Oak Church Garden Gate
Oak Church Garden Gate
I wanted to make a new garden gate for our cottage. We live in an old cottage that is named Rectory cottage, so I thought a gate with some sort of church theme would look good. I remember seeing a gate many years earlier on a old church that i liked so I thought why not.
The design was drawn out to full scale.
I bought the oak from our local sawmill and after a long chat with the owner, who's always up for a long chat I managed to get a very good deal on a couple of nice looking oak boards 20" x 2 3/4" that we had sorted out and three 15"x 1 1/2" wide boards for the panels plus two 5"x 5" oak for the post and a 9" x 9" for another post needed for another gate all at a very good price...
Drawn to full scale
Out came the planer thicknesser
All squared up
Looking good
Cutting the Tenons on the bench saw
After re ripping and squaring the oak, it was time to start setting out the mortise and tenons, There's something very satisfying about using the mortiser.
Finishing off the tenons on the bench.
Running the grooves and stopped grooves
One of many a dry fits
The home made router table set up for the stop cove mouldings
Just getting an idea of what the gate will look like.
Clean up time
The router did leave some burn marks. Mostly on the stop cove. The biggest problem I had was I had to drop the timber onto the router cutter from above. A couple of burn marks is not a big price to pay for the stop cove look.
Hand scraping each panels to give a snug fit.
As each oak panel is just on an inch thick this is going to be a slow job.
Marking out the Gothic lancet window on the oak panels
Lancet window
Each oak window panel is slightly different. I'm looking for the hand made look and as it happens most of the work on these panels was done by hand
Well that's about it for the gate just got to make the oak dowels and then glue and cramp up.
My very very simple dowel maker jig. You can make any size dowel with a jig like this. I think the biggest dowel I have made was one and a quarter inches and the smallest was three sixteenths.
All you need is a drill and a router, Oh and a block of scrap wood. knock the arris off the edges of the oak
Fit the blank into the drill
Switch on router, insert the oak blank switch the drill on push the blank slowly into the hole and thats it.
For the centre panel I wanted to do something different
Effigy is of John Greene, 1400- 1473
From our local church St.Mary the Virgin
In 1872 This little 14th century Brass effigy was found beneath the old stone church floor.
When the brass civilian was discovered it was still affixed to its stone slab. After the restoration of the church it was affixed to the north wall of the Nave, where it can be seen to this day the brass effigy is of John Greene, 1400- 1473 the dress and hairstyle is of that era. He originated from Cheshire After marring Anges Duke, of Widdington Hall, and maybe after her fathers death he took over the Hall and made Widdington his home. He was a gentleman of great worship and a patron of the church.
And now his on my gate.
John Greene, on the finished gate.
Time to start on the gate posts
Church Garden Oak Gate
The finished Oak Gate, just needs a couple of years of English weather to darken it down