Old gate.
A customer who had previously had chopping boards made from an old sideboard, contacted me to ask if I could replace a gate on his property, which was used to gain access to a holiday cottage adjacent to his home.
The gate was made from softwood and was well past its sell by date. No proper bracing and basically dropping to bits. Whilst examining the gate the client asked if I could incorporate some of the old fittings, (hinges and latch) in to the new gate.
The old fittings on the gate were not a problem. The pins for the hinges and the keep for the latch were leaded in to the thin limestone gate posts. They were well worn and I suggested to the client that we would need a new staple for the latch and the hinges may need sleeving to loose some of the play between pin and socket.
Materials for the gate were discussed and we agreed there was little point using tanalised timber as the client intended to paint the gate to match other items in the holiday let garden. Softwood match boarding with some structural framing behind was agreed as the way forward.
new gate
I got the old gate down to my workshop and removed all the fittings. The critical dimensions were the overall height of the gate and the position of the strap hinges relative to the top and bottom.
Once I had these dimensions I worked out the framing, remembering to allow for shaping the gate to the gate posts. As such the upright at the hinge side was set 20mm in from the edge.
Several mortice and tenon joints later, the framing was complete and the cladding attached. The finished gate was coated with 2 coats of 5star cuprinol.
I decided to make a keep for the latch from a piece of maple, then attached all the fittings using Stainless steel coach bolts.
The gate was then fitted on site and shaped to the gate posts. More cuprinol was applied to all cut surfaces and a top rail added to protect the end grain.
Get in Touch
Call 07710 888611, or email mrhwoodwork@outlook.com.