quote

 

I am doing the standard 45 degree angles on the cleats.  I'll throw together a mount tonight for my weed wacker and see were we land. I’ll post pics at that point. 

Curly.. im not worried about the weight or them failing ... just worried about them getting bumped up and then off when retrieving a tool from one.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Nevermore said:

just worried about them getting bumped up and then off when retrieving a tool from one.

Generally you wouldn't build a cleat for each individual tool, normally it would be designed to hold numerous tools and in this case you would have the weight of the other tools or items holding it in place when one is being removed.

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Chet's comment covers what most of us do for our woodworking tools. Using cleat hangers for larger individual tools, like a string trimmer, shovel, rake, etc... could very well benefit from this 'locking pin' idea. Lifting those sorts of tools from the hanger does involve a much higher risk of pushing the hanger off the cleat, due to their weight and unwieldiness.

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So I made up this mount and have it up on the highest cleat. It does hold most of the time but if you catch the handle on the mount, it does pop off. And equivalent to Gee-Dub's earth quake issue... I have 10 year old that likes to help out in the yard and do projects with me.... so I'll end up going one route. 

Double headed nails! I have never seen such a thing. Looks like a tack in the board… which looks clean and nice… a step up from the screw route.  I might have to go with them.

I was eventually going to do a cleat wall on the other side of the garage to replace and expand the area that is currently used for my peg board. It's congested with tools and even with those locking tabs you get... some still pop off. I read a lot of people having issues with very light mounts getting knocked off easy too… so the double headed nail route would be nice for that since they don't take up much real estate on the mount. 

Thanks for the ideas all. IMG_7524.thumb.jpg.e84183154b0094747c46a6b1a2bea6bd.jpg

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4 hours ago, Nevermore said:

And equivalent to Gee-Dub's earth quake issue... I have 10 year old that likes to help out in the yard and do projects with me....

:lol: . . . Earthquake versus 10 year old, that would be a close contest.  Thanks for that.  You gave me my laugh for the day.

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I made a bunch of mounts for misc shovels, forks, etc this weekend. These won't have any "falling off" issues.

So basically it's going to only be an issue for tools that have loop/hoop handles getting caught on the mounts when you take them down ..... leaf blower, hedge trimmer, ladder, wound extension cords.  etc.

 

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