Field Gate

[MAV]

Hi everyone

Does anybody has a nice construction plan on how to build a field gate? You know the ones made in England. (something like this

alot. Vincent

[Swingman]

[none]

Swingman,

Look closely at the picture again - it can't be made the way it's depicted - that or my eyeballs need adjusting. Look at the top rail and see where the cross-brace abuts to the top rail, then look at the how the braces are fastened in the center of the top rail.

Also, I doubt that a gate that long made out of wood (heavy) would not be sagging on the ground in short order without some serious method of keeping the top rail under tension.

The OP could look at the cattle gates for some ideas if his gate needs to be that long.

Bob S.

[Swingman]

Your eyeballs need adjusting.

[J T]

Wed, Feb 15, 2006, 9:25am (EST-1) [e-mail] (Swingman) doth telleth it like it is: Your eyeballs need adjusting.

LOL

If the guy still needs plans, I've posted some in the past, including some similar to that - check the archives. Or, google will turn up plans in a minute or so, free plans to boot.

JOAT I'm busy now, can I ignore you some other time?

[Gary in Virginia]

If you are in the US, check with you local cooperative extension office.

gary in Virginia

[Joe Barta]

That picture is pretty clear. What do you need "plans" for? What might be in plans that you couldn't determine from the picture?

Joe Barta

[Devon Miller]

The top rail is actually the same width as the side posts and the diagonals and other cross pieces are much narrower. The diagonals go

*into* the top rail, not behind it.

[Brynk]

I built a few w/ 2x6's The rails were sandwiched between double posts to replicate a mortised appearance (like you see on the PVC fencing I have an AutoCAD layout (dwg) I can post to abpw A pic too.....somewhere

They are heavy. My largest was over 8 ft

Barry

[Andy Dingley]

Because you wanted to do it right, not a flimsy abomination like the picture ?

No plans offhand (I'll look) - but there's a lot of subtlety to making a good gate and that one just isn't it. Nice illustration in Rose's "Village Carpenter"

of a classically styled jowled gate (a good journeyman's day's work to make) and that's also a delightful book.

Gates are hung from a gatepost, so they're inherently asymmetric. They also _hang_, so the forces are tensile forces acting diagonally downwards away from the post. The design and bracing should take this into account. Diamond symmetry like the illustration is for bracing riveted iron towers, not wooden gates. Almost everything about that picture is wrong: the symmetry, the use of rivets, not tenons. the equal weight of the posts and frame members adjacent to them, and most of all the expectation that timber can be joined in any sort of crossing joint and be expected to be a strong joint.

Incidentally "Handy Farm Devices" will probably be recommended as a book, but happens to be poor on gates (easy rather than good).

Here are some better (but not perfect) ideas

vertical frame member alongside the hinges, higher than the main gate. Big diagonal down from this to the lower rail about 3/4+ of the span outwards. The diagonal doesn't (and shouldn't) go right to the top of the vertical though. Forget the top rail - that's just for leaning on and climbing over, it's the diagonal that's the real strength of this gate. The horizontal slats are attached _to_ the diagonal and the frame, the diagonal isn't added to them later as an after thought. On a big or tall gate, add a second diagonal beneath the main diagonal at near right angles to it and going down to the bottom hinge-side corner (liek the juniperfencing gate).

All major joints should be tee joints and mortice and tenoned. If you can't do this, add iron straps. Right angles are strongest, but skewed is OK (harder to cut though).

[MAV]

Thanks for the comments.

Ok, you can determine alot from the photo. But I would be a great help to have a plan of somekind as a guidence. So Barry if you are willing to post the CAd file, I would appriciate it alot.

Thanks Vincent

"Brynk" schreef in bericht news:OKLIf.53961$ [e-mail]...

[Brynk]

I did

alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking

[MAV]

Thanks for the help

Vincent

"Brynk" schreef in bericht news:vsMIf.70454$K% [e-mail]...