Cedar Gate Handle #1: Cedar Gate handle - Start to Finish

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So, I recently built a new cedar gate & needed some handles. I didn’t want to go out & buy some, so decided to make my own. Inspired by “http://lumberjocks.com/projects/48854” CaptainAhab’s handles, I ended up with:



Here’s how I built them:

Starting with a lamination of 3 pieces of clear Cedar which I planed down to about 2 1/8” thick:



Obviously, I made a little template for the top curves out of 1/4” plywood & cut the top curve with the bandsaw.



Cleaned up the saw marks on the belt sander:



And some hand sanding:



I drew the rest of the cuts on the piece (poorly):



Then to the dado stack to make the first cut on both sides. I was just eye-balling the depth, as this was a design-on-the-fly deal:



Cut dado’s on both sides ending up with:



Moved the fence in & the dado up for my next cuts:



Ran it on both sides, moved the fence in a couple more times to end up with:



Needed some holes to put the mounting bolts through. First a recess with a forstener bit, the smaller hole for the bolt:





To the band saw for a couple cuts on each end:





Cut both ends off up to my lower cut on the bandsaw:





Cut the middle of the “leg” out on the bandsaw:





Didn’t need the “feet” anymore:



A little work with the hand saw to finish off the shoulder />



Back to the band saw to cut the angle on the top (yes, should have done this prior to cutting the “feet” off:



More sanding:



Second one went much quicker. I have another gate to build, so will make a couple more of these. They were surprisingly easy to make, and were a fun puzzle to work out. I am installing the gate this weekend, so will update with more photos later.



Thanks again to CaptainAhab for the inspiration. Feedback is always appreciated. Did I do this the hard way? Anyone see any unnecessary steps?

Thanks for looking.

Crafty Puzzles