Building and installing a new trailer gate

My old trailer. I installed gate-hinges into the top a few years ago so that I can remove it easily when required.

But now it's time to make a rear gate. The solid box is great, but not always practical.

...finesse the back away...

Grinder cuts are pretty sloppy...smooth 'em out with the grinding head.

Sometimes we end up with stock returns at work that land into this junk pile. Too good to recycle...machined or damaged beyond sale quality.

So I chopped 'em up to make a rear gate.

Then had lunch. :D

And got back to work a tappin'

And drillin'

And cuttin' a panel

And trimmin' the corners

Cartin' ma' bits off to the work bench

No welding. All tap/bolt joinery.

Like magic, a gate appears fully assembled with a 5mm smoked polycarbonate inset panel. (protective coating still in place)

It fits great.

But needs a gate hinge installed about here...

Shazam. It's done and looks awesome. The entire thing can be lifted off of the hinges easily when required.

This clown came in to work on a Saturday asking about pizza. I sent him on his way....

I installed a gate latch to keep the door closed.

And then discovered that my trailer wasn't built square!!!! The top is ~17mm narrower than the base. Nothing I can do but turn the gate into a trapezoid. Reworking is my worst enemy.

So 2hrs later, I'd cut several 1.5 degree miter cuts to pull the shape in the way I needed and maintained a good edge all around. Nightmarish eyeballing work.

Came up great in the end. :)

Spoons

Feb 27th, 1884. Thomas W Hemmings and Jessie Beard are married. They receive several teaspoon sets as gifts.

And thanks to my grandma Edith Hemmings, who married their son Archie's son Willard, I now have a few of them hanging on my wall!! Even better, they're initialed "J H" in magnificent lettering on the handles. (The pin on Ottumwa is not related to the spoons.)

It's fantastic to have some family heirlooms hanging on the wall next to some Batman stamps and a disassembled hard drive. :)

Jana cleaned these up for me. Unfortunately their age (and probable use) has left them very scratched. We could re-polish them to a mirror finish, but it's highly unlikely I'll ever get around to it. Eventually we'll have three of them tarnished with an accelerant to make them black. Blackened silver just looks incredible.

Some random build photos below.

Dave's mobile doggy compartment

Dave wants one of the compartments in his truck to be doggy-friendly, so we took the ute on into the workshop and added a few windows and an air vent.

Dave thinking like a dog. "Where would I want to see out??"

We cut a massive hole in the front so the puppy-brain can see Dave in the cab, see forward, and get some natural light.

Then slapped in a piece of polycarb', sealed up with silicone, and bolted in down.

A small louver air vent already exists in the front panel, but it's pretty small. We put a whopping big hole in the ceiling for more airflow.

And then slapped a great little water-diverting venturi canopy on top.

Here's Dave inside with the doors closed, checking for potential puppy happiness factors.

He decided we needed more visibility out. So another hole goes in the side.

We put some smoked polycarb' in the side door, so you can't really see in, but looking out is fine.

Looks nice 'n neat. Plenty of light and airflow inside. Simply cannot see in from the outside. Job done.

Here's Ruby inside at night. The internal light is on, otherwise you'd never see her.