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Thread: Drawboring

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    9,467

    Drawboring

    I have added a second pictorial to the Mortice-and-Tenon primer: Drawboring.

    The link is here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Drawboring.html

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Wixom, Michigan
    Posts
    363
    Nice tutorial Derek. As always, your articles are a pleasure to read.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
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    909

    Questions Derek

    Nice tutorial. Some questions.

    1. Did you insert the drawbore pin from only one side?
    2. Was it the pin insertion side?
    3. Did you try to drive the pins with light or heavy hits?
    4. Have you ever used wax to make driving easier?
    5. If the joint needs redone or repaired, do you recommend either pounding out the pin or drilling?
    6. Was the bit for your brace make the same sized hole as the dowel?
    (Some bits are slightly oversized)
    7. When the drill bit broke into the mortise, did you go back and clean it up somehow or did you use a filler in the mortise?

    Thanks Derek.

    Eric

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    Good questions, Eric ...

    1. Did you insert the drawbore pin from only one side?
    2. Was it the pin insertion side?

    yes and yes

    3. Did you try to drive the pins with light or heavy hits?

    light-moderate hits are all that are necessary

    4. Have you ever used wax to make driving easier?

    No. Not necessary.

    5. If the joint needs redone or repaired, do you recommend either pounding out the pin or drilling?

    You can knock out the pin

    6. Was the bit for your brace make the same sized hole as the dowel?
    (Some bits are slightly oversized)

    mine was a good match in size

    7. When the drill bit broke into the mortise, did you go back and clean it up somehow or did you use a filler in the mortise?

    I have compared the breakout of a brace/auger, eggbeater and power drills with bradpoints. The brace and eggbeater created much the same amount of breakout inside the mortice, with the power drill (and higher speed) the least. How much? This can vary per wood type. If you are concerned, add a blank into the mortice. I mostly get a few splinters and just remove them.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Olympic Peninsula, Wa
    Posts
    54

    Excellent, Thank you

    Great tutorial, as always. Thank you for posting.

    One quick question, is there any advantage to lining up the end grain of the dowel so it runs with the grain of the stile? I thought I read somewhere that was a good thing to do, but other than cosmetics I can't see a reason to do it.

    Thanks again.

    Jeff

  6. #6
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    Feb 2004
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    Perth, Australia
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    Jeff

    I must admit that this has never occurred to me to do. I doubt that it would add anything to the strength of the joint.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Newburgh, Indiana
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    918
    Do you use glue in the joint? If not, why not? Thanks
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    Hi Bob

    The use of glue is optional.

    A drawbored joint is pulled together tightly and the pin creates a strong mechanical connection. The advantage of this is that gaps in less-than-perfect joints are removed and any potential expansion of gaps (due to moisture) is minimised. You can use glue for a permanent joint, but it is not necessary as the internal tension of the pin will hold the joint together.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    You can use glue for a permanent joint, but it is not necessary as the internal tension of the pin will hold the joint together.
    Note of course that there *is* internal tension, and so you need to make sure that the tension is not so high that it blows out the end of the tenon or splits out the edge of the mortised piece.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Wixom, Michigan
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Considine View Post
    Great tutorial, as always. Thank you for posting.

    One quick question, is there any advantage to lining up the end grain of the dowel so it runs with the grain of the stile? I thought I read somewhere that was a good thing to do, but other than cosmetics I can't see a reason to do it.

    Thanks again.

    Jeff
    Where I have seen this mentioned is when using large dowels (e.g. 1"). The reason for lining the dowel grain perpendicular to the surface grain is so that if the dowel expands it will not split the surface wood. I made use of this technique for a sawbench I built.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    extreme southeast Nebraska
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    3,113
    Draw boring originated with timber framing using green wood to compensate for the shrinkage when drying, I don't drawbore very often in dry wood and if I do I don't drill the hole off very much and just taper the end of the peg like the old timers did.
    my 2 cents
    Jr.
    Hand tools are very modern- they are all cordless
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  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    near San Diego: unincorporated section of county
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    What keeps the joint from separating after you remove the steel drawbore pin and before you insert the wooden dowel?

    James

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Lancaster, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Baker SD View Post
    What keeps the joint from separating after you remove the steel drawbore pin and before you insert the wooden dowel?

    James
    Nothing. The drawbore just allows you to test fit the joint, to make sure its fitting properly. If you didn't use a drawbore pin you would have to put the dowel in and set the joint to see how it fit. Getting the dowel back out of the joint, if it needs adjustments, is much more difficult than removing the tapered drawbore. Test with a drawbore pin, finish with dowel.

    Rob

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    near San Diego: unincorporated section of county
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    Makes sense, thanks.

    James

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
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    22
    Or, if the tenon is wide enough for a double drawbore, as is sometimes the case, leave the pin in one of the holes while driving the peg through the other.

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