How to stiffen my pole?

[Nimonic]

Would you be hanging the personnel gate off of the pole in question? If it's going to be of similar (heavy) build to the other gate, the extra weight would help straighten things out. It would still flex when you open the gates, but everything should still line up well when you close it.

That's the basic idea but the personnel gate will be ~1/4 the size of the vehicle gate, so it won't eliminate the moment arm, but will reduce it. Although I don't think there is a foundation problem since it's about 2/3 in rock, I still plan to do a quasi deadman by boxing around the personnel gate. That will solve the problem, I think. If not I still have the option to fill with concrete. Right now it sags about~3/4" at the far end. Some of that may be the gate, rather than the pole.

I do have a ramp on the latch so when at rest it's not torquing the pole. I'll try to post pics of the latch I recently roughed out.

 

[readhead]

You can create a moment frame around the man gate that would stiffen the hinge post.

 

[2slow]

Put a thick wall steel pipe inside your existing pole and then fill everything with concrete.

 

[Trey T]

Any update?

 

[Nimonic]

As you can see I dramatically increased the moment of the gate support from one pole to a cross braced arrangement. Seems to have solved the problem.

 

[Nimonic]

More pics. At some point I'll have a personnel gate on the other side of the moment support. Had to kill a 30 year old hedge/bush to shift over the personnel gate and do the moment support, but my wife is still talking to me.

 

[ez-duzit]

Attaboy.

 

[JakeKohl]

that ought'a do it! I'm really glad I didn't see your gates before I built mine, I would still be welding scroll work in place. That looks spectacular.

 

[barks]

Good use of the word "dramatically".

 

[Nimonic]

Good use of the word "dramatically".

Yeah, this thread is full of interesting word combos.

But, yeah, the top of the hinged post would deflect ~3/4-1"when the gate was off the latch. Now it does not deflect at all.