Should I or shouldn't I.....not sure WhyTF I'm posting this here....:)

[stoneaxe]

Except that I'm on the fence and my wife is too....so what the hell....

The outdoor shower in the towel thread is getting a gate....it's all built, stained, sanded (as much as it's getting) and oiled but I have a detail i'm considering....some stained plexi ports across the front up top. I've drawn a mockup. The wood it is drawn on will be cut out as a frame and then the plexi sandwiched between the two. I plan on leaving the frame light, no stain just oil. The ports will depict a breaking wave. I've done this design before, pyrography on an Alaia I built for my bud Brownie. I'm not sure if it's going too far, if I should leave it as is...solid, do the plexi/stain, or maybe just plexi frosted? The rest of the shower will be greys and browns and I thought this small bit of color would be good.....Thoughts?

I made this from a cedar fence panel that I disassembled. The cedar is knotty but it's straight and light so easy to make a durable gate....$70 in materials. if i oil it every year or two it will last a long, long time.

edit....now that I'm looking at the pictures I think i'll do the frame dark as well if I do the plexi.

[eastbound]

looks good either way, stones--most impressive is the cedar fence panel hack--i may plagiarize!

[PonoBill]

Great looking gate, either way. I suspect you feel the port is a step too far with the decoration, and it probably is--a designer might think so. But what you're doing is your own expression, and that's what makes it worth doing. A lot of the stuff I've done inside Fritz seemed like a step too far--decoration without function. But it makes me happy that I'm doing all this work every time I look at it. So do what you like best.

I have recently hit on a concept that resonates with me and drives me to do things better. That anything I do is worth infinite effort because infinite effort is what it takes to make something perfect. There's always a flaw that can be fixed, an element that could be better. That doesn't mean I actually undertake infinite effort, but it does make me willing to pull things back apart again and do them better.

[stoneaxe]

Yup....talked myself out of the ports....switched to pyrography....do it the same as Mike's board. I may do a small whale on the fence too....

I'm always my worst critic....drives me nuts when I see something later that I should have fixed. I still don't fix them all especially if its late in an otherwise done project that would require major rework but I've also said shitmotherfuckingstupidbastardfuckit and started over too.....

[stoneaxe]

It is a good hack. 32" opening, glued and clamped it comes to 31 1/4". It's just glued and screwed, all square cuts except for the angle braces on the backside. The cedar is so easy to cut I did it all by hand. I like projects that I get to use this saw...my grandfather's and father's. The grip is worn from their hands....

I realized I should have bought some 1 x 6 cedar for the top...cutting the angle made it thin and it looks off. So I'm going to cap it with a piece of lyptus that I have left over from the Pono house gates to bring it back into proportion.

Speaking of the PH gates...I'm going to be fencing in the yard when we get a dog and the back gate will be smilar...I have a ton...actually more than a ton...of arborvitae to work with so I'm going to use it for a lot of the outdoor stuff. I still think the PH gates are one of the nicest things I've built for outdoors. I was afraid Maui might eat them.....

[PonoBill]

I changed my mind--see the long coffee-fueled post on Facebook. It's Art with a capital A, it's done.

[stoneaxe]

Except for the top cap of liptus and something I will wait to show later I agree.

[Weasels wake]

My 2 cents, FWIW, because the door was made with very knotty wood, you already have a lot going on there visually.  If it was made with wood that was less knotty, the added graphics, no matter how they are made, would show off much better and become the focal point.  So, do you want competing focal points?  The only way I could see added graphics becoming the focal point, would be if they were really big to overpower all those knots.
I really like it the way it is, maybe some graphics on the side walls if they aren't too busy already.

Of course I'm the contrarian here evidently (different thread), so there is that.

[WhatsSUP]

Glad to hear Stoney....I'm all for incorporating ocean theme-related stuff but the plain wood door (without the ports) is much classier/nicer IMHO.

[stoneaxe]

Thanks for the comments all...

I always tend to do this....I had a rough idea of what I wanted but just winged it from there. Then start thinking about "adding" to it...then talk myself out of it....then think of something else....then talk myself out of it. Weasel you actually hit on exactly what I was thinking about the knots....it's busy enough........but I did decide to go a little different direction. I also like doing things that people don't see at 1st. Hidden details that are subtle or even not visible without a close look....some of the knots are going to become more than knots....

[SlatchJim]

Great stuff Stoney.  If only your brother was as diligent with his RV Rehab documentation... 

WW: Whenever you are standing naked and wet in the out-of-doors, you should do so behind knotty wood. 

[stoneaxe]

 

I got it hung finally, I'm way behind. Didn't do much this weekend. I'm hurting a bit in my left knee where I tumbled Sat and I've come down with a bug so no water today. Managed to get a few things done though. Decided against the cap.... I'm happy with it as is...I like the hardware I found too...Home Depot...wrought iron rings for the latch, works perfectly. I also installed a stop with weatherstripping. It compresses 1/16" to keep the door from slamming on the latch and rattling in the wind.

Inside base just needs stones added but I still have shelves, bench, back and landscaping to do, plumbing too. Another 8 - 12 hours or so.

[PonoBill]

Well hung.

[stoneaxe]

Yeah I know but what do you think of the gate?

[Weasels wake]

Great stuff Stoney.  If only your brother was as diligent with his RV Rehab documentation... 

WW: Whenever you are standing naked and wet in the out-of-doors, you should do so behind knotty wood. 

One must stand behind knotty wood, to hide their knotty wood.
My brother has a salmon boat named "Morning Wood", kind of hard to read, it's on the side of the bow.