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59K views 37 replies 16 participants last post by  newTim 
#1 ·
My First Commission

Well the Garden Gate business has picked up. Actually it had nowhere to go but up as this is my first commission. I won't have to go very far to deliver it either as it is going in right next door to my Garden Gate II. I thought I'd use part of the long weekend to get a good start on the project. I've found that now that I've done a couple of them I can really crank one out. And since I just finished the patina panel for the bed last weekend along with twenty or so practice tiles, I should be all set with a full tank of propane and all the chemicals mixed, staged, and ready to go. Still it is a good idea to start with Sketchup. It doesn't take much time to design and helps visualize the build. You can check out both the Gate I Blog the Gate II Blog Series at these links.

My neighbor's gate will be to the left of this one.









At 40" it will be about 3" wider than mine but a little shorter. They should balance out okay since her side is a little higher. It will also be 2" thick like the first gate on the other side of my house. I made the second gate 1 1/2" and didn't like it as much. The 2" takes a little more work on the front end laminating and milling but it is no harder after that.



 
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#4 ·
Here's a nod to David Marks

In his great series of woodworking shows there was one thing David did over and over that got some gentle teasing around the web. Can you tell which photo depicts this?

Before I cut the mortises for the stiles and top/bottom rails I have to first make up the arch assembly. Through Sketchup I calculated that two boards cut on 12 degree angles would work. I'm still looking for a calculator, table, or formula that allows some what-if-ing of various dimensions to calculate various sized arched segments. Until then I'll have to stick with Sketchup and experimenting with best fits (see Blog 1 in this series).

First I had to laminate some 2x stock which is really 1 1/2" with some 1x stock which is about 3/4" to make up some 2" thick boards. I cut the two pieces that make the arch segment a little oversize and clamped them together to mark the mortises. I used a 3/8" bit and set the distance from the guide fence using a 7/16" drill bit. I've learned the fastest and most accurate method is to cut the mortises then rip or resaw some stock then round the edges on the routher table to fit the mortise. I also use some chisels to clean out and smooth the walls of each mortise. Next will be the plumb cuts.











 
#8 ·
Plumbers

So now that I'm on my third gate, and, including my arched bed my fourth or fifth or sixth plumb cut, I've found that the quickest and most accurate way to make the sides of the arch parallel to the sides of the bottom is to use the bottom rail as a guide. First I cut the bottom rail to width, in this case 28" (the stiles are 6" each for a total width of 40", I hope). I then place the bottom rail on the cutoff sled and bump it up against the blade. Then I line up the middle of the arch with the middle of the bottom rail making sure the two lines are, well, plumb. I clamp the bottom rail to the sled then clamp the arch rail to the bottom rail. Now, assuming the blade is 90 degrees to the table and square to the sled everything should work out just fine.





After making the first cut I leave the bottom rail in place and clamped to the sled, then I flip the arch rail and line up the right sides so they are flush. I then reset the clamp of the arch to the bottom rail and cut the other side.





Viola! I works just fine and is very safe. Next step is to cut the curves in the arch.
 
#13 ·
Use a part to cut a part

Just like with the plumb cut it is easier and more accurate to use the bottom rail as a guide to cut the arch rail. Here I use the bottom rail as a support for the swing arm to cut the curve in the arch rail. I start by lining up the two stiles with the rails so they are parallel. I have already marked a centerpoint on the bottom rail and positioned it 30" or so from the top of the top rail. Since I'm using the Milescraft circle guide it is very easy to reposition the swing arm so that the bottom or inside of the router bit cuts the maximum arch on the outside of the top rail and stiles.





I have found that even a shallow cut with the router puts significant pressure on the bit and the whole setup which raises the possibility of a slip which would then have to be fixed. Since I'm using 2" thick stock I decided not to get greedy with the router and settled on cutting a channel that I can then use to guide a flush trim bit on the router table to finish the cut (see below).

I usually cut the outside arch first then while the top and bottom are securely clamped, I reposition the swing arm to cut the inside or bottom arch with the outside or top of the router bit and move the stiles aside (actually I use one of them for support) and cut the inside arch. Remember you want to use the same pivot point for both arches so the inside radius will be a little steeper than the outside radius. See the blogs on Gate I or II or search 'segmented arches' to get whole enchilada.





I use a jigsaw to cut along the inside of the channel then trim the pieces up using a large flush trim bit. Works great and you get a smooth and accurate result. It is a little extra work than trying to cut through with the swing arm setup, but I think it is worth it.

 
#17 ·
One good mortise deserves a tenon

The stiles and rails are connected with pairs of tenons. Or is it mortises? Or morties? Yuk yuk… yeah well you use the same set up for the side mortises as you use to make the arch. Call it the lazy man's way to woodworking. Actually I went ahead and cut the mortises in the stiles and bottom rail while the glue was drying on the arch. Then all I had to do was four quick mortises on the sides of the arch and the gate frame was ready for glue up.

There are 20 mortises in all (5 joints, 4 mortises/joint, 10 tenons). It didn't seem like that many until I counted them all up. Mortises sure add up fast. They are all about 1 1/2" deep so I cut the tenons a little shy of 3", cleaned up the mortises with some chisels and used Tightbond III glue to put the frame together.





 
#19 ·
The Outer Laminates

Always experimenting, so this time around I thought I'd try to laminate some strips across the top of the arch. Three reasons, not necessarily good reasons, but reasons alll the same. One Is to cover the exposed endgrain at the top of the stiles. Another is to try to match the inner laminate that is used to hold the panel in place, the third is to… I forgot what the third reason is.

I ripped some strips on the tablesaw and ran them through the drum sander keeping the grain match with chalk triangles. Then I glued them up just like a cutting board and clamped the stack atop the arch. I clamped some scrap ply on the sides so I could clamp down the ends on an angle. I found that by positioning the clamp on the outside edge I was able to get really good pressure down on the corner.







I used a router to trim the laminate flush with the arch. The result was pretty good, and it looks even better with some sanding and a nice rounded edge.



Oh yeah, the third reason, I remember now, is to add width to the arch to better match the rest of the frame. Next up, The Inner Laminates.
 
#20 ·
The inner laminates

On my first gate the panel was held in place with stays based on the David Marks project. The second gate used rabbet like a picture frame. For this project I decided to go back to the stays. They are not hard to make as you can use the gate itself as a form. While I was prepping the stock for the outer laminates I made an extra set for the inner laminates. The only trick is the measure the length of the inner arch. I used a flex tape, but could have used a string or other flexible item and used that to measure. Since the inner laminate sits between two 3/4" stiles, you've got 1 1/2" to work with. I cut these about 1/2" short to have some play on both ends. Again the glue up is pretty straighforward, just like cutting boards or any other lamination. Just be sure not to glue the top of the lamination so it doesn't accidentally get glued to the arch.





 
#23 ·
Panel Fit

Last time around I used the inner arch to form the inner laminate which will be used to hold the panel in place. The gate is 2" thick and I decided to make the front stays 3/4" thick. I ripped a length off the curved laminate on the bandsaw and ripped some 3/4"x1" stock on the table saw for the side and bottom stays. I used an angle guage to transfer the angle of the corner of the arch to the miter guage on the table saw (the way David Marks did on his gate) and cut the angle for the vertical stays. I then trimmed them to length with a square cut on the bottom and glued them in place. I then trimmed the arch laminate and bottom stays to fit between the side stays and glued them up. I will repeat the process on the back to hold the panel in place.





With the front says in place I could then do some final trimming on the panel and do a test fit.



We're supposed to get some more rain in the Sacramento area so I may not be able to do the patina this weekend. But if I can it won't take very long. Still I have to insert a cross rail in the back and do some more sanding, and there are always cutting boards and other projects, and oh yeah, a room to paint.

 
#25 ·
Patina

Well with all the rain days and other projects I finally got some sunshine and time to apply the patina. It only takes about 15 minutes once you have the right setup. Like most things I'm learning that less is more. Less pre-heat, less chemical, and less flame. I held the torch a couple feet back from the copper and let the chemical set a few seconds before applying some more heat/flame; again staying back a couple of feet and moving the torch. The panel sat in the sun for about an hour. Tomorrow I'll let it sit in the morning sun and then will try to set the patina with Permalac. My neighbor/customer really liked it so I'll see if I can control the color.








 
#30 ·
Crossbeam

I've been finishing up project so I am a little late updating the blog, but the entries are going to come fast and furious now. And maybe I will once again secure the bottom spot on the most blogs list. So this gate is going to be attached to a steel tube frame and needs a crossbeam along the top. I could have cut this part several steps ago but it just seemed to work out this way. I learned awhile ago that it is easier to rip the beam to fit the dado just like cutting a tenon to fit a mortise. Also, by doing it in this order, I was able to place the panel in the frame and set the depth of cut so the crossbeam would press against it. This, along with the inner stays, keep the panel in place.









 
#31 ·
Final Touches

Just some finishing touches before the big installation. The back of the panel gets some flat black paint. We stripped the old fence and ran the boards through the planer before applying a coat of oil. I used the same oil on the gate before final assembly then sprayed a couple coats of lacquer. I thought I'd make use of a new shop cabinet I built which will store all my finishing supplies. And oh yeah, last weekend I cut the weeds.







 
#33 ·
Project Wrap Up

Sure you can look through the rest of this blog, or do a search on the project page, but to make life a little easier here's a summary of the project from finish to design. I was real happy with the way this gate turned out and, more importantly, so was my neighbor who paid for it.























 
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