Build a Japanese-Style Garden Gate
Versatile assembly can be adapted to any gate design.
Synopsis: This article outlines the process of building a garden gate with a pattern of ginkgo leaves in the lower panel and traditional Japenese gridwork at the top. The author includes details about wood choice, building the jigs to create the mortises in the rails and stiles of the frame, milling the tenons, and assembling the panel boards and rails as well as the gridwork. The article includes a detailed drawing of the gate assembly with dimensions for the rails, tenons, panels, stiles, and gridwork strips.
When we moved west and bought a fixer-upper in Portland, Oregon, one of my first to-do items was replacing a broken-down fence with one of my own design. I hired pros to set the posts, but did everything else myself, including building a Japanese-style arch over the gate opening. The plan was to cook up an eye-catching gate in a similar style.
I’ve learned…
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