WIREMARK® Golden Pliers winner, 10 x Fieldays Silver Spades winner and former FCANZ Chairman Wayne Newdick, provides a quick summary of how to swing a gate using best practice techniques.
Make an effort to level the top of the strainer distance 3660mm gate inside measurement usually minus 40mm assuming the gate opens 180 degrees.
Tools
– 2 short levels 250mm one of which is magnetic
– 30mm ring spanner
– Small sledge
– Drill and bit 19-20 mm
– Tape
– Spade
Method
- Stand the gate in position on the ground, check for slam ie: 30mm and make sure the gudgeon position will not cause binding.
- At this stage, I simply put a vertical pencil mark above the top hinge to determine the entry point to drill through the centre of the strainer in line with a hinge.
- Lie the gate on the ground.
- Most top hinges line up with the bottom of the top bar of the gate. Simply measure from the top of the gate to the bottom of the top bar and add 15mm for the centre of your top gudgeon.
- Transfer that mark to the strainer and with a short level transfer the mark that you put above the hinge to the horizontal mark indicating the centre of your gudgeon.
- If using a lock thru, hold this across the face below the mark you have just put on the strainer.
- Then mark the top of the lock and this will give you the centres. Now drill both at the same time using a short level to ensure the drill bit is level.
- Fit the gudgeon and lift the gate on, then put a spade under the latch end of the gate, sometimes on the top of the blade, if it’s too far off the ground put the handle of the spade under the pipe on the top of the gate, or you can use a straight handled spade with a holder (as per photo below).
- Sit the top of the gate above the slam. The amount depends on the gate, a Standard gate is 20-30mm.
- Then put the magnetic level just above the bottom hinge to get plumb. Try to keep both gudgeons in line.
- Once the gate is plumb drill the bottom gudgeon hole using the second same as the top.
- Generally, long pin is used on the bottom, making it easier to fit the gate.
- All gates are different with drop. Standard gates with a brace don’t drop much, 20-30mm.
- Plastic inserted hinges drop less.
- Some heavier gates and those without a brace can drop anything from 30-50mm or more
Most of the time it’s just practise mixed with a good guess.
I only use blocks of wood or wedges to lift a gate if I’m on concrete or hard metal. This same system is how I swing gates to ground as well.
Article written by Wayne Newdick
Published in the Gates Feature in WIRED Issue 66 / September 2022 by Fencing Contractors NZ
