Hello Cow Dog Craft Works blog, it’s me. Ya boi.
All kidding aside, I’ve been quite busy on the tail end of this year and with a wedding coming up in another couple weeks, my shop time has been extremely limited. With that being said, I did want to take the time to share some projects on here and give some different perspectives on things than my other social channels as well as the article up on Instructables.
These gates were custom made for design influencer @galeyalix on Instagram. No they weren’t made on Instagram. She’s on Instagram. Well she’s everywhere, but I digress. The concept behind these is quite simple. Construction grade cedar, joined together like a table with epoxy, with a breadboard end capping the bottom to keep it flat. Since the video came out, these gates have seen a ton of wild Florida weather and they still open and close like a dream and none of the gates have potato chipped from some otherworldly wood movement. With that being said, these gates have moved: yes wood movement is real.
An unknown secret about these gates is the fact that they were actually done long before they were installed. How long? Months. Galey’s yard was a full blown construction site, with a new fence, pool work, turf being installed, etc. So in reality, these gates were one of the last things that needed to be installed but because I’m kind of quick sometimes, one of the first things done. If you’re familiar with what I do, you know I have limited space at my home shop, so the gates were stored on site. They were stickered and stacked properly. However, with all the folks running around the property and workers sitting on them eating lunch and moving around, they ended up under a tarp for a while getting rained and stained. On install day, I spent about four hours sanding through the equivalent of two months of sticker stain just to get the color back. What I did notice though that morning was that the breadboard end worked exactly as advertised. The main panels of the door shrank about 1/8 inch on either side and the breadboard end sat just a touch proud. That’s likely from the wood drying out from “store bought” level to a more consistent moisture content. However, all three doors constructed remained flat, which showed that my theory of doing the breadboard end on only one side was a success.
Cutting a semi-circle with a router jig.
Something else worth mentioning is the unsung hero of this product, Mas Epoxies’ “Crackzilla” (https://masepoxies.com/?ref=18 For 10% off AND free shipping use coupon code: cowdogcraftworks). Crackzilla is one of my new favorite products, not just from Mas but out in general. I’m not an epoxy river guy. I use epoxy primarily as an adhesive most often and I get frustrated measuring out huge batches and wasting it, or dealing with poor measurement which causes it to kick off too soon. Crackzilla works in a caulk gun with a self mixing syringe and if you don’t use it all in one go, you can cap it and store it away for another time. It’s a lot more resistant to the elements than wood glue in outdoor applications and squeeze out is easy to clean with a little acetone. 12/10 recommend.
Mas Epoxies “Crackzilla” in action. Use coupon code “Cowdogcraftworks” for 10% off and free shipping at https://masepoxies.com/?ref=18
Some random closing thoughts:
A fair bit of folks have asked me about plans for this project (I know all social media folks say that). However, I really want to encourage those who are looking to make this to step outside their comfort zone and attempt this build without set plans in mind. There’s a number of reasons for this so let’s talk about them. 1) Gates are meant to fit their openings and there’s literally no way I can predict what your opening is. 2) Gates are made for different purposes and their heights and thicknesses (or is it thicknii) vary based on that purpose. For instance, the “baby gate” is a little under 4’ high whereas the main gate in my YouTube video is closer to 7 feet high. 3) I recently listened to a podcast with famed celebrity chef and restauranteur David Chang.
David Chang hates recipes. In his opinion, and one that I share, if you’re following a recipe to a “T” and your analysis stops there, you’ll never develop as a chef. If you’re not paying attention to the “why” of what you’re doing then you’re not learning the underlying principles behind your recipe. I think of plans in the same way. Plans should be used in most instances as guidelines not gospel. As you work your way through them, you should be thinking about the principles of why components are placed where they are and why they interact with each other the way that they do. So with this recipe, I’m telling you the wood species, the joinery involved, and why I used the products I used. It’s my earnest hope that even if you don’t make this project, that you’ll have a greater understanding of wood, the techniques in working it, and most importantly the “why” behind it all.
Be sure to check out the video.
The Backyard Speakeasy Gate in action
Help support my work through the following affiliate links, all products utilized in the making of this project:
-Starbond CA Glues: https://bit.ly/36sB2Bv For 10% off use coupon code: cowdogcraftworks
-MAS Epoxies: https://masepoxies.com/?ref=18 For 10% off AND free shipping use coupon code: cowdogcraftworks
VanDyke's Restorers (Non-Affiliate Link): https://bit.ly/2W3mGqf
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