6 ft long french cleat tool wall plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw and a straight edge (or have the store cut the sheets)
• Stud finder
• Level
• Table saw or circular saw that tilts to 45°
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part. Cut sheets with the good face down when using a circular saw: the blade splinters the top face.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Rip the cleats at 45°

   Rip plywood strips 7 1/8″ wide, then tilt the saw blade to 45° and rip each strip down the middle. Each strip becomes two cleats 3 1/2″ wide with one bevelled edge.

   You need 4 wall cleats 72″ long and 4 holder cleats 16″ long. Cut them to length after ripping.

   Sand the sharp point of every bevel just enough to take off the splinters. Don't round it over: the sharp 45° is what locks the holders on.

   • Tip Ripping a wide strip in two at 45° is safer than bevelling one edge of many narrow strips, which are hard to push past the blade.

   ✓ Hold two cleats together bevel to bevel: they make a flat-faced strip with no gap along the joint.

   STOP. A 45° rip on a table saw: use the fence, a push stick and a featherboard if you have one, and stand to the side of the blade. Or ask the store to rip 7 1/4″ strips and make only the 45° cuts at home with a circular saw set to 45° and a clamped guide.

4. 4Screw the wall cleats to the studs

   Slide a stud finder along the wall and mark every stud with a pencil. Studs are usually 16″ apart, measured center to center. Confirm one by drilling a tiny test hole where the trim will hide it: you'll feel the drill bite into wood.

   Draw a level line 40″ above the floor for the bottom of the lowest cleat, then one every 10″ above it: 40″, 50″, 60″, 70″.

   Hold each wall cleat (A) with its bottom edge on a line, the bevelled edge on top and sloping down toward the wall: the taller face looks out at you, the shorter face is against the wall. That leaves a V-shaped pocket between the cleat and the wall for the holders to drop into.

   Predrill and drive 2 screws, #10 × 3″, into every stud the cleat crosses, one 1″ from the bottom edge and one 1 1/2″ higher: 40 in all. Countersink so the heads sit flush.

   • Tip Before drilling, check the wall for pipes and wires: avoid drilling directly above or below outlets and switches, and behind sinks.

   ✓ Every cleat is level end to end, and the V-pocket runs along the top of each cleat on the wall side.

   STOP. Drywall alone won't hold it. Never hang this with only drywall anchors. Keep the load under about 480 lb, and never hang it over a bed or crib.

5. 5Build the shelf holders

   Glue a holder cleat (B) to the back of each back plate (C), flush with the top edge. The bevel is at the bottom and slopes up toward the plate: the taller face looks at the wall. Drive 4 screws, 1 5/8″, through the plate into the cleat.

   Glue the shelf (D) onto the top edge of the back plate, its back edge flush with the plate's back face. Screw down through the shelf into the plate edge, 3 screws.

   Glue a bracket (E) under each end of the shelf, tight to the back plate. Screw through the plate and down through the shelf into each bracket: 2 and 1 screws.

   • Tip Predrill every screw into a plywood edge with a 1/8″ bit: edges split easily.

   ✓ Set a holder on a flat table: the shelf is at 90° to the back plate. Try it on a wall cleat: it drops in and sits tight against the cleat with the shelf level.

6. 6Build the bin boxes

   Glue the bottom (G) between the two sides (F), bottoms flush, and screw through the sides: 2 screws each end.

   Set that box against the front of a back plate, bottoms flush, and screw through the plate into the sides and bottom from behind: 6 screws.

   Glue and screw the front (H) across the sides and bottom: 4 screws.

   ✓ The box is square and the back plate is flat on the bench: no rocking.

7. 7Hang the holders and arrange the wall

   Lift a holder a little above a cleat, tip its top toward the wall, and lower it so its cleat drops into the V-pocket. It pulls itself tight to the wall as you let go.

   Put the heaviest things on the lowest rows and near studs. Move holders around until the tools you use most are between waist and shoulder height.

   For a single heavy tool (a drill on a holster, a level), screw a short piece of cleat straight onto a scrap of plywood and hang it the same way.

   ✓ Pull each holder straight out from the bottom: it doesn't lift off. It only comes off when you lift it up first.

8. 8Finish

   Ease every sharp edge and corner with 120-grit sandpaper so nobody gets a splinter.

   Sand all over with 180 grit, always along the grain (the direction the wood fibres run). Scratches across the grain show through stain.

   Wipe off the dust with a barely damp rag and let it dry.

   Paint, stain or a clear coat (water-based polyurethane is the easiest). Apply thin coats with the grain, let each dry fully, and sand lightly with 220 grit between coats.

   Let it dry for the time on the can before using it.

   • Tip Try your finish on a scrap of the same wood first: stain looks different on every board.