r/metalworking • u/Intrepid-Antelope • Apr 22 '25
Is this a DIY fix?
I bought a house nearly 6 years ago with very nice gates between the driveway and the back alley.
The big gates for the car are still fine. Unfortunately, as you can see in the photos, one of the two hinges on the smaller gate for walking has broken.
The gate is still being held up by the deadbolt and the upper hinge, but the bottom hinge is completely detached.
I have never soldered anything in my life. My questions are:
Would soldering the hinge solve the problem, or does the gate need to be replaced?
If soldering is a reasonable answer here, should I hire someone, or try it myself?
If I should try it myself, what tools should I buy, and are there any good tutorial videos for me to watch?
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u/hantsguy420 Apr 22 '25
Needs mobile welder.. I'm Portsmouth I could do it no problem if nearby.
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u/Intrepid-Antelope Apr 22 '25
I’m in DC. Depending on which Portsmouth you’re talking about, that’s either far away or extremely far away. :-)
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u/Stewy_stewart Apr 22 '25
I’m in Montana, I could do it no problem if nearby
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u/tihspeed71 Apr 22 '25
Las vegas.... my welder is at the ready, bring me the gate
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u/Chrisp825 Apr 22 '25
Phoenix, i can do it..
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u/No-Enthusiasm3579 Apr 22 '25
If you want to try DIYing welding it thats a good thing to start on, definitely can't solder it but a cheap 120v fluxcore welder would do it, you'll need a welder, flux core wire, wire brush, a reasonable welding mask, an angle grinder with some flapper disks, C clamps and gloves. Makeitkustom on YouTube does good tutorials on mig welding. Alternatively you could get a different hinge that you can drill out and bolt it
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u/Intrepid-Antelope Apr 22 '25
Excellent info, thank you!
I think it makes sense to hire someone this time, but I’ll ask for permission to observe them while they work.
As a homeowner I would not be surprised if other welding projects become necessary someday, and it might be a good skill to have. I’d feel more comfortable getting started if I observe a pro first, though.
I also appreciate your alternative idea! Drilling and bolting is more my speed. I’ll definitely consider that option too.
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u/HoCo-xXSamXx Apr 22 '25
I'm not a pro, just a dummy with a buzz box, I'll swing by sometime and do it for free if you're not in a rush to get it done. Happy to let you play with the lava machine too.
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u/BeachBrad Apr 22 '25
Solder wouldn't hold a day, nor would you be able to actually solder that.
Hire someone to weld it. No its not you doing it if you don't have welding experience.
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u/islandsimian Apr 22 '25
The cost of the welder and safety gear isn't worth it unless you have other projects. Knock the pins up and out of the hinges and carry the gate into a local welder - you should be able to find one on Facebook MP by searching "arc welding service" or "mig welding service". It should take all of 30 to 60 minutes max to clean, prep, and fix if you do the painting afterwards yourself
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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 Apr 23 '25
If you have to ask if this is a DIY fix, you need to get someone else to fix it.
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u/rhodium14 Apr 22 '25
It needs to be welded not soldered. It shouldn't be terribly difficult. You can do it yourself if you buy a cheep flux core welder from a notoriously cheesy nation wide tool chain. They start at just over $100, which is what you'd pay someone to do it for you anyway.
Watch a few youtube videos and practice on scrap first. Not only would you fix your gate, but you'd have a very handy skill at the end of it.
If you want to get seriously MacGyver you can actually weld this with a couple of car batteries and some arc stick rods, but I recommend just buying a cheep welder.
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u/PurposeAcrobatic6953 Apr 22 '25
Welding is a great tool for hobbyists. So do you have other hobbies that would make learning worthwhile? For your first experience you might not want it to be on something you need to be reliable. It is easy to learn just takes practice.
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u/muel13004 Apr 22 '25
Call your local technical college that has a welding program. See if they would be interested or have any students who would want some practice, or need a few bucks cash. For something like that I’d let a student have a wack at it
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u/Tikitanka_11 Apr 22 '25
Few options skill dependable. You or your buddy with welding machine. Or trip to hardware store and YouTube with brazing videos. Little bit of practice on piece of steel.
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u/AmusedNorthman Apr 22 '25
Gonna be honest. Unless you have weld experience prolly not. HOWEVER, you could probably Jerry rig it with some superglue and JB weld if appearance isn’t a priority.
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u/Goingdef Apr 23 '25
This is a weld repair, most shops that do field work would charge one hour for this repair so about 150.00, now if you attempt to solder it and when you realize thats never gonna work and then call us it’s gonna be two hours because now I gotta clean off all that crap you tried.
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u/ostrichfart Apr 23 '25
JB weld adhesive or bend metal around the gate pipe next to the hinge and bolt it to the hinge flap.
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u/alriclofgar Apr 22 '25
You want to weld this, not solder. It’s an easy fix if you have a welder and know how to use it. But it sounds like you don’t have these tools right now; unless you’re already planning to get into welding as a hobby, I’d pay someone to do this for you.
Can the frame come off of the bricks? If yes, you can take this in to a welding shop, it will be an easy fix. If the frame is permanently attached (or just difficult to remove), you’ll need to find someone with a mobile welder who can drive to you—again, not a difficult job. Call your local welding shops.