This, that, and the other

[wroughtn_harv]

Jim, I graduated from high school in Plano 50 years ago and drove back and forth to college in Denton on FM 544. That was also our drag strip when we were teenagers, and we drove the other direction on FM 544 out of Plano to Wylie to fish, swim, and play in Lake Lavon.

Bird, I had my thirty fifth birthday here in Plano Texas. I was a contract telco cable splicer back then. I came into Plano between jobs in California. I was here for less than a month. I'll be sixty this year, just hitting my stride about the time my body is deciding to stumble on it's own, doesn't need nothing to stub for a tumble. My son will be thirty five next month.

I've been working on this, that and the other. Yesterday I power washed the cedar logs Glenda and me pulled from the woods last Sunday. They're going to be the rails between the metal posts I custom made for the job and then had powder coated to match the gate.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Harv,
I gotta ask..... in your second pic, end view of your gate, is that a socket head bolt I see in there??? Just wondering why you didnt use stainless ?

BTW very nice lookin gate !!!

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Mornin Harv,
I gotta ask..... in your second pic, end view of your gate, is that a socket head bolt I see in there??? Just wondering why you didnt use stainless ?

BTW very nice lookin gate !!!

Those bolts will be covered with wood plugs.

There are ten bolts holding that gate together. Two come in from the bottom rail through the middle supports into the top rail. Then there are eight socket head bolts coming in from the ends.

I'm worried about over time the natural flex of the gate causing a weld failure. The last thing I want to have to do is have a piece taken back down to bare metal after a welding repair to be repowder coated. So I'm building a truss that will remove that worry.

 

[Bird]

Wow, it's beautiful. What a job.

 

[jinman]

I've been working on this, that and the other. Yesterday I power washed the cedar logs Glenda and me pulled from the woods last Sunday. They're going to be the rails between the metal posts I custom made for the job and then had powder coated to match the gate.

Harvey, that gate and entrance just keeps gettin' better and better. I think you are really using your head about not welding up the joints. One weld repair and the whole gate would be blemished.

I've been between Decatur and Denton on Hwy 380 twice this week. There is a place about midway between called "The Bowlegged Cowboy" that sells rustic furniture. Out to the side on about 1-1/2 acres, they have started selling rough cedar timbers of all sizes and lengths. If you get into a bind for a piece you can't find, this place might be source, even if it is a bit out of the way for you. Who knows, you might have something similar over your way. I just thought I'd mention it. With spring coming on, it may be tough to get into the woods if we have a lot of rain. Their phone number is: (940) 380-1010

 

[rox]

Harv,
That powder coating came out fantastic. I bet the owners are thrilled. Do you have a little metal tag with your name and website you attach to your work? People do sell and move on and a metal tag on your work would be there for a long time. I bet people drive by and stop to take a look, the neighbor are all probably jealous of that front gate. Everything just came out so slick.

A lot of times I look at projects people post and I think, "Gee I wish my husband could do that. But then I think of the thousands of good meals he prepares, at least 10 times as many as me, and I guess I'll keep him around. He may not weld, but on a daily basis he keep me well fed and happy.

Nice work Harv, real nice work!

 

[Defective]

Rox,

You could learn to fabricate & weld...

 

[MF1455v]

Harvey, you really out did your self this time. That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.


James

 

[MF1455v]

Harvey, you really out did your self this time. That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

James

 

[txdon]

I feel the need to touch it to see that it is really metal. Every thing you do looks so good the first time you do it. How do you do it?

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I feel the need to touch it to see that it is really metal. Every thing you do looks so good the first time you do it. How do you do it?

It's all about luck Don, all about luck. I happen to be luckier than the average bear. After all, it's better to be lucky than good. Anyone can be good. That only takes effort.

Next weekend we're going to Jonesboro to look at some work for an architect I do stuff for here in Dallas. Originally we were going to take the fifth wheel and spend the weekend. But it looks like that won't be possible so I'm thinking about us running down there Saturday and then mosey on over to Lee county for a visit before heading back to Dallas.

 

[txdon]

....and then mosey on over to Lee county for a visit before heading back to Dallas.

Does this mean you are considering the entrance design/build job, Whoo hoo!!

That is one Texas size road trip and side mosey for one day:
Wylie to Jonesboro 150 miles -3 hours
Jonesboror to Lee County 125 miles- 2.5 hours
Lee County to Wylie 220 miles -4 hours

Let us know your ETA in Lee County and we'll throw a possum in the kettle.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The road trip didn't happen. Glenda had some minor surgery Thursday morning and she's still in recovery. She's doing great. It was a painful procedure though and she's still sore.

I've been working on the big cedar entryway between other jobs etc.

We had to tenon the fence rails.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

That's because we want this kind of fit up with the metal posts.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The first day doing the tenons I practiced on a teacher's aid. I call it the "learning curve".

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The other day I set up the work at the entryway. I had power we'd brought in for the operator handy so I used it for power and I made a work bench for the tenoning tool on the truck.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

In the first picture I want you to see two things. One of course is the column at the corner will match the mailbox.

The other thing in the first picture is the last post of the overhead. If you look close you can see a cave.

Second picture will be a close up of the cave. I think we need a ceramic raccoon or owl for the cave, right?

 

[wroughtn_harv]

One of the interesting things about this project is the rock columns. Originally it was just going to be rock columns where the entryway meets the existing fence line. Then it was lit rock columns. And now it is lit rock columns with outlets for, well, whatever.

I don't do rock columns. And I don't want those who do rock columns in control of my fence rails.

So this is how I handled that.

 

[TBDonnelly]

harv,

I've wanted to express how great this picture is. It speaks volumes about the man behind the 'cedar & steel'. You in the foreground and your entryway in the background. It's priceless. It's classic. It's real.

Great work.

Don

 

[jinman]

I don't understand Harvey. Ron Hall and I installed a gate this last weekend and I posted pictures of it, but nobody seems to be as interested in our gate as they are yours. Don't you think ours is a work of art?

I would love to run that tenon making gig. Did it only take one sharp router blade to complete all the fence rails? Did you make that rig or find it somewhere?

That entrance is really looking nicer everytime you do something. Are you going to do the fence after the entrance is finished, or is the owner going to leave the barbed wire fence just for character?