Adventures in Woodworking Part 6: The Gate is DONE!

Finishing Up

I went into class last week fiercely determined to finish my gate. Previously I had started to mortise out my hinge, so I needed to finish that up. I couldn’t find a ¾” chisel sharp enough, so it was time to put my sharpening skills into action. Using the power sharpening system, I quickly improved the primary bevel and microbevel, as well as lapped the face of the tool.

Once it was good to go, I got to mortising my second hinge.I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong, but it seemed much more difficult to do than it had last week (more on that later).

Next, I attached my 3” hinges with ¾” screws using a power drill in 2/3 of the hinge holes. I was excited when I did this with relative ease, as I had previously struggled to do so.

After my hinges were attached, I noticed that one wasn’t sitting exactly flush with the rail. Because the piece of wood was quite narrow, Adam advised me to reattach it in the 3^rd hinge hole, squaring it up, and to use the pre-drilled hole for a longer screw to attach the piece to my gate.

Once my hinges were properly attached, I clamped down the gate and the rail, then used 2” screws to attach the pieces together, in addition to screwing in my 3^rd hinge hole.

Since my top rail piece had seen better days, I decided to re-make another piece. I grabbed my measuring tape and speed square to measure 30” in length, using the chop saw to make the cut. Next, I used the table saw to rip the piece down to 2 ½” in width.

Next, I cut a board that I will attach to my wall on which the gate will sit (Adam told me the name of this piece, but I can’t remember it for the life of me). I marked out where the hinges will sit, and got to mortising them out.

Adam came by while I was struggling with using the chisel again, and pointed out that I was using the chisel upside down. Ugh. That’s why it was so hard to do! Once I started using the tool properly, it was much easier to do.

Using ¾” screws again, I attached the hinge to my new piece. Then I put the hinge together, for a fully assembled gate!

As a finishing touch, I used a sanding block to quickly go over the whole gate and smooth over any rough edges.

And then I was finished! I am so incredibly proud that I finished it, and did it all by myself! It’s so cool to be able to say that I built this!

 

Quick Project & Next Week

Since I finished my gate with time to spare, I decided to use the remainder of my scrap lumber to start a new project. One of my classmates had made wooden signs, kind of like this:

I thought that it would be a quick and easy project, so I started up. I cut 4 pieces to 25” in length using the chop saw. Next, to make sure they sat flush against each other, I used the jointer planer on both edges of each piece.

Next week, I will use wood glue and clamps to attach the pieces. I’ll built a small support beam against the top and the bottom, and then be done!

I also have to decide what my next project will be. Do you have any ideas? Maybe something a little less ambitious than a baby gate! Comment below and let me know what you think it should be!

A Little End Note

It’s been so exciting stepping out my comfort zone and trying something new. It was absolutely fulfilling to complete my first solo project; to look at this gate and know that I have built it by myself.

It’s also amazing to me that people have chosen to follow along on my journey and to share in these new experiences. To everyone reading- thanks for the support! I really appreciate it and can’t wait to share my next project with you. (Ps. Hi Marissa!)