Gate Time

So it begins. The season of building gates is upon us. First up was a series of crowding gates for the working pen back home. I can be accused of a lot, but not for building light. 

These bad boys will work together to sort, divide space, and crowd cattle for loading.

Little brings me more joy than a string of 2 3/8" sitting outside the door. The wobblier the better. Gives life character. 

Plan your work and work your plan. I spent my one free day this week working in the shop. Better use it wisely if I wanted to get these done by Christmas. 

Saddle cuts are the way to go. What's cool, if you plan ahead you can use the same cut for the next joint of pipe. 

Giddy up. 

Framework cut. 

Here's a little trick I learned years ago. To hold the pipe in place, wrap some tie-down straps around it. Keeps it snug while still giving you some wiggle room. 

Always pull a diagonal to make sure you are square.

Once welded on the one side, we stood it up to weld the rest. 

Even old rusty, bent up pipe can still be put together right. 

Works for me. 

Then for the filler. This 1 1/4" water pipe came from my buddy Monte in Gillette. I'm not a big fan of galvanized, but you work with what you got. This size of pipe will be strong for any pushback it may receive. Thanks Monte! 

First step was the verticals. 

Then the horizontals. What's fun about working with smaller pipe and a mig welder, you can get away without saddling the pipe. Just butt it up and weld away. 

Should work. We built three of these. Definitely heavy. The post they mount to is strong. I'm just wondering how much friction they will draw when we go to swing. Only one way to find out. Let's ranch!