Hang Tight

I think this is a an old Arts & Crafts mantel I salvaged from a renovation project some time ago. For years it hung by picture wire looped and twisted through two eye hooks screwed on either side of it's back. It wasn't good for much other than being an interesting wall hanging. Whenever you brushed up against it, the mantel would shake and rattle and threaten to fall. Forget about putting anything on it.

At some point, I needed to actually use it as a shelf at the end of a dining table we had in a tiny apartment. It would hold the salt and pepper shakers, candle sticks etc.

I had planned on ripping a 45-degree edge on a couple strips of plywood to create a French cleat to hang it, but I couldn't find a length of wood and didn't want to be bothered with the circular or table saws.

Instead I found a couple leftover strips of bamboo flooring from a floor I had installed, and I thought they could work well as interlocking hanging strips.

I hung one level strip to the wall with the groove facing upward. I wanted it in a specific spot, and I was able to attach one side into framing. I had to use an appropriate anchor into the plaster and lathe on the other side.

I carefully pre-drilled for the counter sunk screws through the second strip which I centered on the back of the mantle with it's tongue facing down. Then I lifted the mantel against the wall and gingerly lowered the tongue of the furnishing's strip into the groove of the wall strip until the mantel sat locked and level. I was then able to position the mantel just so by sliding it to the left or to the right.

The mantel has moved a few times over the years. Notice all the additional holes on the back of the wall strip that have accommodated different wall framing situations.

Today it hangs on the same strips near an exit door in our home. The 40 pound mantel holds steady enough to confidently shelf glass vessels and a nice bottle of port while standing up to the daily reaching into the bowl of house keys it shelves.