It went through several design changes due to material changes. I remembered what a friend of mine told me once, don’t work so hard make it easy on yourself. Here in Albania my original version would have been too much and out of place considering the building it is next to, so I settled on the basic rectangular shape.
I had to re-learn a couple of things about tack welding sheet metal, the first being it is too thin for my machine because I don’t have and can’t get 1mm rod. This caused me to burn a couple of the edges and required a different approach. I put a thin strip all the way up and welded the sections in place. This might be better in the long run because it allows you to remove damaged or rusted sections as needed and you can replace them without any welding required.
The hinges are just stock store bought hinges, making this required my entire shop to be moved around and the boss was in a hurry. Her sister was visiting the following week. The handles are plain as is the gate latch bolt.
The idea was they would disappear and you could focus on the gate. It seems to work. Same thing with the sheet metal sections, they are all 14cm wide and I painted the flanges to give them the appearance to be floating. I would have used a black with blue pigment added, but I couldn’t obtain a pigment to tint it with.
Everyone is happy with the black and the gate. My work is a success!
In the two smaller photos you can see the old gate with it’s Communist Jail feel to it and Happy Haven Forge Albania ready for action once again. 🙂
Happy Haven Forge 