What you’ll get

What you’ll need

A laser that can cut 6mm OR 1/4″ ply
Some 6mm plywood OR 1/4″ plywood
Spray varnish (optional but recommended)
Wood glue or CA glue
2 Rare earth magnets 

Terms of use

• • Sales are non-refundable and non-returnable.
• • Downloaded orders are non-refundable and non-returnable.
• • These files are for personal use only.
• . No commercial use of these files in permitted. No purchasing these files to make and sell a finished product.
• • These files are not to be shared or distributed via any physical or digital methods.

About the designer

Hi, my name is Alan Egan and I’m a trained mechanical engineer. I used to design jigs, fixtures, progression tools, and manufacturing robots. These days, I spend a lot of time in my workshop and I love making stuff and I love French cleats as they keep my space organized.But, like everyone else, when I needed a cleat I grabbed a few pieces of scrap wood and made a cleat, ad-hock with no thought about spacings, or size, or the cleats that I’d made before. Then I came up with the idea for a French cleat system and the Neat French Cleat System was born. I then started prototyping, and what you see here is the result of a ton of tried and tested ideas.

My workshop

How It All Started

I built my workshop during the first lockdown in 2020. Before that, it was just a brick-walled outbuilding that used to house pigs! While the workshop isn’t very large—roughly the size of a double garage—it’s a space that works hard. One unique challenge is the chimney right in the middle, which limits the layout. Although I considered removing it, the chimney is essential for the wood burner, which is the only source of heating in the workshop.

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The Tools I Use

My workshop is equipped with two lasers:

• Sculpfun S9: A diode laser with 10W power, perfect for smaller projects.
• Gweike Cloud: A 50W CO2 laser that I use to create my French cleats. (I started with the Sculpfun, but it takes much longer compared to the Gweike.)

I also rely on:

• Festool CMS Table Saw for precision cutting.
• Bosch GCM Mitre Saw for accurate angles.
• An old pillar drill, which still gets the job done!
• A Creality Ender 3 3D Printer, which I use for smaller custom parts and prototypes.

For creating my plans and models, I use Shapr3D on an iPad Pro. To control the lasers, I work with Lightburn, which offers precision and flexibility for my designs.

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Let’s Collaborate

If you have any questions, special requests, or ideas, feel free to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you and explore ways to improve or expand the Neat French Cleat System.

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Why Choose the Neat French Cleat System?

With the Neat French Cleat System, you’re investing in more than just storage—you’re choosing quality, efficiency, and a tidy workspace. It’s the perfect solution for tool enthusiasts looking to elevate their organization and productivity.