Install French Cleat and Mount Shelf

What happens here

Locate the studs in your wall using a stud finder. Attach one half of the French cleat (the one with the angle facing up and away from the wall) to the wall studs using appropriate screws. Ensure it is level and securely fastened. Apply wood glue and use screws to attach the other half of the French cleat to the recessed area on the back of your finished shelf, ensuring its angle faces down and away from the shelf. Once the wall cleat is secure and the shelf cleat is attached, lift the finished shelf, align the two cleat halves, and slide the shelf down onto the wall cleat. The interlocking 45-degree angles will securely hold the shelf in place, providing robust wall anchoring to prevent tipping.

Goal: Attach one half of the French cleat to the wall studs, then slide the finished shelf, with the other cleat half, securely into place. This system provides strong anti-tip wall anchoring.