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The Garden Gate

Click on any picture to see a larger version.

Figure 3 - A quick, far-less-than-perfect, but unbelievably fun and relaxing project

Sometimes a woodworking project is just flat-out fun and easy, and serves as a delectable break from all those meticulous exacting projects to which we woodworkers seem to be drawn. Occasionally we just need to take a break from dovetails and mortises. Building our garden fence gate was just such a project for me.

Figure 4 - With three pieces of wood stacked together it is easy to "build up" either a mortise or a tenon

A few years back I stacked up some leftover cedar and wrapped it tightly with shrink wrap. Surely in that big bundle was enough wood for a gate, so I lugged the package out and began to cut the shrink wrap. Before I could finish cutting the plastic, the wood literally exploded from the package like a jumbled pile of Ramen noodles, and my heart sank. Getting enough straight wood out of that mess would be daunting. But I persevered.

Figure 5 - In practical use, this is what the "built up" mortise and tenon joint looks like

With some careful and judicious culling, cutting, and jointing, I was able to salvage enough of the jumble to get me through the project… if I was very careful. I ripped a whole bunch of the stock to the same width and decided to build up the gate using three pieces to obtain the thickness needed. The advantage of tripling up the wood lies first in what I call the "plywood effect." Three layers of wood are more likely to remain flat and straight, regardless of the grain direction. Another advantage is that three layers of wood sandwiched together allowed me to replicate a mortise and tenon joint without actually cutting mortises or tenons. A picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look at the photo (Figure 5) and the drawing (Figure 4) and you can see how the primary joints were constructed.

Figure 6 - Small pieces are used to position and attach the vertical "mission-style" slats... quick and easy!

Likewise, I cut short pieces and "filled in" around the vertical mission-look-alike bottom vertical slats. The whole thing was put together with nary a drop of glue, but 18 gauge finishing nails, instead, shot from a gun. The hinges were from a scrap heap of hardware. They were too long but I bent them over at the tip and they are working fine.

Culling through the cedar, keeping the best, figuring out how to cut some pretty twisty wood safely, and finally getting pieces to the final sizes I needed took more time than designing or building the gate. Actual design, final cutting to size, and assembly only took an hour or so. All total, I had about 5 enjoyable hours invested, not a penny in lumber or hardware, nor a moment of stress or consternation. It was a thoroughly enjoyable bit of sloppy shop time… and I think we all need that sometimes.

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Steven Johnson is retired from an almost 30-year career selling medical equipment and supplies, and now enjoys improving his shop, his skills, and his designs on a full time basis (although he says home improvement projects and furniture building have been hobbies for most of his adult life). Steven can be reached directly via email at sjohnson@downtoearthwoodworking.com

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