LastRonin Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37794-hinge-closeup/ http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/37793-overall-gate-view/ We needed a new gate in our privacy fence... the box store hinges were way pricy and kinda puny looking. So I decided to make my own. Well at least the half that goes on the gate. For the fence it seemed best to use the store-bought screw-in pintles.(hope that's the right term) They are made from 'reclaimed' plow bracing straps... started out about 1 1/4" wide, 1/4" thick and 12" long (after hot-cutting the eyeholes off the ends) Edit: That's the old section of fence visible through the gaps. It was a different pattern than what we now have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 It looks like your pintles are in end grain. Screws in end grain are a very weak fastener! I would have used hand wrought spike pintles... much stronger in end grain... stronger in any other configuration too! With a heavy gate like that you may need to rework the top pintle especially. Drill and cross pin with some epoxy as well might fix it. Otherwise you can make a strap pintle that would run parallel to the fence stringers and fasten into the side grain. Even as you have them the hinges look a tad on the skimpy side to my eye as well. Fun project! I hope it works well as you have it but I am of the STOUT school of carpentry... hence my suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Looks pretty good. Yeah, screwing into end grain isn't good for strength, a kid swinging on the gate is likely to pull it right out. Making another strap that lays along the fence beam will be a lot stronger and not hard to make. A good practice piece actually. If, however you want to use the screw in pintles, mix some epoxy and thin it with xylene a little, you don't want it warm syrup thin, just not putty thick. Shove some epoxy in the hole, dip the screw and screw it in. When the xylene evaporates out the epoxy will set and the only way you'll get the pintle screw out is by destroying that end of the board. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Thanks for the input Bigfootnampa and Frosty. It may look like the pintles are in the end grain of the cross supports, but they are predrilled and screwed into the 4x4 post on the diagonal. The gate itself is about 42" x 70". I'm not a little kid (43, 6'2" and 252#), and I hung on the end of the gate to test it... no sag or pull-out. For the next ones I do, I'm going to use heavier and longer stock since it'll be a wider gate. AND I plan to make strap pintles for them. Crossing my fingers on getting the forge welds right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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