Flush mount shelves

[JR]

LOML wants six of these shelves installed in her office. Flush mounting is an important feature.



The Pottery Barn product comes with an aluminum french cleat assembly. I've found similar assys at HD, but they're ~$10 each! They look sort of like this.



So far I've found some other choices, each of which has some limitation or complication. In addition to the hardware shown below, there is also a classic french cleat. How would you engineer the mounting of this kind of shelf?

Keyhole

Flush mount pair

Z bracket pair

Flush mount with some horizontal "give"

[tlt]

Another method I've seen for flush mounting shelves is to use picture hanger brackets similar to these:

http://www.artright.com/images/tools...ies/GB-HGR.jpg

You bore a slight hole with a forstner to get the entire hanger flush, and then drill a hole where the tringular part is to allow a screw from the wall to engage the hanger...

[LCHIEN]

Use a Keyhole bit like the one on this page:
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shops.../bt_keyhl.html

you plunge the bit into the wood and move it up or sideways a bit to make a t-slot with a larger entry hole (looks like a keyhole when viewed from the back).
You then place a screw into the wall with the head protruding just a bit and you can snugly flush hang the shelf on the screw heads by adjusting the screw head depth.

Cheap and pretty quick - i recommend an ultra-simple jig to guide the router, though. the bit is under $9 and after that its just the cost of the screw, you'll need two keyholes per shelf.

The jig? Use a router with a 1/2"OD guide bushing for the 3/8" OD keyhole bit. Make a piece of 1/4" plywood or masonite with a 1/2" wide slot about 7/8"-1" long. It can be a squared off slot, no round ends required - the router bushing will only move back and forth 3/8". Clamp the jig to the shelf back to cut the slot. Plunge the router at one end of the slot then slide it in the slot. Turn it off then back the stopped bit back out.

[cabinetman]

Depending on the weight and amount of protrusion, a simple mount is to just make a horizontal slot in the back of a wood bracket, the width of the head of a pan head screw. The slot can be 1/4" - 3/8" deep. The screw is left protruding from the wall 1/4" - 5/16".

For a single mount for something like a plaque, it just pushes up tight to the wall, with a left-to-right leveling ability.

For a bracket, with two or more slots, they will hold quite a bit of shear weight, if the screw in the wall is secure.

For some of the mounts pictured, a thickness or height requirement has to be accounted for in their use.
.

[pelligrini]

Loring's & Cabinetman's solutions would save you on hardware.

You could also incorporate a french cleat into your shelf design. Like in the drawing below. It does make the back thicker.

I've also seen some really neat torsion box shelves that look like just a shelf that protrudes from the wall.

[cgallery]

Seeing as there are going to be photos on the shelf, how about just a screw through the back and into a stud? If the shelves are black (which is smart, because there will be gaps between the shelf and the wall), you could use a black screw and it would hardly be noticeable.

[RayintheUK]

I've used the IKEA version of these blind supports from Rockler - very sturdy.

Ray

[JR]

Thanks for the responses. Lots to think about.

I've been thinking about french cleats, similar to what Pelligrini showed. I'd have to make some sort of end cap in the vertical member. The finished shelf will have a painted finish, so it's not impossible.

Tlt's idea for mounting the picture hanger hardware is also interesting.

My biggest concern is developing a process that will produce level shelves every time. In my pea brain that's the french cleat.

JR

[Jim Frye]

How About An American Cleat?

I have been using a wall cleat method for small shelves and casework that uses loose biscuits in the cleat to locate and secure the shelf or display case. The biscuits allow some horizontal alignment and the mount is very easy, cheap (like me), and quick to make, since you don't have to do the bevel rips. I have even used the old Ryobi mini-biscuit joiner to make a thinner mount with good results also.

[JR]

An American cleat...

Intersting idea.