Five Mistakes When Building My French Cleat Tool Wall!

[@JFKreations]

Creators sharing our own mistakes with the viewers is one of the biggest things we can do to make woodworking more approachable for beginners wanting to get into this as a hobby or even a career. Keep up the good work!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks a bunch! Your watching and commenting is much appreciated!

[@CharlesSmithOrg]

I wish more people would share their mistakes because I sure do make all of them. Thank you!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Mistakes, make us all better!

[@jerbear7952]

I laughed fairly hard about gluing it to the wall. It's like he read my diary from the future.

[@mikemarino7806]

I appreciate videos like this. Everybody overlooks simple things from time to time, and too many people are too ashamed to admit it. I can only imagine how many people have wanted to do this cleat system that were helped by your video. Nice work, good explanations, and great content!

[@pnwgrown_360]

I’m about to make my first cleat wall, this video did help my confidence a bit

[@danmyers8666]

For the past 3-4 weeks, my interest in French Cleats has grown. I have watched 10-12 videos I still did not fully understand how to fabricate them, or their full potential. You answered all my questions in 7.55 minutes. Your willingness to share your pitfalls was very helpful. Seeing someone perform the task allows me to feel like I'm performing my project with a co-worker that has done the job a time or two before. Thank you for sharing

[@lastingbuild1373]

Great! Glad to help!

[@DarksouIjah]

A great teacher not only shows on how to do things the correct way but also things to avoid and the reason to avoid them. Bravo.

[@timdavis2220]

I so appreciate folks who share their mistakes to save the rest of us the trouble of doing the same. Thanks.

[@lastingbuild1373]

👍

[@themightysquid]

It takes a secure and honest man to admit his mistakes. And don’t we all learn more from our mistakes? Excellent lesson. Experience is great, especially when it’s someone else’s experience. Thanks.

[@tednottodd]

Takes a stand up person to point out their own mistakes....thanks for sharing yours so we can avoid wasting our time and material.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for watching!

[@jaroncscott]

This was so informative!!! I’d like to echo someone else’s comment that sharing mistakes is totally underrated. We all make them and it’s great to learn from each other.

[@5zwoodworks]

This is how we grow as a community. Thank you for the information.

[@socalboilervsg5477]

I'm preparing to install a french cleat wall in my shop this weekend and found this video while looking for info, tips, instructions, etc. VERY helpful! I appreciate you sharing your lessons learned for the purpose of helping others keep from making the same oversights. As a result, I've watched several other of your videos; I admire and respect the fact your focus is on being helpful by sharing what you know, what you've done, what you've learned, etc without trying to be a comedian or appearing to be auditioning for your own show. That's why I subscribed. Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad it helped!

[@privateuploads-geo2625]

Nice to share what you learned. And don't we all learn from our mistakes. When I built my french cleat wall I learned as I went too. I did start by putting plywood on the garage wall, and cut 8' lengths for the wall cleats, which after some figuring, spaced far enough apart horizontally up the wall: I didn't use every cleat to hang boxes from, but as you pointed out, many wall cleats become a support for the lower part of heavier tool boxes. I learned to make the boxes deep enough vertically to accomplish that. The nice part with the cleats, is you can move them around anyway you want, and as you get new tools. Initially I glued, tack nailed, and screwed the boxes. For most of them now I skip the glue- they hold up fine without i, it's less messy, and I may want to repurpose the box or change it later. Now it's just clamp, stick with the nail gun, and then drlll and screw. I also learned to make shelves on them high enough to hold boxes of nails, screws and other fasteners- my first shelves were slightly to short in height. So my sander box has the sandpaper, the finish nailer hangs vertically and has a few boxes of nails, the skill saw has a blade shelf, etc. I also have one for squares, levels, and punches, and a shelf for a micrometer and tape measures. Hanging off the edge of my edge-most box I have a holder for my ear protectors and eye goggles, as well as head lamp. My crosscut sled and fitting mitre box hang down low, since it is heavy: I drilled two large holes in the top end of the sled and it hangs very nicely on the wall too. When working on my bench, which has four locking wheels, I find I like rolling the bench out from the cleat wall where I store it, and then all my tools are handy right behind me. It makes work easy, and cleanup easier. Now I just have to buy that dustopper that Tom Huntly developed, and get my dust collecting up to snuff (no pun intended).;0) -Geo

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@akbychoice]

Great info. Shave down that sharp point on the cleat parts so they don’t dead end each other. A lower board on the removable part solves two things, a place to put a wedge to keep it locked and keeps it spaced off the wall so it doesn’t SeeSaw.

[@ifscottcanyoucan]

Good info. Always helpful when folks are willing to point out their mistakes so the rest of us can learn.

[@flyingwoodshop1545]

Great video! Thank you for sharing. If you’re still interested in locking cleats for your heavy stuff like the lumber shelf, it’s actually pretty easy and you could add it to what you already have. If you cut an “L” shaped piece of plywood (the bandsaw comes to mind for this) with the long part the width of the space between the bottom of the cleat and the spacer, you can just slide it in there after you place the cleat. The shorter part of the “L” gives you something to grab onto to get it back out when you want to rearrange. I know this video is almost 2 years old, but the info is still good and I appreciate it as I’m looking to expand my French Cleat system. Thank you!

[@tommac5411]

Great video. editing, clarity, helpfulness. Thank you!!

[@takeniteasyfriend]

Saved me time. Ready to make my tool holders flawlessly. Thanks for taking the time.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad I can help! Thanks for watching!

[@experimentaldream4101]

Great video. This is the kind of information people need when they are novices - like me. Not just the technical parts, but the realization that even pros get to learn from mistakes and that's perfectly OK.

[@robertmcclenning5696]

Most of my projects have more than 5 mistakes. Thanks for sharing.

[@lastingbuild1373]

That’s true of everyone, I think. If I made a video, “36 mistakes” I’m sure no one would watch lol!😂

[@PedramBastan]

At least the most important ones were posted. These do seem like a "duh" (Homer Simpson) moment for us all until you really think about it.

[@rollingthunder4599]

You learn by doing

[@natishamullis-brooks5715]

My mistakes have taught me a heck of a lot more than any of my successes! If you learn from them, no harm! I just make a lot more fine saw dust to add to the pile! (Piles!) I get better all the time, though!

[@MaBeSlovakia]

There is a chinese saying: A wise man makes 7 mistakes each day. (We, ordinary men, make much more)

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for Watching! If you like French Cleats, check out my new sharpening station 👉 🔴 kzbin.info/www/bejne/nafPZ6ylp9Rgg80

[@lastingbuild1373]

You also might like the circular saw cabinet with hidden blade storage 👉👉 🔴 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnnXh4ileLt1Z9U

[@SiamWoodShop]

Lots of good info here for those who are new to this. I used the cleat system in my house back in the '70s both in the house and workshop. It's a good easy sytem and very flexible in its' uses.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@terryadamson8447]

Planning on doing the same in my humble shed. Thanks for the tips, they really helped me out. Your a shining example of the good KZbin can do.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Awesome! Thanks for watching and sharing!

[@hambone4402]

Man, what a useful video. I can see myself making all of those mistakes simultaneously. Thanks for sharing.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad you like! Thanks for watching!

[@Esiddik]

Most useful French cleat video yet !!! You don’t know what you don’t know on a first build , so thank you for sparing me the headaches 🥲 I actually might do this project soon

[@petemcclean468]

Excellent video. I am about to make my French cleat system and this is a tremendous help! Thank you.

[@thriftwoods]

building a wall and I really appreciate the video. Cheers for helping me to avoid those hindsight are 20/20 mistakes! I will make them later on.

[@Philhoppermiller]

I spaced two of my cleats where both the top and bottom boards were cleats for a, particularly heave cabinet. It worked really well. I have loaded the cabinet heavy and it has not budged an inch in 10 years.

[@ecospider5]

I live in an earthquake area so locking cleats is a must. I have the cleats on the wall close enough together that sliding a 3” x 3” board above the cleat on the box just barely touches the wall cleat above it. That way the box can not lift up without removing that 3x3 block. Locking it in place.

[@1pcfred]

If you're in an earthquake area you have to relocate to somewhere safe.

[@jonnymo4728]

I admire the effort & honesty. Well done. 10+ stars.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thank you!

[@RickMaxon]

Re: locking cleats With our earthquakes in California I've thought about this. When I get around to installing a french cleat ... I'll drill a hole at the bottom of each hanger aligned with the bottom of the cleats. A friction fit dowel will go through to prevent the hanger from rising. To unlock just push the dowel forward so you can lift the hanger.

[@kazykamakaze131]

You mind I give a different option? When making the wall cleat, instead of 1 edge 45 degrees, make both top and bottom edges 45 degrees and then when making the cabinet cleat make the bottom a 45 degrees but a little longer spacing so that it allows you to mount the cabinet from any position, but what the idea is then in that extra space you add (same idea in industrial machines) a spacer that you can drive in from the side to take up the space you added at the bottom of the 2 opposing 45 degree edges. This would solve your issue and would look very clean and allow the ability to remove the cabinets again easily in the future. Hope this helps.

[@rickmunn7356]

Thanks for the advice. I saw a locking method on You Tube where they slid a second spacer between the bottom spacer and the underside of the wall cleat. It works perfectly. I think it was called the “key” to locking tool cleats.

[@enmodo]

Yup, I came here to make that comment too. A reason to do that is to stop a holder lifting up off the cleat if you pull something off it. I have that problem with my peg board where the pegs are always falling off.

[@dwainlambrigger3769]

I also use a lot of french cleats. I have made a few of these mistakes (How could I forget the spacers?!?!?!). I am trying to get as much out of my french cleats as possible. Thanks for sharing.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Yes sir! Thanks for watching!

[@woodsniffer]

Repetition is the key to good learning ...Very good Video short to the point, informative and honest.

[@larrykostopulos1332]

I’m just about to refurbish my workshop and am moving to French cleats. Very handy tips, thanks very much.

[@matto.1074]

Gluing it to the wall... 😂 OH I would SO do that!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the tip! Great video.

[@tommac5411]

Great video! Thank you.

[@francisvazquez13]

Your honesty is true teaching...Thanks 🤗

[@agentwtf]

Came here to say I appreciate the simple advice that you learned the hard way so I do not have to. 💪

[@dwaynejoleun4476]

Good video on common mistakes to avoid doing when using French cleats. I almost made the mistake myself of butting the support board tight to the cleat like you mentioned, so these are great points for those not familiar with French cleats.

[@1dayhabit]

Many thanks for sharing your experiences. I know that it takes a lot of effort to make a video and upload it so it's very kind of you to help others avoid pitfalls. I've just built a workshop and will make a cleat storage system. It's great when you can get things right first time and your information will make that more likely!

[@Belg1970]

I like to learn something new every day. So keep them coming.

[@pruhsnna908]

Thanks for the excellent video on the French cleats System. This is an excellent tutorial: especially as you've made the example wood working to show us the different problems! 👍🙏

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mergalinpillay2413]

Thank you for your honesty especially helpful tips for newbies.

[@jeffkingery2562]

Getting ready to build some French cleats and I appreciate the tips.

[@cheppyrinalzi721]

Thanks for your kindness clever man🙏🙏👍🏻

[@TV-gy1nf]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your mistakes!

[@socal33]

Much appreciated for the heads up. I’ll be using this video before I start.

[@markb27]

Nice explaination of do's and dont's of a French Cleat system

[@rebeccacardy6070]

Thanks so much for this video! I'm just starting out with wood working and making my own work shop. This will help me out so much...i can't wait to start!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Rebecca Cardy glad it helps!

[@mattthompson6439]

Lots of suggestions for wedges to lock the cleats in place. As an alternative, you could use a cam clamp to lock them and unlock them easily as needed. Thanks for the insights. Good video.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for watching. Lot of interest in locking cleats!

[@TR4zest]

A cam was what I was thinking ...

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for sharing

[@rosswilliams3111]

Such a great idea to highlight the mistakes. Oh man, do I wish more people did this. Although you tend to remember better when you have to redo something.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@furkanozcan77]

Thank you for sharing these valuable experiences

[@Stofpad73]

Thanks...very helpful. You may consider a dowel peg insert to lock your cleats.

[@lastingbuild1373]

That's a great idea!

[@767DR]

Usually I have to learn from my own mistakes. Thanks for letting us learn from yours. Subscribing

[@lastingbuild1373]

One reason I started the channel was to learn from each other.

[@jakenkid]

Thank you very much for this! Super helpful! I have only one, probably irrelevant, suggestion... The locking cleat is actually a great idea! Just in the event that you want to be able to move things around, but need the security of a locking cleat... My thought was to make an oval locking cleat. Square won't work for obvious reason... But oval could, just spin it until it is sufficiently locked. 👍

[@MA-dg1qr]

Great video, thanks for your humility and sharing your mistakes with the French cleat storage system. I learned a lot as I plan for a French cleat system.

[@mnfiveoh]

Thanks for the tips! I've finally decided on a layout for my very small shop and plan on using French cleats on a wall or two.

[@lastingbuild1373]

You won’t regret it!

[@mzdemetria8332]

I loved this and your shop has given me so many organizational ideas!!

[@WCW4469]

Thanks for the tips! I am going to be adding french cleats to my shop in the garage. Very helpful.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Great! Glad you like!

[@davethepak]

Great video, thanks for sharing. Good info, excellent production quality, good volume etc. very useful.

[@lastingbuild1373]

I really appreciate your comment!

[@lastingbuild1373]

I really appreciate your comment!

[@rosewalters6023]

Love this video! Really great when someone share their mistakes to help us who isn't nearly as advanced. Thanks!

[@BedfordJoshua]

Love the french cleat system! Good to see mistakes so we can avoid them.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Yes sir! Thanks for watching Joshua!

[@bjorn980]

Thank you, helped me a lot for reconsidering my plans. I have a old shed, the wall is not even because there are planks on it. Maybe this system will work or I need to mount a wooden panel on it.

[@ecospider5]

Thanks for the glue warning. I probably would have done that at one point. I use narrower cleats on the wall closer together with only a 1x2 cleat on the box to hang it. That way there is plenty of cleats below supporting my longer boxes and because of the narrower cleat on the box I never have an issue with lifting it into place.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for sharing!

[@keithrayeski6417]

New subscriber...I got hooked on the French cleat system when watching Wranglerstar designing and building a new work shop area. Your tips will help immensely! Thanks for sharing!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Welcome! You might like the plane till!

[@keithrayeski6417]

LastingBuild I’m going to check that out!!😁

[@w4shep]

Thanks for saving my a lot of time and aggravation! I’m planning on installing a cleat system in the next few weeks and this video has been helpful. I’m sure I would’ve had a lot of holders glued to the wall 🙂

[@dirkdaddy2]

Recommend making spacer blocks for ends so you can go up a wall and have them easily spaced evenly, then everything you want to mount to the wall just use cleats. Helps to have some of the 45 deg ripped wood laying about for new stuff you come up with. And use some big ol long heavy duty screws to get through drywall if you're hanging heavy of course. I've hung a heavy bike rack and workmate, etc no problems

[@jasondoust4935]

When I was a woodwork teacher, I'd often preface a mistake based lesson with 'It's always faster, easier, cheaper and much less frustrating to learn from somebody else's mistakes, so listen up...' Thanks for sharing.

[@pruhsnna908]

Excellent Preface! Thanks for the reframe!

[@LTDWoodworks]

Won't be long before I start my tool wall. Thanks for the great points there. I tend to get ahead of myself so I could see me glowing them to the wall. Thanks again 👍

[@lastingbuild1373]

Sure thing!

[@abad_gtr1123]

this was helpful...as i'm looking to build my first tool wall soon. thank you!

[@bryancrawford3498]

Thank you! I’ll let you know when I come up with #6 7,8,9.....

[@lastingbuild1373]

😂thanks for watching!

[@edzahra1193]

Awesome, great to see-honesty of the mistakes which you can make ahead of time. Hopefully when building my system, I will save some frustration!

[@dirkdaddy2]

I have used the French cleats myself in my new to us garage and had somehow avoided all these problems except the video I think maybe yours with making a jam lock that is good idea... one thing you didn't mention was how nice it is to be able to move everything in seconds as needs change. My paper towel holder, fire extinguisher, charging station, shelves, cabinets, all can be re-arranged. I am cheap too and had trimmed a bush, had a pile of branches. I cut them about 4" long and mounted on scraps of wood with glue & a drywall screw for movable hook! bike helmets, tons of stuff can be hung up without buying dowels if you are so inclined. Not sure bush type but the wood off it is crazy strong. I went ahead and ripped a ton of 3/4" plywood with the 45 degree cleat and made spacer boards to put on both ends so I could go all the way up the wall easily as I screwed them into the studs with HD screws.

[@dogface6040]

I have a 4'H x 8'L section of wall devoted to the F-cleat concept: love it. One thing I did was to make my cleat strips about half the height shown in this video, and then space the wall cleats just far enough vertically to fit the shelf cleat into the gap. This gives lots of vertical flexibility, and good bracing to the shelf back (ie, don't need a "foot" or spacer at the lower end of the shelf). I also made about 12 LF of "spare" cleat for future use. Great system.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for sharing!

[@woodworkerroyer8497]

I did about the same for a french cleat system on my workbench. I think I had 2" cleats with 3" spacing. Works well.

[@obamania2009]

Looks great. Moving into a new house and half the basement is unfinished. Will def put that system up!

[@lastingbuild1373]

👍thanks for watching!

[@SouthernEngineering]

Deciding on the type and duration for a video is the most challenging part, next to the edit. Most of my stuff is long form and multi-part, but the most maddening part is the fact that what I think interesting is not and what I think un-interesting is popular; so, I make what I like and hope that someone will enjoy it.

[@lastingbuild1373]

I agree completely! You are doing great! Keep up the good work! My personal favorite videos are short films like the “Northmen” channel but I’m not having much luck getting KZbin to recommend those.

[@SouthernEngineering]

Thanks, video editing is the most difficult, but sometimes I just want to build and skip the video part.

[@lastingbuild1373]

I’m really trying to keep the camera in the shop running!

[@SouthernEngineering]

I've been doing that with a distance camera, a near field camera and I also use a time-lapse; that seems to work out pretty good but the amount of videos I need to process is huge. I suppose that's the only way to do my type of build videos, I have been refining the process but with projects that take many days or weeks that's a lot of data. What video editing software do you use?

[@lastingbuild1373]

FCPX

[@jameslyons3306]

#2, 3 & 4 are the ones that got me last year when I built. Gonna redo now,.. thx!

[@BronkBuilt]

Nice tips, thanks for sharing.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnvatistas6569]

Thank you for the tips. I will avoid this while building mine.

[@Poor_Mans_DIY]

great informative AND entertaining video! Looking forward to your large upcoming video.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thank you!

[@Mark-rk3pm]

Learned a lot. Thanks, brother!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shanesmaineshop]

Great tips.

[@jameswalsh4056]

Excellent video. I think I made a mistake painting my wall cleats. Especially in humid July. Still tacky after 3 days. Feel like any attachment cleats will be sticking. Definitely won't paint attachment cleats.

[@dcslapout5697]

Found me a shop/ shed being delivered next week. Looking forward to using the system

[@lastingbuild1373]

Awesome David! Be sure to share some pictures with us!

[@lordrichard8184]

I used wedges to make a locking cleat as I need to move my shelf a lot when in use. But you could also screw it into place if you were really worried about it falling off.

[@lastingbuild1373]

Good suggestion. Thanks for watching. Keep your eyes peeled for a upcoming video!

[@as7river]

Piece of advice, don't glue any spacers you add to your French cleat projects. You may want to remove them in the future and glue makes that awfully complicated.

[@ralphlivingston894]

Thank you for that video. I feel confident that I would’ve made at least four of those mistakes!

[@ronniesolomon5235]

Good advice, I am wanting to make a French cleat system for my little shop

[@chrismoody1342]

I saw a guy that drilled a hole just below wall cleat and inserted a simple dowel that prevented the fixture from moving up and out of the wall cleat. Or cut a piece ply that fit the space between the bottom standoff and the bottom of the wall cleat. It only downside was it had to be slid into position from the side where other fixtures might already be hung.

[@Critter145]

What a beautiful shop! I’m jealous😂

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thank you very much!

[@thefilthelement]

As much as I use mine, I never considered making stock shelves for the top. Thank you!

[@choimdachoim9491]

Nice pvc rails. I use pvc in my studio similar to your handsaw peg to hang guitar and computer cords on. You must have a lot of 3/4 ply around because that sandpaper caddy could actually be built with 1/8" Luan. There's a way of using angled cuts in vertical cleats in the corners of cabinets that allows incremental but extremely strong weight-bearing capability by changing the position of the horizontal crossbars that the shelves rest on that reminds me of this so-called french-cleat method. The horizontal crossbars are basically trapezoidal shaped and the vertical cleats have triangular notches to accept the crossbars.

[@mkbcoolman]

I've redone my shop storage twice now due to 'mistakes'. I'm probably going to do it again in the near future, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it's one thing I'll never be completely satisfied with. As my skills increase or I collect more tools, etc..I just outgrow what worked before. I make so many mistakes that I just quit counting them. I look at them as learning opportunities and incorporate new ideas into the next phase.

[@lastingbuild1373]

For sure, it’s a never ending process! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@MrChewy63]

I appreciate your video. I’m about to make mine and this is helpful!

[@n8guy]

Good video, thanks! One way to lock a fixture in place is to drill through the front, so the top of the hole lines up with the bottom of the wall clear, and then insert a dowel, nail, or even golf tee.

[@william6171]

Another thing I see people mention, is to cut a couple of millimeters off of the bottom of the tool-cleat. As dust collects between the wall cleats and the wall, that might prevent the tool-cleat to fall down nicely into that space. Cutting away just a bit of material solves this.

[@robertg.564]

I like your locking cleat idea and have a simple suggestion. Take the locking part and give it a gap from the bottom of the wall cleat that is 1/2 the height of the top cleat. That way you can't lift it off. You will still need to slide them from the side, but they would have enough space to allow you to easily slide them into place. Best of luck!

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks for sharing!

[@rduckster4727]

Excellent information

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks!

[@HickLif3]

I'm going to be going with a slat wall, mostly because it looks like ship lap and can be set closer together making it look more esthetically pleasing. I will say that for the locking cleat you could just screw the locking portion in from the front once set it in place, probably no necessarily like you said but if someone is paranoid they can do that

[@lastingbuild1373]

Thanks

[@gscompton1965]

TY for the video brother helped me out a ton ...gettin rdy to french cleat a wall,earned a sub keep up the great job

[@lastingbuild1373]

I have a playlist on French cleats on my channel page and I still have a few videos left to post to finish off the series. Thanks for watching and subbing!

[@christophercastor6666]

Second your Sub, Greg.

[@designer-garb572]

Very good advice, glad I found this before I start making mine. many thanks

[@lastingbuild1373]

Glad you like! Thanks!