Thanks for the extremely comprehensive reply. You're right I meant door
not gate.

Just a few more questions below

Andy Dingley wrote:
On 6 Mar, 09:32, John wrote:
I need to replace a gate and want something smarter than a treated
softwood one so am looking for advice on what timber to use.

Sweet chestnut is good, if you're in the right part of the country.
I'm in Hampshire. I know that the local sawmill does occasionally have
some chestnut so will have to make a visit.

Oak is good too, but it makes for a heavy gate. It also needs more
effort to cut mortices. Easier if you work it green. Remember that oak
will stain with iron, so use stainless fittings, bronze nails, and
shim beneath hinge plates with plastic. Otherwise let it darken.
Do you know any good online suppliers of bronze nails? I've never seen
them around here.

I found a
picture of exactly the sort of thing that I had in mind hehttp://www.the-green-oak.co.uk/pic_317.jpg

That's a door rather than a gate: taller than wide, meaning that so
long as you have adequate hinges, then the design is easier. For a
door like this, then just use three decent-sized hinges. Really a
ledged and braced door like this ought to be the other way round
anyway - put those diagonals into tension, not compression.

What the reasoning behind? Is there an advantage to them being in tension?

This is obviously oak, but would I use green or seasoned oak to make
something like this?

In general, what you can get most easily. Although oak will likely be
over-priced unless you're dealing with somewhere that will have both,
then you can go for green and it will be less trouble to work it. One
of Aldi's bargain morticers would help.

I've never worked with green oak before is it much easier to work with
than seasoned?

I've got a morticer and router in a table so the joints and rebates for
the planks on the front of the gate shouldn't be too much of a problem
especially if green oak is easier to work with than seasoned.


A simple approach is the ledged and braced door, as your picture. This
uses a Z-shaped structure of lengthways members (not expanding
lengthways) with vertical shiplapped boards to fill the hole. The
expansion is in the boards going sideways, so each board is nailed
once in the centre of it (i.e. three times over its length, but only
once per width) and it will expand and contract individually. The lap
between boards absorbs this seasonal movement and the overall door
remains the same size. ey and do the numbers.

When making a ledged & braced door, the question is how to join the
diagonal braces into the horizontal ledgers. Butting is popular, but
gives a weak, flexible door. Best approach (for practical simplicity)
is a half-lap joint, then pegging it with wooden pegs - or screws
(don't nail the frame - peg or screw it.

I was slightly confused by this description. I was planning to use
mortice and tenon joints to join the verticals to the the horizontals
then just butting the diagonals in and nailing the planks to the front.

I understand how a half lap joint would be an improvement for the
diagonals, but won't it interfere with the mortice and tenon?

I like the idea of using wooden pegs - I'll have to experiment.

many thanks for all the help,
John