| Project by Proclamator | posted 784 days ago | 791 views | 3 times favorited | 11 comments |  |
 |
My wife raises AKC Toy Pomeranians and likes to keep them in certain areas of the house.
She came to me with that one question that manipulates woodworkers, “Can you build me a gate, or should I buy one?” What could I do but accept the challenge.
The gate is made out of Old, straight grained, clear, Douglas Fir.
We had to remove the old wooden bleachers from a high school gym to make room for new metal ones.
The wood we removed was 50 year old straight, clear, Douglas Fir that was a full 4/4, and some 5/4. There were boards from 8’ to 16’ long, and up to 12” wide. I was able to get about 300 BF before it was hauled away to the landfill.
The gate is finished clear. The curved top rail is laminated from thin strips and the rest of the gate is milled to the sizes I needed.
I have other projects made out of this same wood that I will post as I get the opportunity.
-- Dave Idaho
11 comments so far
Dorje
home | projects | blog
1768 posts in 889 days
posted 784 days ago
I love the warmth and tone of the fir. Great looking project you have here. You’re fortunate to be able to get this wood at no cost! I’ve paid close to retail board foot and linear foot prices on this same type of material! (there have also been some good deals along the way!)..
Great Work!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
Brad_Nailor
home | projects | blog
1214 posts in 850 days
posted 784 days ago
That is beautiful! I love vertical grain fir, and you are soo lucky that you got to grab 300 BF of it for free…lots of great projects sitting in that pile! Great job, quality craftsmanship…I also like the fact that you didn’t put a stain on it. I am a firm believer in letting the wood speak!
-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"
CharlieM1958
home | projects | blog
7608 posts in 1111 days
posted 784 days ago
Fantastic piece of craftsmanship!
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
bryano
home | projects | blog
546 posts in 826 days
posted 784 days ago
agreat craftsmanship and a beaut. Its great you were able to use reclaimed wood for this project. good save, I hate to see wood go to a landfill.
-- bryano
jockmike2
home | projects | blog
7299 posts in 1139 days
posted 784 days ago
Nice looking gate and fence. That fir is gorgeous, you just don’t see it that straight grained and that long today huh? jockmike
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
14161 posts in 1053 days
posted 784 days ago
this is beautiful … so warm, so soft, so … beautiful. Very precious.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
TomFran
home | projects | blog
2513 posts in 887 days
posted 784 days ago
Beautiful work! Pretty fortunate to get such nice “free” wood! And, you haven’t wasted it, but put it to good use. Too bad you didn’t get all that went to the landfill too.
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
clieb91
home | projects | blog
683 posts in 828 days
posted 784 days ago
Dave a great looking gate. I had been looking around for something to purchase a few months ago as my daughter just started walking. This looks better then anything I saw available. Great use of that wood.
-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."
WayneC
home | projects | blog
5969 posts in 990 days
posted 784 days ago
Much nicer than the childs gate we use to control the dogs…
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov
Jojo
home | projects | blog
580 posts in 865 days
posted 784 days ago
Nice gates Dave.
Dorje you gotta make a trip to the Peninsula, there’s plenty of Douglas Fir forests out there… :o) By the way, how’s your coffe table doing? Haven’t seen any updates lately…. unless I missed the posted project, but I doubt it, I keep a close eye on it.
-- Jojo, shopless in Kyoto ยท http://twitter.com/kagushokunin
Proclamator
home | projects | blog
40 posts in 789 days
posted 783 days ago
Thank you for the comments.
I don’t believe I have seen any wood today, that matches the wood that was used in the past. I get a lot of my wood at High Desert Hardwood in Eagle, Idaho, they have a great selection and they are fair on their prices, but even there I haven’t seen any Fir that matches this older lumber.
Our district shop is ancient. Some of the timbers in that building are unbelieveable, 6”X12”, 12”X12”, and other sizes, and they are up to 20’ long. I don’t think I would want to pay for that today, even if you could find it.
I don’t like to use stain if I can help it; I know there are times you have to use stain, toner, etc. to get a uniform appearance, but I prefer to go with the natural wood.
I haven’t tried any wood dyes so if someone would share their experiences I would appreciate the input. I do like using India Ink to ebonize wood, it produces a deep penetrating color. For an example look at the table in my projects.
-- Dave Idaho