Hanging a wooden gate with Acorn's black, hand-forged look hardware comes down to three questions: how the hinge strap fastens to the gate, how thick the gate is, and how far a bolt has to throw. The figures below are Acorn's, taken from its item pages. The Acorn products we carry are listed on our Acorn brand page.
What Acorn lists under Gate Hardware
Acorn's Gate Hardware list mixes hinges, latches, bolts and loose latch parts. Most items fall into these groups:
- Gate strap hinges with a pintle, in heart or bean style, and decorative gate straps.
- Gate thumb latch sets with a heart handle: RUKBI and RUIBI.
- Bolts: curled, cane, square and gate bolts, plus a slide barrel bolt.
- Hooks and eyes in 3 and 5 inch sizes, and a safety hasp with a swivel.
- Loose thumb latch parts such as thumb levers, latch bars, strikes and a slide guide.
Gate strap hinges: screws or carriage bolts
Every gate hinge on the list names a pintle in its title. What changes is the style, the length and whether carriage bolts come with the strap. Acorn's heart hinges RIIBP, fastened with screws, and RIKBP, fastened with carriage bolts, show the difference:
| Detail | RIIBP | RIKBP |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 17 in | 19-7/8 in |
| Strap fastens with | 4 #12 x 1-1/4 in screws | 3 carriage bolts 3/8-16 x 5 in, 1 #12 screw |
| Pintle | 2-1/2 x 4-1/2 in | 1-1/2 x 6 in |
| Predrill for pintle | 1/4 in bit | 3/8 in bit |
Both are made from steel and finished in matte black with a rough texture, and Acorn says both can be used for right or left swinging gates. Each strap is 1-1/2 inches wide at the barrel and 2-1/4 inches at the heart end, and Acorn measures the length from the end of the curl.
Acorn's drawing of the RIIBP pintle shows an L-shaped pin with a lag (wood screw) thread, and the installation tips call it a lag pintle. For the #12 screws, both pages give a 9/64 inch bit for softwood or 5/32 inch for hardwood. The RIKBP carriage bolts come with hex nuts and washers and take a 3/8 inch bit. Acorn also advises tightening the screws by hand, not with power tools, to protect the finish.
Each page has one load line, and it speaks of doors. For RIIBP: "Two hinges carry doors up to 175 lbs." For RIKBP: "Two hinges carry doors up to 250 lbs." Those are Acorn's figures for those two items, quoted as printed.
For RIKBP, Acorn names a matching dummy hinge: RINBP, a 19-7/8 inch decorative heart gate strap. It is also made from steel with a matte black finish and a rough texture. It comes with the same three carriage bolts, nuts, washers and #12 screw, but without a pintle.
Here is every item on Acorn's Gate Hardware list whose name says gate hinge or gate strap. The last column shows what the name includes; each item page lists the full contents.
| Model | Style, length | Name includes |
|---|---|---|
| RIIBP | Heart, 17 in | Pintle |
| RILBP | Heart, 17 in | Carriage bolts, pintle |
| RIKBP | Heart, 19-7/8 in | Carriage bolts, pintle |
| RIJBP | Heart, 20-1/2 in | Pintle |
| RITBP | Bean, 15-5/8 in | Carriage bolts, pintle |
| RIRBP | Bean, 16 in | Pintle |
| RISBP | Bean, 18-7/8 in | Carriage bolts, pintle |
| RIPBP | Bean, 19-5/8 in | Pintle |
| RIMBP | Heart, 17-1/16 in, decorative | Carriage bolts |
| RINBP | Heart, 19-7/8 in, decorative | Carriage bolts |
| RIWBP | Bean, 14-1/2 in, decorative | Carriage bolts |
| RIVBP | Bean, 18-1/4 in, decorative | Carriage bolts |
Gate thumb latch: a 3 inch or a 4 inch gate
Measure the thickness of the gate before you pick the latch. Acorn designs RUKBI for gates up to 3 inches thick and RUIBI for gates up to 4 inches thick. Apart from that, both pages describe a heart design, a cast iron handle 10-3/4 inches tall and 2-5/8 inches wide with 2-3/8 inches of projection, and a matte black finish.
Acorn calls each one a combination set. That means it comes with the hardware to mount it on a gate that swings in or on one that swings out. The RUKBI page adds that mounting instructions are included. The thumb lever is also listed on its own on Acorn's Gate Hardware list, in two versions: one for 3 inch gates, 6-1/2 inches long, and one for 4 inch gates, 7-3/8 inches long.
Bolts, hooks and a hasp
Several of these bolts carry Forged Iron in their titles, yet the item pages for RL3BP, RL4BP and ALEBP say they are made of steel. This is what Acorn lists for each piece:
- Curled bolts RL4BP and RL3BP: steel with a rough texture and a matte black finish, spring loaded for vertical or horizontal use, with three strikes included (surface, rim and mortise). The throw is 1-7/8 inches on RL4BP and 1-1/4 inches on RL3BP. The list also has 6 and 9 inch curled bolts.
- Cane bolt ALEBP: steel with a matte black finish, spring loaded for vertical or horizontal use, with a 7/16 inch square bolt 22-5/8 inches long. A surface strike, a mortise strike and a cane cup come with it. Acorn says the throw depends on where the pads are placed. Cane bolts of 12 and 14 inches are on the same list.
- Slide barrel bolt ALFBP: steel with a matte black finish, a 4 inch bolt 1/4 inch in diameter, a 15/16 inch throw, surface strikes and six #8 x 3/4 inch screws.
- Hook and eye ALPBP: forged steel with a matte black powder coat, a 3 inch hook and two eyes, one of them already on the hook. A 5 inch version, ALQBP, is also listed.
- Safety hasp ALCBP: steel with a matte black finish and a lock holder that swivels. Acorn lists it for flush applications. It measures 4-1/4 by 1-1/2 inches locked and 5-3/8 by 1-1/2 inches open.
Acorn's list adds square bolts of 2-1/4, 4 and 6 inches, a 6 inch gate bolt and an 18 inch square bolt, RLCBP.
More gate hardware on our store
Gate latches and gate kits from other makers are in our Gate, Garage and Exterior Hardware category. If the gate needs a keyed lock rather than a latch and a bolt, look in Gate, Rim and Specialty Locks.
Questions about an Acorn gate item? Our customer support team is available Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM Central Time, at 1-888-800-7789 or [email protected].
Related Products
