A Drawbored Mortise-and-Tenon Joint is a common method that wood workers use to join two pieces of wood without needing to use glue to secure the joint. There are so many varieties of wood joints you can use. Each style has a specific purpose and function that separates it from the others.
It can be confusing for a beginner to understand what all of the woodworking joints do so I researched through the internet and put together a quick summary on how drawbored mortise-and-tenon joints are made.
How To Make A Drawbored Mortise-And-Tenon Joint.
Craftsmen sometimes secure a tenon in a mortise by driving one or more pegs through the joint instead of using glue. The traditional method for pegging a mortise-and-tenon joint is to drive a square peg in a round hole. This method works much better than using round pegs or dowels. The corners of the square pegs wedge themselves in the holes and can’t work loose.
- Make the pegs from a very hardwood such as oak, maple or hickory. Whittle about three-quarters of each peg’s length, making it more and more round toward one end. When you’re finished, one end should be round and the other end square. The square portion should be about ½ inch long.
- After assembling the joint, drill one or more holes, as big around as the peg square, through both the mortise and tenon. Don’t locate the holes too close to the end of the tenon. The tenon might split when you install the pegs.
- Drive each peg into the hole, round end first. Tap it in until the square top is almost flush with the surface of the wood. Be careful not to hit the peg so hard that it splinters.
- If the rounded portion of a peg protrudes from the back of the assembly, cut it flush with the surface of the wood. Lightly sand both the round end and the square end.
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