so a buddy hits me up, 'hey, can you make a gate for my garden?'

sure. we sort out size, material, he sends me a pic of what he has in mind, i think and sketch, and we're off.

first, get some lumber.

then expand the work table to fit the project, and after some cutting and cussing, we have a dry fit. the opening will be filled with T&G siding, so no gaps to peek thru.

after lunch, first, a dry fit.

then get the arch cut, a 42" radius if you are wondering. 1" high at the ends, 6" high at the center.

and then time to glue it all up, ending up with it upside down so the weight of the gate will push the arch (6 #20 biscuits) into the top rail of the gate. use the cutoff to support the arch so the load is spread about. that was a little more fun than i had planned, getting it upside down without losing any connections. phew.

Cool build!

You make it look simple, I built some doors for my son, it's not as it looks. congrats on a nice looking job, well done.

Nice, I like the idea of using the cutoff as a caul for clamping the arch.

i sent the guy i made this for a copy of my HD receipt, material cost was $121.27, a 2x8 (top arch), four 2x6s (structure), and 7 planks of T&G boards 8 feet long (turns out, i only needed 5, oh well).

he said, "i need to pay you for more than the materials only", ok, fine, invented a number, he agreed, and he picked it up and took it home to stain (dark espresso) and poly (spar urethane was suggested).

so i made enough to fill up my big truck with gas. i'm good with that.

anyone else....i'd ask for more.

and the bonus is this: his wife, a lovely lady who i've met, does taxidermy for folks, and he said now and then she'll need a pedestal, basically, a fancy table, so support and display a smaller mount of some critter, and that the next time she needed one, she'd be calling me. ok, we can talk, those take longer than one day to build and finish, and some nicer lumber than construction pine, so stay tuned. those....i'll charge properly for those, not less than 4x material costs.

and he got it hung and finished and sent me some pics. turned out nicely i think. his wife is happy, so i have that going for me.

a shed antler for the handle is a nice touch.

Looks good from both sides! I especially like the handle!

I just realized the pictures are all from the same side. I should have looked closer at the hinges.

Looks like a great fit - size plus the overall look with the wall.

Looks real god, nice job!

Looks like a win, win, happy customers and possible more paying jobs. Way to go