Crooked stile field gate

johnfarris · 16 Jun 2019

I am going to make a 3.6mtr wide Iroko crooked stile field gate like the one in the picture. Looking for a bit of advice regarding the stiles and the joints. The stiles will be 70mm thick

Is the crooked part of the stile made wider by edge jointing at the widest point or is the stile laminated to produce the curve?
Are the rails wedge through mortices?Any help much appreciated

John

Inspector · 17 Jun 2019

The picture doesn't have enough resolution to show what they did but the easiest way to get that curve is to cut the left side off on the bandsaw and glue it to the right. Then most of your curve is done and you only have to round the top. Laminating might be a touch stronger but with the right glue and a tight joint it is just as strong as cutting the shape out of a wide board. Best would be to find wood that grew with that curve. Like traditional boat builders would do.

Pete

AndyT · 17 Jun 2019

Here's Roy Ubderhill showing how to make something very similar.
Could be good for trad methods.

https://video.unctv.org/video/the-woodw ... ield-gate/

johnfarris · 26 Jun 2019

This is the design I now want to go with
Any comments suggestions greatly appreciated

John

Woody2Shoes · 28 Jun 2019

On the local examples I've seen in rural Sussex, in most cases the curved component is cut out of one single piece (quite a wasteful use of timber) and in at least one example, I've seen a crack/break on the bend where the short-grain occurs (a fairly likely occurence with timber that it quite easy to split/rive like oak). If I were making one, I'd make the curved section in two or three glued 'plies' with the grain in different, strategically-chosen, directions to rough dimensions, finished with bandsaw and/or spokeshave. The curved piece on your most recent drawing looks a bit under-nourished (hardly worth the effort) - I'd make it more of a feature!
Cheers, W2S