Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Dear Rich,
I am in consensus with your generalization that vertical wavy elements aren't unique.
I would certainly validate that my view is subjective,but from where I sit there is a conspicuous similarity and I felt a gentle "heads up" was warranted. I have no animosity on this issue whatsoever but sincerely wish to save Ray from potential future harm.My words were intended in an avuncular way.I think he's made a fine gate which exhibits good craftsmanship. If you as moderator think my words seemed not gentle, too strident or disrespectful in any way and I have offended Ray, I apologize to him publicly for that was not my intent. I do however hold to the underlying belief that such similarity should be avoided.I think this forum is a rich fertile ground for learning by all participants and I gave what I thought to be useful input in the spirit of constructive criticism. This same spirit I would expect and accept from all others here even if it were contrary to my own beliefs.
With respect

Thanks for the input guys! The ideas that I took inspiration from were the ties from one picket to another. The vertical elements mimic the look of the ocotillo cactus that is native to the Sonoran desert where I live. And after looking at the Kelp railing I can see how it would appear to be similar. I agree that if I were in someones immediate area it would be wise to ask permission. I also believe that if you are willing to share your work on a public forum you should expect some crossover of ideas in others work. If someone feels so strongly that they don't want their ideas to be duplicated they should not post them to save themselves from that frustration. As far as my designs go I would not be upset if someone were to borrow some elements for their work. And thank you for the apology that was not necessary because you were only looking out for all of us on this forum.

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Well spoken Ray,
I certainly take you at your word. I know there are synchronicities and coincidences in design all the time.

I use a knotted wire brush on the rebar to soften the ribs a little. It smoothes it out and gets the scale off. I have made large ocotillo cactus and some business card holders with it before but this is the first time doing a piece of this quality. The photo below is of one of the card holders made with material found at the local scrap yard so it is all rescued metal. I left this one in the pickle juice a little too long and it got some pits in it but it still looks OK.

This gate had to be aproved through an H.O.A. so it took longer than it should have. I did the concept drawing in May and I did the final install on Halloween. There are about 50 hours of actual work time and many more hours of daydreaming about how to make it work.

Smiles are what its all about. The rebar wasn't that bad to work with. It bends quite easily with a little heat and didn't start to split unless I overheated it. The pickets were formed with my ring roller and the ties were heated with the oxy/acetylene torch as I bent them around the pickets. That probably took the most time to get right. The handles were bent around a piece of 1" tubing. This gate is heavy but with the oversize hinges it moves very easily. Thanks for the good comments!