Portfolio: Winshaw Porch Gate Hardware
This set of gate hardware that Jordan made for his own porch was his first real blacksmithing project. Done in the heat of summer in an outdoor temporary forge before he built a shop, it was extremely difficult for him to make, but inspired him to dig deeper into blacksmithing and hand-forging hardware.
Making the nails for mounting the hardware was a huge challenge to Jordan’s beginner skills at the time- he had to discard several failed nails for every successful one. He’s come a long way since then!
The latch catch. When this piece was forged, the projection at the top looked like it should be a heart- so it became one.
The gate hardware set consists of 4 strap hinges, a latch, and a bolt to fasten the secondary gate in place.
The latch bar is heavy to help make the action of the latch faster, and mounted on the outside of the gates to help contain very small children.
Each hinge strap took a full day’s worth of work to make, with several failed attempts. Hinges are a little easier now!