Wisp Woods

Featured Project - Cedar Gate.

Ben (the same Ben from Ben's Kitchen Cabinet, see earlier post) from Volga asked me to build him a new gate to replace the one that his "kindly, civil servant" meter man tore off his fence last winter. Since I was apparently going up against someone with little respect for other people property, I knew I had to build something that was tough, but I also wanted it to have some extra special touches.

We loaded up the broken old gate into the back of my truck along with a stack of cedar 2x4s Ben had already purchased. I unfortunately got the flu the next day and didn't feel well enough to work on the gate for about a week. This gave me time to read up on construction methods to make this project great, a great gate, that's right!

I pulled from my library the following books:

Build it Better Yourself - A rather thick book from the 1970s DIY era.

Outdoor Projects - Includes many outdoor door designs.

and

How to build a Timber Frame House - There are so many wicked strong joints in this book.

Here are some pics of the finished project.

Here is the front of the gate.

Note the gentle sweep to the top edge of the planking.

This detail was selected from three Google Sketchup models

that I created and sent to Ben for possible design options.

Good pick, Ben! I really like it.

And this is the back, showing the structure. Tougher than a brick wall, yet much lighter. Good Wood, Good Design.

Cross bracing, the secret that holds timber framed houses together. These braces will help the gate resist both compression and racking forces.

No butt joints here, everything is accurately jointed and stainless steel screwed! Another excellent choice by my man Ben!

Enjoy!

And look closely, please.

David J. Ulschmid
Designer / Craftsman
~ Wisp Woods ~
Arlington, SD 57212

wispwoods@gmail.com