canman,
First, I have never actually built a gate (every time I start to think about it, the amount of metal involved ends the thought quickly), but I have read the CoSIRA book on fences and gates. From what I have found there, the individual pieces of the gate do not have to be that elaborate or difficult to forge. The major effort is in assembly, particularly for those that use forge-welded collars.
If you can weld well enough that the welds don't have to be hidden, then your gate project can go very quickly. Now all you need is a design and a few template to make sure the pieces are forged to the correct size.