Building a Wooden Gate

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Leon Mills
6 years ago
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Building a Wooden Gate As I mentioned in the introduction, our coastal weather and steel are not a good combination. See the faint red blocks, and you ll know what I mean.

1 Building a Wooden Gate As I mentioned in the introduction, our coastal weather and steel are not a good combination. See the faint red blocks, and you ll know what I mean. With a gate in that condition, you will need 24 hour security. Old Lady (right) is just supervising and teaching Buddy how to do the job. You might ask why I went through the process to build a wooden gate when I could have welded a few pieces of steel together in a weekend, and have a functioning gate. For the answer, please refer back to my About Us page. I also mentioned that the design was drawn and the material procured. So, let s get to work. 1. Preparation Photo 1 shows the material already cut to rough size before moving over to the planer and jointer. The material was delivered roughly S2S (surfaced 2 sides), but this was not particularly well done. I opted to use ordinary pine for this project, since it is the cheapest option, and if properly finished it would last a good long time.

Photo 1 2. Joinery With the preparation done, I moved towards the joinery. During the design phase I decided not to compromise the main structure by using inferior techniques.

2 Photo 1 2. Joinery With the preparation done, I moved towards the joinery. During the design phase I decided not to compromise the main structure by using inferior techniques. Mortise and tenons were chosen since it worked well on a previous (and much larger) gate. Although the mortises are only 40mm long, the integrity of the joint is not compromised. Cutting accurate joinery in a project this size calls for a little more than free hand routing. With the previous gate in mind, I recalled the two jigs that I made and used. They were dug out of storage, reset and brought back to serve their master. Photo 2 shows the already well-used tenon jig. Photo 3 shows the easy use of the jig. This jig is preset for a 40mm long tenon in material of up to 140mm wide. Since the work on this gate, I decided to modify this jig for future use. (Keep visiting my website for updates)

Photo 2 Photo 3 All that was needed now was to round over the corners and start working on the

The main reason why I did it the wrong way round was because the jigs were already used, and I

Actually, you should cut the mortise first and then size the tenon to fit.

3 Photo 2 Photo 3 All that was needed now was to round over the corners and start working on the mortises. The main reason why I did it the wrong way round was because the jigs were already used, and I knew that they would cut the joints to fit. Actually, you should cut the mortise first and then size the tenon to fit. Moving forward to the mortises. Photo 4 shows the mortise jig. A very simple but effective and accurate piece of slapped-together wood. I was lazy to calculate the off-set for a guide bush, and opted to go for direct transfer; hence the words ½ Flush Trim on the top. Photo 4

Photo 5 shows the setting of the jig, and photo 6 after the mortise was cut.

Photo 5 Photo 6 The middle rail joints were cut in similar fashion, after determining the proper

(Photo 7 & 8) Photo 7 Photo 8 With this done, the dado s in the lower sections were cut to fit the

Each panel was measured, cut to size, and then pre-finished with two coats of Marine varnish.

4 Photo 5 shows the setting of the jig, and photo 6 after the mortise was cut. Using the two jigs in succession ensured tight fitting joints. Photo 5 Photo 6 The middle rail joints were cut in similar fashion, after determining the proper location of the rail. The frame was dry fitted to mark out the bottom center stiles. (Photo 7 & 8) Photo 7 Photo 8 With this done, the dado s in the lower sections were cut to fit the lower panels. I used 12mm (1/2 ) Meranti plywood in contrast with the Pine. Each panel was measured, cut to size, and then pre-finished with two coats of Marine varnish. The usual instructions on the container were adhered to. With the work done so far, we could start to partly assemble the structure. This was in fact delayed because I needed the top rail separate in order to

5 fit the Y pieces. Since they did not form part of the main frame, I opted to use biscuit joinery to fit them. 3. Design and Layout Photo 9 shows the layout of the angles that were done on SketchUp, exported as an image file, and printed to full scale with Big Print, a program that I bought from Mathias Wandel of woodgears.ca. Due CREDIT must go to him for developing this program. Check out his website for more info. The white Melamine pieces in the picture were used to determine the accuracy of the cuts since they were made with a circular saw and sled. Neither my table saw nor the mitre saw could adjust to the mentioned angles without compromising safety. Had my mitre saw been a sliding machine, the inverted cutting would have been safe and accurate. Photo 9 With all the angles properly set, and a make-shift jig clamped to the worktable, I did all the cutting in one go. Photo 10 shows the clamping arrangement that was used. This was done early in the morning, in order for the glue to dry enough so the clamps could be removed. (My car must share the garage, so nothing that takes

Also impossible to remove from your clothes. (How do I know that?) Photo 10 Photo 11 shows pre-sanding before final fitting.

6 up floor space can be allowed). The usual dry run was done before the actual clamp-up. The brown glue that is seen in the squeeze-out, is a proper waterproof glue, very expensive but worth every penny. Also impossible to remove from your clothes. (How do I know that?) Photo 10 Photo 11 shows pre-sanding before final fitting. It was also during this time that my trusted old random orbital finally paved the way for me to purchase a new one. I went for Metabo again, since this one served me well for about 20 years. Photo 11

4. The Final Frontier Photo 12 shows the clamped up frame and the Y s layout according to the plan. Yip, I stood on my worktable to gain a little depth in the photo.

7 4. The Final Frontier Photo 12 shows the clamped up frame and the Y s layout according to the plan. Yip, I stood on my worktable to gain a little depth in the photo. Gladly I did build it strong enough to carry at least 1000kg. Biscuit positions were marked and cut. Now it was time for final sanding and then the Big Glue-up. Gluing was done in two stages, first the lower main frame without the top rail and then the rest. Fitting and gluing the Y s called for quick and accurate work. Fortunately, my stepson was at hand to help. Photo Conquered! This was once again an interesting journey with a lot to learn, especially with the Y pieces. Thankfully, technology served its purpose this time around. My sincere thanks go to Google for SketchUp, (See Links Page) all the people who developed the different plug-ins that are freely available from the internet and last but not least to Mathias Wandel for Big Print.

8 Without your help, this project would have been far less accurate and the outcome not that beautiful. (Photo 13) Photo 13

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