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It wasn't until I got this gate piece screwed, glued, and hung up that I noticed there's a slight warp to it. I think it's due to just one piece in particular, but at this point I think I'm cooked. (Would have to drill out pocket hole plugs, dissolve the glue, and unscrew to replace the board.)

Is there any way to fix this? Hand plane it perhaps? (Newbie woodworker.) It's not awful, maybe a 1/4" gap. Enough to bug me though.

Gate Trying to show the bowing Trying to show the bowing Gate location

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    You could just use a hand plane to take some of the extra meat off. Evening it out a little will make it look a lot straighter -- 1/4" is not much
    – jbord39
    Apr 4, 2017 at 19:26
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    That is a very snazzy child containment gate! Well done.
    – FreeMan
    Apr 19, 2017 at 19:06
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    @FreeMan Thanks! Nearly done now. I'll add final pics soon.
    – Bob Spryn
    Apr 19, 2017 at 19:19

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At this point it's done, for all practical purposes. If it were really important to straighten this thing out, and you were going to paint it, you could plow a dado, insert a Guitar Truss Rod , and Bondo over it. Don't laugh - they've helped us out of a couple of jams over the years. We even have a few made up, just in case. But it's a pretty extreme fix, and doesn't sounds like you need it.

You can more than likely cheat the hinges in some way to compensate for that little bit of warp. Depending on what type of hinges you used, you could twist a leaf, or bend the pin, or simply push one hinge a bit out of alignment with the other.

If you could post what type of hinges you will be using, I'm sure several folks have tricks for cheating those hinges.

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  • Ahh good thought. Cheating the hinge might work. I could probably shim one a quarter inch to straighten it some. I'm using some plastic spring gate hinges.
    – Bob Spryn
    Apr 4, 2017 at 11:00
  • Stanley National Hardware CD6212 3-13/16" x 2-1/2" Tru-Close Narrow Spring Hinge, Standard Packaging amazon.com/dp/B002KFZU1W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h034yb7XQD3S7
    – Bob Spryn
    Apr 4, 2017 at 11:02
  • Shims. You get the idea. Nice looking design, BTW! You've probably figured out a few things you would differently, like those wide mitres :) I'm a little concerned for you with regards to how you are going to attach that flat hinge base to the moulded face of that 444 (or whatever casing that is). You've probably thought that through, but if you have questions post em!
    – Benchwerks
    Apr 5, 2017 at 20:59
  • Ahhh. That's not the mounting location. Just where I happened to be taking pictures of it for the post. I added a picture of it mounted before I added the bottom portion.
    – Bob Spryn
    Apr 6, 2017 at 3:40
  • I like the look of the wide mitres. Why should I avoid those?
    – Bob Spryn
    Apr 6, 2017 at 3:41

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