Iron Gates - Garden Gates - Metal Sculpture News

I have completed my most recent commission for a private collector. The Crane was delivered to its new home late yesterday, where it was greeted with overwhelming approval and expressions of gratitude and joy! Whew!
For those interested in how the Crane evolved, you can view the complete process here: Crane Metal Sculpture

Approximately 1,500 feathers and 3 pairs of worn-out leather gloves later, the Crane Sculpture is finally nearing completion!

OK, so this may have nothing to do with gates or metal sculpture; but now and then, I may post something here that strikes me as funny, outrageous or useful in some way. Now, is it just me, or is there something wrong with this picture? Maybe he has just lost his marbles, literally…

I am now offering the ability for visitors to stay abreast of the latest happenings at Wild Gates. Simply go here: Wild Gates Newsletter and enter your email address and name. You will receive a newsletter when I have something worthy of writing about…

Sometimes my mind works in mysterious ways…. ok… maybe most of the time. Today, I was cutting small pieces of metal for the Bird Sculpture, when I noticed a little pile of “waste” gathering on the welding table. Something came to mind…

This is a photo (color and detail is a bit off - it was 7:00pm and getting dark when I wrapped-up) of the ranch gate I built to replace the original that had been demolished by a truck. This solar powered gate is also powder coated for a durable finish and low maintenance. I also placed two reversing or safety loops -which the original installer omitted - guess they didn’t want to jackhammer through 3″ of asphalt necessary to place the safety loop on the outside of the gate…

Completed Installation

Site Work

Here is a really good example of what happens when a client uses a “professional” automated gate installer - that has no clue what he is doing. This gate was installed with only one reversing loop, and it was installed in the direct path of the opening gate - rendering it useless! Needless to say; a large truck delivering material to the ranch caught the leading edge of the gate as it was closing upon his trailer - oops!

Damaged Gate

I have been upgrading all of the equipment installed by the original contractor and will be adding reversing sensors and/or photo eyes in the proper locations.

New Gate

This a photo of the farm gate I quickly assembled for my client to replace the original (as seen above). It is almost complete in this photo, and will be leaving for the powder coat shop in a day or two. The only thing missing here, is my old faithful Boxer friend, Vinnie! He always kept me company in the shop and checked out my latest projects with keen curiosity…