French cleats at 30 degrees rather than 45?

[ear3]

Read somewhere that its actually better to do French cleats at 30 degrees rather than 45.  In addition, I saw it suggested for 45 degree cleats that it's also useful to shave off the bottom wedge of the top (cabinet) cleat by about 1/4", so you avoid a sharp wedging effect for heavier items.  Are either of these points true?

 

[mouppe]

Sort of. I do plane off the sharp end of the wedge to prevent it splintering off when I hang the cabinet and I don't place it exactly right.

I aim for 45 degrees but I don't mind if I'm slightly off as the two pieces mate perfectly if they're cut together. Beware of steepening the angle too much as you can weaken the cleat if the 30 degree piece is too thin.

 

[Kev]

I'd personally stick to 450 with timber cleats ... not speaking from experience, just from what "feels" right.

I'd deffo take the sharp edges off as [member=7882]RL[/member] suggests.

 

[anthonyz]

I build custom large wood canvases for artists and have built fixtures for local museums and galleries which hang on the walls. I always have a stack of cleating material because I am using them weekly. I always use 45 deg angle. They have worked great for me, and I have never seen any problems where I had to for to a steeper angle. Any less than 45 wouldn't be good if it's a piece cantilevered off the wall. Sheer weight wouldn't be as much of an issue. 

 

[ear3]

Got it.  Thanks.