Adding weight to a garden gate

[antcole]

Im in the process of building a single gate using hammered edge box section frame.
The steel is only 3mm thick and would like the gate to be fairly heavy, like the weight of an old wrought iron gate.
I was thinking of filling the frame with dry sand before closing up the post tops.
Primarily to add weight but also to deaden the ring of box section steel.
Is this a mad idea or have any of you done similar?
Any views or advice is very welcome.

 

[Hitch]

Why not use hammered solid?

 

[antcole]

I think solid would be too heavy, the frame is goung to be 50x75mm section.
Plus solid hammered bar isnt available from the supplier here..... but youve got me thinking... :-)

 

[Spark plug]

50 X 75 is hearty stuff for, how big is the gate?

 

[antcole]

Total overall dimension is 1.2 x 1.3m.

 

[antcole]

I want to replicate this beautiful gate

 

[Spark plug]

At a guess from the pic, I would say that gate is made from 30 or 40 square box with 16mm round infill

 

[Woody.v8]

At a guess from the pic, I would say that gate is made from 30 or 40 square box with 16mm round infill

+1 it looks like 25x25 mm for the main frame and 30x30 mm for the arch.

 

[antcole]

Good call... maybe i was being a bit ambitious
I probably should sketch out the frame as a mock up.
I wonder if solid bar in 30mm square would still be too heavy?

 

[TechnicAl]

Might make it rust from the inside out.......sand usually has a chloride content and thats not good for steel..........If you could ensure its perfectly dry it would be OK

 

[antcole]

Thats what i was thinking, maybe silica sand also.
I just want to give it a bit of weight but not make it a massively heavy gate....

 

[Woody.v8]

30mm solid would be fine for that size of gate as long as you have good post and hinges, Also it would help to stop anyone from nicking it!

 

[antcole]

Actual LOL....
Good point!

 

[Justme]

Moulten lead?

Make sure all the joins are opened up to the lead can flow & then just leave a hole open for filling.

Once the gate is made see how much you want to add & just melt that amount.

 

[captain-destructo]

by the time you add up the weight of all the bars, scrolls and spikes it will be quite heavy
so i wouldnt worry about it

 

[steve t]

you could also use a hammered edge flat if you don't want to use box, ie 40x10 or 12

 

[cumbriasteve]

Although I have made many gates using box section, it's not my favourite material.

Unless it is galvanised 100% on the internal surfaces it will rust no matter how well you seal it, I much prefer a good heavy flat bar, something along the lines of 40x8mm for standard garden gates and heavier as the size increases.

 

[antcole]

Well folks,
As mentioned earlier, with all the steel added up, its become surprisingly heavy! :-)

Rolling the arches on the top is troublesome but i have a good local ship repair outfit that has rolled one piece of the box section as a test.
The box section has bulged a tiny bit but its still looking square.