| Project by Bob Babcock | posted 529 days ago | 745 views | 3 times favorited | 22 comments | ![]() |
I built these gates and arbor 8 years ago with my daughter as part of a larger project to build a water garden she designed (she was 13 at the time, precocious little bugger). It’s amazing how well they have held up…they are just plain white pine.
Strangely enough the folks at Sunset books have just recently asked if they can include it in a new DIY book coming out this summer….not too shabby for my 1st serious project. That and all the response and comments I’ve gotten (both here and elsewhere) on my Lyptus gates that I built for my brother have made me decide to start a business doing site furnishings, decks, fences, gates,pergolas…etc…
These are my favorite kind of woodworking projects so even if it never makes a lot of money it will still be fun.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
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22 comments so far
jockmike2
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4129 posts in 728 days
posted 529 days ago
Nice looking arbor and gate. I hope my wife don’t see this. Shes been wanting those same things for years. Nice. jockmike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 529 days ago
and “I” DID see it…. oh Rick!!! :D
Magnificent. I was actually just looking thru a book about trellis and arbors. I haven’t decided exactly what I want (or where) but I WILL get one!!!
Congrats on the well-earned honour of being asked to be included in a book. Bravo
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 529 days ago
Made of willow Debbie? lol
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 529 days ago
oh thanks.. I hadn’t thought of that!! hahaha.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
CharlieM1958
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4170 posts in 700 days
posted 529 days ago
Beautiful project.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Phil Brown
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218 posts in 540 days
posted 529 days ago
I have a water garden dug in the back yard. It sure would look nicer with one of your arbours in front.
-- Phil Brown, Ontario
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 529 days ago
There is a funny story to the arbor, gates, and fence.
We weren’t originally going to include a fence. My concern was about our dog….a black lab/shepard mutt that loves the water. I could just see her diving in and her claws tearing the liner. So we decided on a fence…Now we had to make the whole garden bigger or it would look silly in a fence….so now we have three times the amount of work to do. No problem..just keep plugging away.
We finally get it done…..we go inside, shut the gate…..the dog comes over and opens the gate and walks in….she actually pawed the latch to spring it open. To this day I have no idea where she learned that trick.
She has never gone in the water, just uses it as a big drinking bowl…she even has her own spot she has dug out in one corner under the trees to keep cool. I frequently will find her and the cat both sleeping in there.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
woodspar
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684 posts in 581 days
posted 528 days ago
Really nice Bob. I would like to make one like this for my yard. It is amazing what dogs can do.
-- John
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 528 days ago
that is funny…. extra work and the dog just walks in hahaha
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 528 days ago
Beautiful gate, & yard.
You don’t need a doggy door on your house then , but maybe you don’t trust him with a key. LOL
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Chip
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1058 posts in 574 days
posted 524 days ago
Beautiful work Bob. What more can you say about outstanding craftsmanship like this. Thanks a lot for sharing.
-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.
LJ
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75 posts in 549 days
posted 474 days ago
Bob,
Beautiful! The arch is exquisite, especially having a double gate.
I too have done much outdoor construction. We’ll need to share stories.
-- Peace, LJ http://mysite.verizon.net/biznxgtf/4Goldens.org
mot
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4837 posts in 518 days
posted 474 days ago
I’m glad this came around in Pulse! That’s some really nice looking work, Bob!
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 471 days ago
Thanks all. This was one of my favorite projects. My daughter and I had a great time doing it. It’s a special place. If you sit quietly in the stone chair a steady parade of birds come in to drink and bathe. Once the flowers start blooming the hummingbirds are always in there. With the sounds of the waterfalls it’s a nice place to get away from it all…even briefly.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Damian Penney
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675 posts in 473 days
posted 468 days ago
Agree with all the above, lovely :)
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
MsDebbieP
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11909 posts in 642 days
posted 467 days ago
ditto!
(again)
Love it; love it; love it… more and more and more
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Dick, & Barb Cain
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5047 posts in 781 days
posted 455 days ago
Do you have a picture of the arbor with the flowers in bloom?
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 454 days ago
I’ll have to get one Dick. The trumpet vines are just starting to open. I’ll see if I can get some with the hummingbirds in there. We always have a number of them. The wisteria have gone by. We didn’t have many blooms this year since I pruned it pretty hard last year. It looks completely different in the summer. The arbor is in deep shade from the heavy canopy of vines.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
woodboxman
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30 posts in 451 days
posted 440 days ago
i like that arbor and gate. very stylish.My german shorthair would just jump throigh the hole..
-- Roy "Woodboxman" Coos Bay, Oregon
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 440 days ago
Dick…here are some pictures from today….I was watching the hummingbirds from my office window and went out to get a picture….impossible…...they are just so quick and won’t let me close.
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org
Roz
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260 posts in 268 days
posted 193 days ago
Wow, I love this gate! Thanks for alerting me to your story. I too like building gates and fencing as much as any other woodworking. I am going to put an arched arbor over one other gate this year. I hope it turns out as nice as this one. Did you decide to do this as a business? If so, How did it work out?
-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."
Bob Babcock
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1807 posts in 568 days
posted 191 days ago
Thanks.
No…I haven’t started doing it as a business. Best laid plans and all….just too busy with regular job, and life in general. I also thought about taking something I enjoy and turning it into something I HAVE to do. Not sure its the best idea.
I have built gates for others. The gate I built for my brother has brought a number of unexpected but very nice benefits with it. Not the least of which was going to Maui to install it. I was also fortunate to win last summers LJ challenge with it.
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/899
-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org