System Lets You Put Up Gates By Yourself

System Lets You Put Up Gates By Yourself FENCING Gates 23-1-33 Hanging gates single-handedly can be a big chore, but I devised a system that lets me put up gates by myself whenever necessary. To begin with, I build my own gates out of 3/4-in. dia. sucker rod. And I weld a piece of sucker rod vertically on one end so it extends 3 to 4 in. above and below the top and bottom cross members. Then I make a U-shaped top hinge out of flat metal. I make a bottom hinge out of oil well stem pipe or any other heavy-duty pipe I have around, welding a cap on bottom to form a cup. The hinges weld to 3/4-in. pieces of redi-rod fitted in holes I drill through the fence post with nuts on each end. To hang the gate, you set the sucker rod extension on bottom in the cup hinge and maneuver the top extension into place in the fork hinge by hand or with your front-end loader, depending on how heavy the gate is. Then you simply secure the gate by placing a bolt through pre-drilled holes in the sides of the top hinge. I came up with this idea a year ago when I was trying to hang a 25-ft. gate by myself. I've since hung two other gates using it and it works like a charm. You could probably use the same system to hang commercial gates, too. (Steen Frederiksen, Dane's Pride Dairy, Box 865, Redwater, Alberta, Canada T0A 2W0; ph 403 942-2959)

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.