Cantilever Gate Project

Thanks for stopping by! This cantilever gate is a little large for the average home gate project unless you have a large RV or a truck and need to get in from a narrow street like I do. I needed at least 25' opening and a swing gate was out of question due to trees and road right of way restrictions. The finished opening ended up to be 27', for this opening to have a gate cantilever properly (counterweight) you will need at least a 40' long frame. 

Before the final welding we used a string line and tacked all components into line on a flat floor. The slats are aluminum to keep the weight down and are usually used around pool areas and such and available anywhere. 

The gate has been operating fine for 5 years with a remote operated Aleko AC1400 Electric Sliding Gate Opener. Last summer the lower poly wheels started coming apart so I machined some new wheels out of a 6" stick of 7075 aluminum shown in step 3.

The 5" square posts are held in the ground with 3 yards of concrete. The rollers are 4" poly that fit the 3 1/2" OD pipe. They were left over from a ski area chair lift project. The axles use sealed roller bearings that are available almost anywhere.   

Using a round stick of 7075 aluminum I machined the bearing pockets on the rollers for a light press fit on my old manual lathe. The 1 3/4" radius was done with a lathe attached 4D Holdridge Radii cutter in the picture. Kind of a fun project I might add. 

The improvement in load for the gate operator was dramatic. Now it seems to run faster and much easier with the hard wheels. The 7075 aluminum has a a strength comparable to many steels, good fatigue strength and average machinability, it also has less resistance to corrosion than many other Al alloys. The downside is cost but scrap ends in all sizes are available on E-Bay for much less than new.