french cleats by hand

[Eric Rathhaus]

I need to make a bunch of french cleats for hanging stuff in my shop. I have some 1" x1" redwood in 6' lengths and longer. Normally, I'd rip this on the band saw. But I'm trying to learn how to perform this task with hand tools. I could cut short pieces and use a bow saw. Anyone have a suggestion on how to accomplish it w/out cutting into smaller lengths? Thanks.

Eric

[William Fretwell]

1x1” is small for a French cleat so the hanging objects must be light. I prefer an oblong to work with. Redwood is very easy to work with so clamping it on a bench and using a scrub plane would take the corner down very quickly. Just work your way along.

[Jim Koepke]

Another vote for cutting your angle with a plane. You can do a long piece and then cut it to length. No matter if the angle is a little off target. It will match itself.

With a bigger piece like 1X3, two pieces can be held together to be planed.

jtk

[Eric Rathhaus]

Thanks. I was trying to imagine ripping so that each side of the wood would mate. Glad I asked. Thanks again.

[Don Dorn]

To each their own and do hope you have fun with the effort. Personally though, I'll admit to using machines to remove the drudgery of dimensioning wood. I tend to save hand tool work for final dimensions, fitting and joinery. In my shop, there are two full lines of french cleats that go all the way around. I'll admit that the angles on the wall and on hanging objects were done on the tablesaw in order to mate perfectly. Never considered it to be a task by hand. That's one of the things I like about this craft - no single way to do something.

[JimA Thornton]

To each their own and do hope you have fun with the effort. Personally though, I'll admit to using machines to remove the drudgery of dimensioning wood. I tend to save hand tool work for final dimensions, fitting and joinery. In my shop, there are two full lines of french cleats that go all the way around. I'll admit that the angles on the wall and on hanging objects were done on the tablesaw in order to mate perfectly. Never considered it to be a task by hand. That's one of the things I like about this craft - no single way to do something.

I'm with you Don. I let my machines do the heavy lifting and am using my newly acquired hand tools and skills to raise my woodworking to the next level. That said....... I'm also doing some things by hand that could be done with machines in order develop more hand work skill. I think that's what the OP has in mind.

[Matt Evans]

If you have a drawknife you can rough that angle in very quickly then touch it up with a handplane. With redwood I would imagine that as long as the grain is pretty straight you should be able to split it at an angle with a hatchet as well.

[Bill Houghton]

In addition to your stock being small, redwood's not a very strong material. By the time you create the needed bevel, you'll have almost no material left to register against the wall, so the cleats will tend to want to twist outward, defeating the pupose. Can you afford to get some 1x2 in pine or poplar or some such? Plus, stock that small will be difficult to hold and still work on.

I agree on the drawknife. If you don't have a drawknife, try a chisel for the rough shaping, followed by the plane. If you do a good enough job of rough shaping, you might be able to hold the stock in one hand and use a block plane for final finish.

[Rob Young]

One option.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXHNvNshlSE

[Eric Rathhaus]

Thanks again. All very good suggestions.

Don, I'm not against using a machine but am in a phase of wanting to improve my skills with hand tools. I remember reading a post by Bill Smalser where he suggested buying some old hand tools, rehabbing them, building your shop and a bench so that by the end, you'll have the skills to build furniture etc. In the future, I would still use machines for this type of operation.

Bill and Matt, Yes I do have much cast off 2 x 4s and other general building material I can use, which would also be easier to rip by hand.

Thanks for the link, Rob. I'm going to watch now.

[Matt Evans]

I'd like to point something out regarding wood choice when learning to use hand tools. Pine and most softwoods cut, plane and act very differently than the majority of hardwoods you'll typically use in furniture making. For sawing practice it's ok, but I'd not recommend it for your first dovetails. The endgrain crumbles, the difference in hardness between early and late wood is very pronouced, the prevalence of knots and hard resin is high, and it doesn't take finish as easily as most hardwoods.

I'd suggest getting ahold of some cherry, soft maple, poplar, or some similar woods to start off with.

Just my two cents.

[Tom Bender]

Hi Eric
William and Bill are right about the size of your stock. My suggestion is to glue up into 1" x 2" and hand plane that to get the bevel. Redwood planes easily and French cleats don't require great precision. It will be a good practice session.