Nifty Way To Hang A Heavy Gate

Nifty Way To Hang A Heavy Gate FENCING Gates Hanging a heavy farm gate is never easy especially one made with home sawn timber We recently spotted this gate hanging “secret” in an issue of Small Farmer’s Journal Farm gates made with native lumber are heavy especially when they stretch to 14 ft The best strap hinges didn’t hold nor did a number of other methods Eventually the farmer J Eric Turner came up with a gate that pivoted on a pipe and was hinged to the top of the gate post He dug a square hole about 6 in out from the gate post and directly in the gateway He filled it with concrete to secure a 3/4-in pipe leaving about 4 in sticking out of the concrete Turner used a 4 by 4 for the gate post end of the gate panel He cut it long so it extended well beyond the height of the gate panel He then attached a brace from the top of the 4 by 4 to the opposing lower corner of the panel With the 4 by 4 resting on the pipe Turner created a hinge point near the top of the gate post After rounding the 4 by 4 he wrapped it with a piece of steel bent to fit and nailed the ends to the gate post While he used a piece of wagon wheel tire any steel strap should do The key here is for the 4 by 4 to turn freely inside the strap The weight of the gate rests mainly on the pipe instead of on hinges While some weight pulls on the upper hinging strap it is significantly less than with standard hinges The extra-long brace helps keep the gate from sagging across its length Turner’s gate tips originally appeared in Small Farmer’s Journal Home & Shop Companion #73 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Small Farmer’s Journal P O Box 1627 Sisters Ore 97759 ph 541 549-2064; toll free 800 876-2893; agrarian@smallfarmersjournal com; www smallfarmersjournal com

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