Well, our little guy is mobile, and we wanted to keep him confined to the open living room/kitchen area so he is kept in plain sight (and away from the stairs…). I didn’t really want to buy a crappy plastic gate so I sketched a few up and decided to give it a shot. This is my first real woodworking project that has a purpose and ended up in our home.

The gate is constructed of 3/4” red oak using dowels and titebond 2. I used the sweet little doweling jig that my friend Kurt made me, which works awesome for rail and stile type construction like this.

I relieved each edge with a 1/8” roundover bit on the router table, including the top of the stiles which I think gives it a nicer look.

The gate itself slides down into two grooves routed into boards that are attached to the walls on either side of the hallway.

I sanded to 220 and finished it with 3 coats of wipe-on poly to match our wood floors.

I still have to finish plugging the holes that I counter bored with a 3/8” bit on my drill press, but overall the gate is functional, super solid and looks a lot nicer than a throw-away plastic one you’d get at walmart IMO. This is my first project so any feedback is welcome!