A cantilever bracket is an L shaped metal support bracket that can be used to hold many things. While they can be used to hold things that are lightweight, they are more suited to be used when items weighing a good deal must be supported on a wall shelf. A cantilever bracket can be used in situations where the weight of a supported object is approximately 1,000 pounds (453 kg) or less. The one disadvantage to using a cantilever bracket is that they are much more expensive than the typical metal wall bracket due to their ability to hold more weight.
Cantilever brackets are made out of various types of metal, depending on their use. They have mounting holes along both the top flat piece of metal, which is designed to hold the shelf or other item being mounted, and along the vertical piece that mounts to the wall. Generally, they come in multiple colors such as pewter or coated with white or black.
One of the most common purposes for cantilever brackets is to support shelving units in a garage where the user is planning to keep heavy tools such as a saw. Another typical use is to provide support for a computer desk. Many people who build their own computer desk would like it to “float.” The use of cantilever brackets in this situation is most useful.
A user can purchase cantilever brackets and space them at specific intervals along a wall for a floating computer desk. After the brackets are attached, the surface of the computer desk can be placed on top of them. The cantilever brackets not only support the weight of the desktop, but they will also be able to support the weight of all the computer and office equipment that will need to be placed on the desk. Another advantage to this is that there is nothing in the way underneath the desk to hinder users.
Another common use of cantilever brackets is to support televisions. Sometimes to save room in a small area, a user may choose to support his television with a wall bracket. Since televisions can be heavy, not just any wall bracket will work. Since the cantilever bracket is a metal wall bracket that is able to support up to 1,000 pounds (453 kg), this quality makes it the ideal wall bracket to use in this situation. The brackets can be mounted to the wall, have a shelving unit placed on top of them, and then a television placed on top of the shelving unit, creating the ideal wall mount for the television without the risk of harm to the television set.