How to Make a Wooden Gate Latch

Making and installing an old-fashioned wooden gate latch is a simple and inexpensive job. It requires no special tools or advanced carpentry skills and may be completed in under an hour. The latch is simply a short wooden stick bolted to the gate post and rotated to provide a stop for the gate. A metal washer, installed between the gate post and the latch, provides clearance for the latch and makes it easier to turn. Depending on the height of installation, the latch may be operated from either side of the fence.

• 1

  Measure and mark the center of the stick, 3 inches from the ends, on all four sides, using a ruler. Draw transverse lines across the stick, 1/2 inch from the center marks on all four sides. Using a 5/16-inch drill bit, drill a hole through the center of the stick.

• 2

  Hold the latch in one hand and the wood rasp in the other. Round the corners of the latch from the lines drawn 1/2 inch from the center hole to the ends of the latch. Rounding the edges of the latch will reduce friction between the gate and the latch and make it easier to turn, once installed. Sand the wooden latch to smooth and prevent splinters.

• 3

  Install the latch, temporarily, for a test run to decide the best position for permanently installing the latch. Close the gate. Pass a 10d nail through the hole in the latch. Position the nail on the gate post so the latch, when turned horizontally, traverses the gap between the post and the gate and hold the gate securely. Nail the latch to the gate post. Hammer the nail only about 1/2 inch into the gate post so it can later be easily removed. Hold the latch against the gate post and fence and turn it. Open, close, latch and unlatch the gate. If the latch needs to be repositioned, mark the new position for the pivot point.

• 4

  Drill a 1-inch horizontal pilot hole for the lag screw, using a 3/16-inch bit, through the marked pivot point. Pass the threaded end of the lag screw through a steel washer, the latch, then another washer. Use a socket wrench to securely screw the latch onto the post, through the pilot hole.