By George A Martin
ISBN: 1558218890
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Lyons Press
Your price: $12.95
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Reviewed for Carbon County News by Gary Robson on 10/22/2001
I'm as much of a technology and gadget fan as the next guy, but sometimes it's good to go back to the simpler days of yore. When I first picked up Fences, Gates, and Bridges (and How to Build Them) by George A. Martin, I thought I'd be reading about PVC fence, prefab steel gate panels, and I-beam bridges. Much to my surprise and pleasure, I found a richly illustrated book first published 101 years ago.
Fences, Gates, and Bridges devotes a chapter to barbed wire, which it treats as a fairly recent invention, but covers rail, board, rock, sock, and other fence types in much more detail. Martin describes techniques for installing fencing with horses and simple wagons, and presents a dizzying array of techniques for fencing gullies, streams, and hillsides. His look at fencing laws is an entertaining and enlightening peek at the way things used to be.
I've never seen such a collection of gates as Martin presents, from simple "sag-free" swinging gates to complex self-closing gates, vertical-opening gates for heavy snowfall areas, wickets, and stiles. Some of the designs require welding and steel work, but many require nothing more complex than some boards and wire or nails.
His book wraps up with a description of a variety of bridges, ranging from ornamental to purely functional bridges over gullies, streams, and culverts out on the ranch. The final chapter takes a completely unexpected direction, with instructions for building smokers and making sausage.
The 300 illustrations in the book make it light and easy reading. Whether you're looking for a practical guide to putting up some classic rustic fencing, or looking for some fun and nostalgic reading on a snowy evening, Fences, Gates, and Bridges has you covered.