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Project Information

This is a job I pulled out of the blue as I had some wood for sale and was asked about making a gate from a buyer

He sent me some images of what he wanted along with modifications

A queenslander is a historic home build from almost all wood and sits on wooden stumps along with generally a huge block of land of which is a target for developers.

I started off in Jan 2021 with some suggested materials



once that was agreed with the transfer of money went ahead and I commenced work



I had to use my RAD Radial Arm Drill to cut the mortises as my HCM Hollow Chisel Mortiser was too small and not capable of holding 150 mm wide material, first regret

which meant lots of hand chisel work later 2nd regret

The tenons were table saw jobs an d assembly due to its huge size was on the concrete floor of my garage. 3rd regret



working away and scratching my head as how it would all go together was a challenge in its self 4th Regret

The lower panels were requested to be hardwood VJs so I had to fabricate them as custom from hardwood flooring.





I cut all the manageable rabbits on my shaper and due to its low speed experienced quite a lot of chip out as an result

trying to work on the floor at my age was proving to be a killer so I fabricated an over size top for mt work table

After many dry assemblies and then determining the jig saw puzzle I eventually succeeded in completing it.

It weight a ton and I constantly found myself thinking of giving up and refunding his part payment.

Then add falling off my ute came along, followed closely by my sons 100 ebikes work in Sydney and ain transit trip to antmans farm was all coordinated in the work.

The customer then gave me the hurry up mid march and then along came all the rain, so again a full refund came to mind.

Eventually I goterdun and the result was not as neat as I could do but what the heck its only a gate and it will get painted white anyway.

So that's my tale of woe and yet another in this case monster project completed.

Most of the joints closed up nicely but I added Wood filler to tidy up the gaps and keep water out, finishing sanding with a few sheets of Abranet 80 g and a coat of sanding sealer.

I then made the call to the customer to "come get some" ... he had better bring a mate as its bloody heavy!
Already crushed a finger!

How I moved it about on my own,? I used a floor skate

Timber in the frame is Swamp gum and Yellow stringy bark VJ's the rest is unknown but rest assured it's some Auzzie hardwood.

How the gate came about:

Concept drawings development

The original Idea:-.



Then the owners Sketch:-



and finally my build sketch:-

Gallery

Comments

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141 Posts
Well done Rob,
Great job, it looks really good.

Bob
 

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795 Posts
Superb that Rob, really nice job mate.
Great design too, well built with all those mortise and tenons.
Great job, authentic for a Queensland style house, hard to get guys to do joinery like that in Aus these days.
Really Nice work.
Regards Anthony
 

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G'day Rob, The gate looks magnificent, but I must say the old Queenslander I grew up in, in the 1960's in Northgate never had a timber fence or such a beaut timber gate.
 

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I have to mirror Anthony - really impressed with quite the build.
sorry about your finger
 

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5,101 Posts
Nice looking gate, and yes looks heavy
 

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Great looking gate. Seems sad that it will be painted as I think it looks so nice as it is.
 

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Not only well done but it looks great. Better looking than my chain link fence gates.
 

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I can empathize with considering refunding the partial payment. Only, my project did result in a refund to the client.

Anyway, being from 'up over', I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this gate. What a magnificent job, and I agree with BB1….it's sad it'll get painted over.

TZH
 

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Too pretty to paint… Beautiful job Rob!
 

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All the compliments have been used up, so I'll just echo 1943..
I have to mirror Anthony …
- recycle1943

... I cut all the manageable rabbits…
... Already crushed a finger!
- robscastle
You going soft on us rc, no new gory pictures of your animal abuse and self mutilation.

Talking about gates, did you fence the stuff you lifted from antman's farm?

How'd you balance those tools in the boat, or did the floods have pity on your injuries?
 

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That is an absolutely beautiful gate. Personally, I think it is a shame to pain it white, but I suppose it should match the fence :)
 

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Oh no!!!! Paint? This looks too good to cover up with paint Rob! But it's not my call and I can't see it from my house!
Nice mortise and tendon work. The gate looks well built and should last a few life times if treated well. I built one similar! posted here someplace!
 

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thats some real nice work buddy i think the duck is a little jealous maybe.yeah i sure wouldn't paint that.if you do im sure tony would love to help out,he's pretty good at painting these days lol.
 

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Well the gate has just left the building, the customer was a little taken back by the size and mass
Otherwise,

Time to celebrate

 

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Well the gate has just left the building, the customer was a little taken back by the size and mass
Otherwise,

Time to celebrate



- robscastle
that looks pretty tasty rc.save me some im on the way to the airport,i should be their in about 24 hrs or so.
 

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Well the gate has just left the building,...
- robscastle
Did you guys name it Elvis?

BTW, all that's missing from your banquet is a jar of Vegemite!
 
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