I stopped using a level to set fence posts and my gates finally swing right after 14 years

Dakota Ellis · 2026-09-15T19:05:05.212296+00:00

So I build fences part time, been doing it 14 years, and I always set posts with a 4 foot level. About 6 weeks ago I watched an old guy in Tulsa build a gate solo in like 40 minutes. Instead of a level he strung a line from the hinge post to the latch post and set every post to that line, called it lining to the gate not to the ground. I tried it on a job in Broken Arrow and my gate swung clean on the first try for the first time in years. Turns out my level was reading the post as plumb but the ground had a 2 inch fall across 8 feet, so the gate was fighting that the whole time. I've done 5 gates this way now and not one has dragged. Anyone else set posts to the gate line instead of a level, or am I late to something everyone already knew?

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I stopped using a level to set fence posts and my gates finally swing right after 14 years | Boss Fight Therapy - Rigidtalk