Pivoting Gate Hinge Great On Slopes

Pivoting Gate Hinge Great On Slopes FENCING Gates Donald Scholz has a 2-piece hinge that lets him swing a gate uphill or down without binding The All Level Hinge ALH lets Scholz attach a gate to a T-post and also gang gates for extra large equipment Most of all it makes opening and closing any gate easy “I needed a gate that would swing uphill or down ” says Scholz “With this hinge I can put a wheel on the end of the gate for easy opening and closing of even heavy gates ” He recommends 14-ga 1-in sq steel tubing for the male and female components of the ALH The male component is bolted to the gatepost end of the gate It consists of a vertical leg with a short arm perpendicular to the vertical at its halfway point Two lengths of steel tubing extend from top and bottom of the leg to the end of the arm forming two right triangles with a hole at the end of the arm The female component is a matching vertical leg for the gatepost It has a set of tabs at the halfway point and bracketing arms also made from tubular steel Holes in the tabs allow the gate end component to be pinned in place between the brackets creating a vertical pivot point “The length of the perpendicular arm determines how much the gate can pivot vertically ” says Scholz “The longer the arm the greater the gate can pivot ” The brackets on the female component are sized to match the length of the arm on the male They are designed to both reinforce the hinge joint and also to discourage livestock from attempting to crawl under or jump over the pivot point Two short lengths of pipe are welded to a 2-in length of angle iron that reinforces the back side of the vertical leg The receiver pipes accept either standard hinge bolts or an attachment leg Scholz devised The attachment is a vertical leg with 2 sets of pin receivers Each set is offset from the other with one positioned on the opposite side of the leg from the first Lengths of angle iron reinforce the leg The leg can be attached to a gatepost and then pinned to an ALH “With the leg pinned to the gatepost the gate can be swung a full 180° because both the leg and the gate hinge swing explains Scholz I use 3/4-in pins on the hinge pivot points When 2 gates on opposite posts don t provide a big enough gateway it can be expanded to allow a third gate ganged to one of the first two With wheels attached to the ganged gates one can be folded back on the other and the 2 gates easily wheeled into an open position even on a slope I can open 1 2 or 3 gates depending on what I am moving through the gateway says Scholz Scholz notes that 16-ft gates require heavy-duty posts often with braces With the ALH a standard wooden fence post or even a T-post can support a 20-ft gate For the T-post Scholz suggests welding short receiver pipes to a 2-in pipe and butt-welding the pipe to a flat steel base with a 2-in hole in the center Slide the pipe and base over a T-post and either an ALH or a leg attachment can be pinned to the pipe Scholz has used his ALH gates for about 4 years He is glad to share his ideas or would consider making hinges for those interested Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Donald Scholz 3757 West Prairie Rd Grand Island Neb 68803 ph 308 687-6430

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