Archival and Safety Context: The article preserves historical measurements, materials and procedures, but is not a project, static calculation, soil assessment, fence or machine specification, or performance manual. The fence and gate must be suitable for the site, purpose, wind, snow, load, soil, corrosion, child and animal safety, local regulations and plot boundaries. Load-bearing columns, foundations, reinforced concrete, welded and forged parts, operating gates and guardrails require appropriate design, professional inspection and safe installation.
Today, Savo Kusić is focused on wooden windows, wooden-aluminum windows, custom windows, doors and requests for quotation. This text remains as a historical archive and does not constitute an offer to manufacture fences, gates, concrete posts or net knitting machines.
Temporary and wire fences
Temporary fence
A simple, cheap and temporary fence can be made from branches, a few nails and barbed wire of suitable length. We can attach the wire to the outside of the branches with nails. If the twigs chase, then we will get a hedge fence.
The fence will be much more durable if the ends of the dry branches that we place in the ground are soaked with tar, and the barbed wire and nails for fastening are coated with thick oil paint. We can also smear the upper ends of the branches - which were previously cut with a saw so that they are horizontal - with the remaining paint to protect them from water. Of course, this kind of fence is only temporary in nature and does not have a special aesthetic appearance. On a plot of land that has been completely arranged and is located in an organized settlement for rest and recreation, it cannot remain even temporarily (fig. 1, 1. part).
Figure 1 — examples of the construction and support of different fences.
A fence with posts and barbed wire
A simple fence can also be made from thinner stakes (thickness of an arm) by driving the stakes into the ground and placing barbed wire on the sides in several rows (fig. 1 - 2., 3. and 4. part). It is recommended to dip the ends of the stakes in tar before driving. It will be best if the ends of the stakes are smeared with tar in such a way that after tamping there is still 5-10 cm of the smeared part above the ground surface. The upper parts of the stakes (faces) should also be tarred to protect them from water and decay. The height of the barbed wire fence is usually 1,3-1,7 m. The distance between individual rows of barbed wire is 20-30 cm. The wires are attached with U-shaped nails.
Barbed wire: The installation of barbed wire may be restricted or prohibited according to location and purpose, and poses a serious risk of cuts and injuries to people and animals. Before work, you should check the regulations, plot boundaries and underground installations; use a dedicated tool, protection and controlled tightening, without standing in the path of the wire.
A fence with posts and different wires
We will make the fence even cheaper if, instead of barbed wire, we use a simple smooth wire with a diameter of 1,5-2 mm, and only use barbed wire for the top and possibly the bottom row. The fence will be much stronger if the stakes, which are located at the corners, are supported. The struts can be slightly thinner than the edge stakes. Under the ends of the supports, one large stone should be placed in the ground, or the entire support bed should be made of gravel. This also applies to stakes ie. stakes should be placed in a dug hole filled with gravel or crushed stone (fig. 1 - 4., 5. and 6. part).
We can make a fence with various wires by placing barbed wire for the top and bottom rows and weaving them diagonally with smooth wires. We can also use slats for the fence, so we simply “braid” them with thicker wire, and in this case, long coasters will not be needed. It will be even better if we attach the wire to each batten with one U-shaped nail. After painting, we fasten the braids to stakes placed in the ground at a distance of 2–3 m. The ends of the wooden and metal stakes should be shaped so that they firmly grip the ground (gravel bed) or concrete. The solutions given in the picture provide such a position that the stake cannot loosen (fig. 2, 1. part).
We can speed up the process of tarring the ends of the stakes if we make a simple device for this purpose. You should take a steel or metal pipe with a larger diameter (a tin pipe for a “chunak” stove) and firmly place a wooden plug in one end of the pipe. We need to make a suitable stand for the pipe from thicker wire or concrete iron. The end of the pipe with the plug should be placed on a brick, pour tar or bitumen into the pipe and make a small fire around it. We will then dip the ends of the stakes into the melted material (fig. 2, 2. Of course, the poles need to be kept for some time in the molten material so that they can be heated and impregnated with tar. In a similar way - of course without fire - we can paint the ends of the pillars with oil paint or thicker nitro paint.
Figure 2 — post support and a historical depiction of protecting their ends.
Do not apply the shown heating: an open fire under a pipe with tar or bitumen carries the risk of fire, burns, tipping over, flammable fumes and noxious smoke. Do not heat tar, bitumen, coatings or unknown materials on a makeshift stand. To protect wood, use an approved system for a specific application, in accordance with the technical sheet, protection measures and soil and water protection rules.
Concrete and metal columns and fillings
Reinforced concrete fence posts
Procurement of timber is often problematic and wood is not as durable a material as concrete or metal. Now we will give advice on how to make (do-it-yourself) permanent and aesthetically designed reinforced concrete fences.
A nice and cheap solution is e.g. a fence of concrete girders with a steel skeleton. Concrete girders are made by pouring raw concrete into the column. For vertical columns, angle iron of at least 35x35 mm or similar dimensions of profile iron L, U, etc. should be taken. The horizontal connecting elements between the columns are also made of profiled or flat iron. If there is no flat iron, a thicker wire of 5-6 cm is also suitable. The angle iron frames can be fitted with fencing materials as desired, e.g. barbed wire, wire mesh, sheet metal insert, etc. (fig. 3).
Figure 3 — historical depiction of making concrete supports with a metal skeleton.
Reinforced concrete fence posts can also be made on a DIY basis using appropriate templates. The template can be made of wood, metal, and round asbestos-cement pipes. The template covers are made of wood with matching rebar openings. The inside of the pipe should be greased so that the concrete does not stick to it (fig. 4). We must not forget, of course, the holes for attaching wires or wire mesh to the fence, because they are very difficult to drill later. These openings should be such that pieces of 2-3 mm wires can be placed in them, and we will cement the wires later and attach the fence material to them. We can attach the top row of barbed wire to the concrete rebar protruding from the top part of the post. Finally, at the ends of the columns, we can make pyramid-shaped “caps” from cement.
Figure 4 — example of supporting and hanging a simple metal gate.
Asbestos and load-bearing concrete: asbestos-cement pipes mentioned in the historical text should not be cut, drilled, ground, broken or used as a mold. Existing suspicious material must be evaluated and removed by an authorized professional organization according to the applicable rules. Profile dimensions, reinforcement, concrete protective layer, foundation, support depth, mixture, care and loading time are determined for a specific case; the listed historical measures are not calculations or specifications.
Fences with bars and inserts
We can make durable and beautiful fences from iron U profile 30-35 mm, with frames made of profiled iron and with concrete or stone pillars. The vertical elements of the grid, which are made of U-profiles of the appropriate lengths, are attached to the horizontal profiles of the frame with rivets of 4-6 mm, which were previously heated until they glow. According to this method - with stone columns - the distance between the columns can be increased to 4 or 5 m. On the upper horizontal iron profile, we can attach - by riveting or by means of screws - “barbs” made by forging,
Fences can also be made from ready-made frame inserts that can be purchased in the store. It is best if for this kind of fence the base is made of stone, and the inserts are attached to tubular or profiled iron posts. Since the lengths of the inserts together with the frame are 1,6 m, the distance between the columns is uniquely determined by this. The frames of the inserts are attached to the columns with collars that are at a distance of 1,7 m.
Ready-made gates can be bought in stores, but we can also make a gate ourselves from a frame with profiled iron and dense wire mesh, riveting or using screws. The pipe columns should be closed with a plug, repeatedly painted, made of wood or artificial material so that water does not get inside the pipe and cause corrosion.
Hot Riveting and Metal Barbs: Working with red hot rivets, forging, welding and sharp ends requires trained personnel, proper equipment, fire control and joint design. Sharp points must not create an unacceptable risk to passers-by, children or animals. Corrosion protection and water drainage from closed profiles are solved by the project, not by improvised closure.
Simple garden gates
With the use of wooden or metal materials, we can make small garden gates ourselves. A larger stone should be placed in the bottom of the hole for the main support post to prevent the post from settling. Otherwise, the pole should be buried at least 50-60 cm in the ground. The strength of the column can be increased by pouring crushed stone around the column, pouring concrete over it and compacting it slightly. A piece of metal pipe with one steel ball should be placed in this concrete bed - of course before the concrete sets - as shown in detail in the drawing. The ball will rest on the metal shaft of the gate. On the upper part, the gate is placed (hung) on a flat forged bed with a thread (picture 5).
Figure 5 — historical support detail for a simple metal gate.
The gate frame can be made of both wood and metal. In the frame, which is provided with diagonal reinforcement, we can then place slats or wire mesh. The gate can also be made from drawn or rolled one-inch steel pipe. The pipe is bent to the desired shape by plugging one end with a wooden plug, then filling the whole with sand and plugging the other end. At the bend, the pipe is heated to a bright red glow and finally the desired bend is made. After removing the sand, a steel plug with a pin is driven into one end of the pipe according to the detail of the drawing, and an articulated ring is placed on top with rivets or screws, and then laths or wire mesh. A piece of metal pipe with a steel ball is also used as the bottom bearing.
Heating and Bending the Pipe: the description of filling the pipe with sand and heating it to red-hot is not a safe home work instruction. Closed or unknown pipe, moisture, coatings and galvanized layers can lead to pressure, plug ejection, fire and hazardous fumes. Bending, welding and heat treatment should be carried out using a controlled procedure approved by a qualified professional.
The cheapest and relatively most durable fence is made of wire. It is advisable to perform wire braiding at home, as the braiding operation can be performed with relatively simple tools and equipment.
Historic net knitting machine
The mesh knitting machine is made depending on the dimension of the mesh we want for the fence. Most often we use the dimensions of loops 80x80, 60x60 and 45x45 mm. Here we will show the dimensions of the loop maker 80x80. We will describe the necessary devices in order of wire flow in the manufacturing process (fig. 6,7,8).
Figure 6 — loop geometry and a historical roller detail.
The wire unwinder prevents the wire from getting tangled. A larger axial bearing is placed in the middle of the horizontally placed rack, a flat board is placed on top of it, and a bucket board is placed on top of it. A coil of wire is placed concentrically around the bucket which is fixed with a weight. The wire is pulled from the spool to the tensioner. The tensioner consists of 3 pieces of pulley housed in a bent housing. The tension is increased or decreased by adjusting the position of the middle pulley. On the screws, which form the axis of the reels, pieces of pipe are placed on which the reels can be easily rotated. The width of the pipes should be 1,5-1 mm larger than the width of the reel.
Figure 7 — main parts of the historical wire-forming mechanism.
After the tensioner comes the oiler. It consists of a piece of cloth wrapped around a wire. With another wire, the cloth is attached to the support. The cloth is occasionally soaked in oil. Both the tensioner and the oiler are firmly attached to the ground.
The base of the machine is a flat board with a bright surface. The length of this board is half a meter longer than the desired height of the net. The board together with the machine should be placed on a sturdy work table.
The part of the loop bending machine is a steel tube with a thicker wall and a smooth inner surface. A knife made of solid sheet metal with hard surfaces rotates inside the tube. A thread (groove) with a width of 4-5 mm should be cut on the steel pipe with an inclination angle of 45°, 5 cm in front of the end of the pipe, and a hole with rounded edges should be drilled at the end of the thread. The tube should be welded into the V-shaped socket so that it does not close the thread made by milling anywhere. The V-shaped bed together with the pipes should be welded to a single metal base plate. Then the shaft should be made and the bearing mounted, which is fully shown in picture no. VII-37 b. It is better to make the bearing a little lower, because later when winding the height can be adjusted with shims. The knife is attached to the groove of the shaft with a screw, but it can also be secured with a fuse.
Figure 8 — the path of the wire through the parts of the historical machine.
On-Machine Protection: drawings do not show modern guards, emergency stop, kickback control, safe wire routing, part strength evaluation, or winding control. Tensioned wire, rotating parts, sharp ends, weights and improvised hooks can cause entrapment, puncture, cut or impact. This description is not sufficient to make or use the machine.
The shaft must turn easily in the bearing and in the part of the roller that is not cut. A lubrication hole should be drilled on the upper part of the bearing. The gap between the blade and the inside of the roller should be 0,5-1 mm.
The position of the work table should be adjusted in such a way that the woven mesh can easily leave, stretched diagonally upwards.
A 2“ pipe can be used for the winder, which is strung on a wooden roller or a wooden lath that can be easily turned. The wattle will be wound on this. Several bricks tied to one strong wire can be used for tensioning. The end of the wire should be formed in the form of a hook that is attached to the net. The place of hanging the hook should be moved from time to time.
The working procedure is as follows: the work should be started by lubricating the machine and the tensioner. On the wire, which we passed through the tensioner and through the grease gun, one half of the loops should be made by bending and this should be hooked (over the groove in the roller) to the edge of the knife. Then, by turning the handle, one thread should be made, the length of which is one and a half loops longer than the desired height of the fence. We stop the winding when the wound thread of the wire shows the direction of the winding. After this strong hook nails of 3-4 mm (headless) should be driven into the board for 2-3 loops away from the end of the thread towards the inside. If the net is longer than 1 m, then one nail should also be driven in the middle. The nails must be hammered in so that their positions are not at the lower bends of the loops, looking from the board, but half the height back at the upper bends. Then at a distance of half the height of the loops from the knife and half the width of the loops, we cut the thread.
Pull the first thread back by half a loop and hook it to the nails, tighten it with your hand and string while winding (into the first) and the second thread. When we cut off the second thread, we should take into account that half the length of the loops is needed to tie the threads together. It is best to place a piece of white paper on the board, because this way it will be easier to follow the mutual twisting of the loops and possible malfunctions. So that the thread does not go to the side, it is necessary to properly bend the entrance end of the winding thread. The machine can knit a net of desired height and unlimited length. The best material for the fence is galvanized soft wire of 2,2 mm. From this wire, for a woven length of 1 m, a length of 1,45 m is required. For a fence with loops of 80 x 80, 1 meter requires 25 strands; therefore, 1 m2 requires 36,35 m of wire, with each strand weighing 3 dkg, or 1,10 kg in total.
At a leisurely pace, 3–4 m2 of fence can be woven per hour.
A few more good tips: with good lubrication, less energy will be needed and the machine mechanism will not be overloaded. If the wire is too hard, you should light a fire of wicker around the spool of wire and then allow it to cool slowly. This method will soften the wire appropriately.
Do not light a fire around the coil: heating unknown, coated or galvanized wire with an open flame can cause fire, uncontrolled change in material properties and hazardous fumes. The hardness, type, coating and suitability of the wire are checked from the supplier’s documentation; a faulty wire is not “fixed” by improvised annealing.
Of course, today there are more modern machines for knitting wires, and the principle of their automatic winding is shown below.
Final note: Before any fence or gate, lot boundary, permits, underground installations, opening geometry and sash, crush and shear, column and foundation stability, wind load, corrosion, user safety and locking method are checked. The historical measures and procedures from this article must be viewed only as an archival source.