Here’s the fence I’ll be replacing: old, weathered, termite eaten. I’m not hired to do any kind of termite treatment or eradication, just to take out the old fence and put a new matching one in.
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the homeowner is an eccentric 85 y.o., who takes very good care of my mom (she is a neighbor). My mom, who is 92 this month, doesn't drive any more, and this woman takes her to grocery store, doctor's app't., etc. And brings her home cooked food all the time. A very giving person. So I'm gonna do an extra special job for her, above and beyond what I'm charging her for.
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Edited 7/12/2009 1:28 am by Huck
the posts by the gate will be slightly different, and the gate itself will be radically different, but otherwise I'll be matching what's there.
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Here I've got the old fence taken out, and the new posts by the gate in. These are 4x4 treated posts, wrapped in poplar.
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Edited 7/12/2009 12:00 am by Huck
The big box store nearby no longer carries the wood post finials, so I had to re-use the old ones. Lotta extra labor removing them, and cleaning them up.
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starting on the gate: cut a curve in a 2x6...
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Gate bottom rail and middle rail, dadoed out with multiple passes on the table saw, cleaned up with a chisel.
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Edited 7/12/2009 1:29 am by Huck
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the panels for the bottom half of the gate
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the rest of the fence is coming along, but a little too slowly for the h.o.'s tastes. Hey, its been 100 degrees in L.A.!
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No, the phone's not ringing - but it can't hurt to try! I did get one gate to bid from a neighbor across the street.
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Looks good. Hand the HO a saw and let him have at it.
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
several coats of marine spar varnish
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Like I said, the hangers are the cat's pajamas. When its time to paint, just lift the section out, paint it, and drop it back in.
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I don't know how many gates I built where the latch was the only stop. Until one day it dawned on me that with an actual stop, the latch wouldn't take so much abuse, and eventually come loose, like they always do. Duh! Now I always put a gate stop in.
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the hinges are mortised into the gate and the post. I just held them in place, scored the edges, then freehanded the router up close to the line, finishing up with a sharp chisel.
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just a few notes:
I poured resin into any areas I could. Like the panel groove where it was exposed in the small gap between 1x6's (I built the gate tight, but the 1x6's were initially moist, and they shrunk quite a bit as they dried out).
I assume the gate will eventually be painted. But I wanted something that really jumped out, for now. Eventually, it all turns gray in the sun, and one day I figure it'll be a white gate.
The homeowner, initially pretty unenthusiastic about the gate, now can't stop raving about it. Several of the neighbors have also complimented it.
Similar looking gates can be purchased online for $1.5k plus. I figure they're closer to furniture quality than mine, shop tolerance work and closer grained hardwood. Still, this was a special "gift" to a special customer, who looks after my aged mother as a kindness. The new fence was paid for, I just did the special gate on my own. If I had to charge someone to build this gate, I'm not sure what I would have to charge. Probably at least $500.
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Great looking job !!
I think you could double that gate figure from what I can see .
Walter
I think you could double that gate figure
thanks Walter, I've been wrestling with that one. Fighting the learning curve, figuring out how to build these things, and wondering what my particular market would bear. One of the additional reasons I wanted to do this one, even 'tho it came at a time I could little afford to throw in a freebie.
The first time I saw an ad for one of these gates, and it said "No nails, screws, or fasteners", I was like Huh? - How can that be? So at least I've got that part figured. I do need to get some jigs or something to make my work a little more precision (mainly the dowels), because if I ever build one out of a hardwood, I know there is much less of a fudge factor than the soft redwood and cedar I used here. View Image
As usual, nice work.
I assume the gate will eventually be painted. But I wanted something that really jumped out, for now.
And that answers a question I was going to ask. Good thinking. Now then, does it have your name/number on it somewhere?
Thank you for the compliment. does it have your name/number on it somewhere? No, but the h.o. will have no problem remembering me, since she sees my mom several times a week. And everyone seems to know her, since she bakes pies and does favors for neighbors all over the 'hood.View Image
really nice.... you should be able to sell the neighbor now too
View ImageMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
you should be able to sell the neighbor now too
Well, he loves this gate, no doubt about that. But he's been kinda cool since I gave him a ballpark on his 3' x 7' driveway gate. Maybe I priced it wrong? I never know. I gave him what I thought was "recession era pricing". He didn't have any kind of a design idea or anything. So I told him ballpark 6 or 12 or 18 hundred, good, better, best, let me know which one fit his budget, and I'd pin down a specific design and an exact number.
I'd have to mount the hinges to a plastic post filled with cement, and I figured to use a wheel with a spring on the far end - the path of travel is nearly but not perfectly level.
I guess money is tight for him. He just took a cut in pay (sherrif's dep't.), his wife just took a cut in pay, and they're trying desperately to get the credit cards paid off, with the new higher rates in force.View Image
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parts and pieces
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the driveway I grew up playing in! (some things never change)
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the jobsite table saw is a rinky dink cheapy I picked up at the big box - so I can leave it on the jobsite without worrying too much about theft. And its much lighter than the bosch. Its adequate for this job.
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the old fence posts
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painting fence rails. A lot of times I feel like a one-man human assembly line!
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termites? what termites?
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I'm not putting a post against the block wall, just some hangers attached with screws into plastic anchors.
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when I first saw these metal hangers for fence rails I thought they were a goofy unprofessional homeowner gimmick. But I bought a bunch from a neighbor at his yard sale, because I felt sorry for him, and found out they are the bees' knees for fence building.
Because you can build your panels, then remove them for painting, and drop 'em back in. And you can seal the ends of your rails, because they're removeable. Plus, removeable fence panels are way cool for weeding - if anyone was so motivated (they take a small screw through the side, if you want to make the panels non-removeable).
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building fence panels
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I freehanded the address in with a router.
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Glue-up was a bear! The bridle joints were too tight (I make them with hand and portable tools, so they are not precision joints!). Clamps wouldn't do it, so in a moment of rising panic as my glue rapidly dried in the hundred degree weather, I picked the thing up and hammered it down on the cement slab to pound it all together. Dinged up the edges a bit, but gotter done.
The middle rail is doweled into place with a 3/4" poplar dowel at each end. Just one. Two would have been better, but glue-up was hard enough as it was. And since the bottom panels are in a dado groove, and the top pickets are doweled into place, I don't think it could really go anywhere.
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Edited 7/12/2009 6:03 am by Huck
Don't know if you can see, but this is how I hand cut the mortise for the bridle joints. Hope to someday get a band saw!
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skilsaw and chisel begin the work of cutting tenons for the bridle joint
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The bottom joints were too tight, so I spent a little more time cleaning the top ones up with a belt sander
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Once I got all the pieces cut, the 2x2's were doweled into place with 3/4" dowel. The holes are all drilled with a hand held drill, so again, not precision. But I do try to work pretty carefully. One area I think I could improve in, 'tho.
Those bridle joints are extremely strong. But since they're not precision, I pour resin into the cracks afterwards. I tape 'em off to dam up the resin, then pour it in. Keeps the moisture and bugs out, and makes 'em look better. And stronger too, no doubt.
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Edited 7/12/2009 1:34 am by Huck
once again, glue-up was a bear. I didn't have all my clamps with me, and what I had couldn't cut it. So again, I ened up picking the whole assembly up and whomping it down on the slab. And again, it did the trick. Then clamps held everything tight while the glue dried.
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ladies and gentlemen...a garden gate!
My mom watched me build this thing, she couldn't believe how much work went into a simple gate. She liked it 'tho, she was hinting she wouldn't mind having one like it!
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Edited 7/12/2009 12:55 am by Huck
I brought the gate over to show the h.o. (I was building it in my mom's garage), and to collect a progress payment. She was totally unimpressed. "yeah, that should work" was all she said.
I think she just wishes it were done. She's a real nervous-energy type person, and this is driving her nuts.
I tried to make the curve the inverse of the picket scallops, so that the curves flow together, and the rails of the gate line up with the fence rails.
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Edited 7/12/2009 1:42 am by Huck
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She was totally unimpressed. "yeah, that should work"
I think it'll work too. I know when making something like that it always toes the line of weather its worth all the work or not. I also know sometimes ya just do things to just to see if you can.
I think its exceptional and I'm totally impressed. Very nice. Heres to hoping some more work comes your way.
I know when making something like that it always toes the line of weather its worth all the work or not. I also know sometimes ya just do things to just to see if you can.
exactly. Thanks for the compliment. She'll appreciate it more over time, I'm sure. Just how people are. My mom and I got a good laugh over it.View Image
Huck, nice looking job. Simple, yet elegant. I'm curious about your choice of poplar for the post wraps. It's a prevalent wood around here, and was used a lot on out building sidings. Board and batten, and unfinished. After about 100 years, it does show some signs of end rot<G>Under cover, caulked and painted, it works well for trim that is protected, like an entry or porch. Did you seal the end grain?http://www.tvwsolar.com
We'll have a kid
Or maybe we'll rent one
He's got to be straight
We don't want a bent one
He'll drink his baby brew
From a big brass cup
Someday he may be president
If things loosen up
They didn't have much to choose from at the big box store, so I picked basically what they had. It was that or oak. The lower ends are sealed with termin-x, the upper ends are painted.View Image
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Edited 7/12/2009 10:03 am by Huck
That's a nice gate.I guess poplar is fine where you are, here it might last a year or two. I got a couple inches of rain just yesterday. I'd cruise craigslist for a bandsaw, you seem to like to do curves. There are some nice ones out there, but I would want an iron one. Some of the cheapie lightweights are not worth a flip.And our big boxes have pine, oak or poplar too. Take yer pick. That's why I buy a lot of plastic. Don't like it, but it won't rot.
"I tried to make the curve the inverse of the picket scallops, so that the curves flow together, and the rails of the gate line up with the fence rails."
That's the first thing I noticed. Looks good
Huck,
I like the gate! Could you elaborate a little more about free-handing the address? I think it is a very neat look, (and I'd like to copy that) but I envision my router running wild and ruining the thing in the last digit.
Also, maybe I missed it... but what species of wood are the 2x components of the gate? Looks reminiscent of redwood???
Thanks
Thanks. I pencilled the lettering (address) on first. Then, using my Bosch palm router set to about 3/16" depth, I just carefully followed the lines, trying to stay inside just a hair. I tried to pick a typeface that has a little "imperfection" as a part of the design, meaning its not a formal typeface. The boards are cedar, soft and easy to rout, so there's little danger of the router taking off. The Bosch palm router is made to hold with one hand, but I steadied it with the other hand. My job wasn't flawless, but that's part of the character of the design.
Looks reminiscent of redwood??? Hahaha. That's what the redwood you get in the stores these days is. Reminiscent of redwood.View Image
Huck,
Thanks for the reply. A few more questions-
Did you freehand the typeface, or did you use a stencil/template to lay it out?
I assume you are using a flush bottom router bit similar to the one used for mortising hinge plates- any further finishing required after the router? (i.e. sanding?)
Also, do you think your router technique would be feasible if you were routing all the way through the wood (different bit of course)?
As far as redwood-
The redwood we get in the stores these days is ...
Oh never mind, we don't get any ;). One of the 5 yards around me still carries some redwood stock and several others could order it, but they charge a premium. But it's not what is used to be.
It's interesting to me because I grew up in the Sacramento area in the early 80's, I remember my dad building two decks for our house using redwood. The fence we put around the yard was redwood 2x, 4x, and fenceboards- all redwood.
Cheap stuff back then and all red, vert. grain and very few knots, if any.
The last time I used redwood here, was probably 10+ years ago. The options then were 1x stock (although it was only 11/16) and there was a lot of blond in the wood. Now, what little 2x stock I have seem has a fair # of knots.
I still like the smell of the wood and even didn't mind how it would stain your hands working with it. Plus I am all in favor of anything that will naturally weather and not require staining.
Thanks for sharing
I did freehand the typeface. In fact, I kinda made it up, based on a few numerals I saw somewhere. But I was formally trained, and used to work, in the commercial art field. So working with typefaces comes naturally to me.
That said, it is far from perfect. It may not show up in the pictures, but the lines are a little wavy, and the thicknesses vary. The spacing between letters is unbalanced. I think it enhances the quirky nature of the typeface. For this one, I used my hinge-mortising bit, then just sanded lightly. I have to keep emphasizing, it is very imperfect. And a bit subtle - it doesn't jump right out at you.
When I did one for my house, I used a v-groove bit, and the typeface was a boring generic.
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Today's redwood is light colored, and knotty. It seems to be lacking the tight grain and deep tannin of the old redwoods I used to see years ago.
I don't know what wood is ideal for garden gates. Teak maybe? I'm sure it wouldn't be as forgiving! View Image
I'm impressed. Thanks for the thread Huck.