That time a French cleat system nearly took me out in my own shop

So I'm in my garage shop last Wednesday, trying to hang this massive slab of walnut I'd been saving for six months. I built this custom French cleat system for it, measured three times, leveled everything, the works. I get the cleat mounted to the studs, lift this 80 pound slab up by myself, and right as I'm sliding it into place I realize I forgot to account for the thickness of the cleat itself. The whole thing catches wrong and tips forward, sending me stumbling backward into my table saw fence. I'm pinned there, holding this slab like a giant shield, sweat pouring down my face, trying not to drop it on my foot. A neighbor heard me yell and came over to help me get it down. We had to cut the cleat off with a multitool just to get the thing free. Now I have to refinish that side of the slab and redo the whole mounting system from scratch. Has anyone else had a mounting project go totally sideways because you missed one simple measurement?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry22d ago

3 measurements and you still forgot the cleat thickness? That's on you, not the system.

loganhart22d ago

Dude that's brutal. French cleats are supposed to be the easy solution, not something that has you wrestling 80 pounds of walnut like you're in a WWE match. At least the neighbor was around to help, imagine if you had to just stand there holding it until your arms gave out. Refinishing that slab is gonna be a whole other weekend of work too. Hope the walnut didn't get too banged up when you cut the cleat off.