Gate Latch Hook

The soil on my lot has a high clay content. This means that I see a lot of soil movement between it being very dry and very wet - as much as 2".

The latch on my fence gate continually needed adjustment so that the gate latched. This happens sometimes twice in one week. I got tired of moving it all the time, and if I didn't, the dog would get out. I needed an easy way to tweak it.

This project requires a few tools other than a 3D printer. The latch hook needs to be printed with 100% fill, and then tapped. Printed threads are not very strong or accurate on most printers.

Use stainless steel or brass for the screw, to prevent rusting. I made a brass screw on a lathe, but I'm sure that a suitable screw can be found at a good hardware store. I made a press fit of the screw into the thumb wheel (which should also be printed 100% fill). The model has a smaller hole than needed so that it can be modified to fit whatever connection you make. Other possibilities for the connection are a set screw or a roll pin.

A standard latch hook has a 45% slope. The latch tended to bounce off of this more so on the plastic version than on the original steel. I found that a 30% slope worked a lot better, and that's what's in this version.