Drawboring

[paul cottingham]

So I have yet another question. I am seriously considering drawboring the stretchers and aprons in the endtable I am making. The legs are 2" square, and it is at least nominally arts and crafts style (or inspired, if you'd rather.) Does anyone see any issues with this? Should I put the pins right through the legs?

Thanks again

[Harlan Barnhart]

2" is plenty of "meat" for pinning into a blind hole. Should work great. I've done it in Eastern White Pine on an 1 3/4" leg.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Go for it. I do it all the time. Eliminates the need for clamps.

[Chris Vandiver]

Paul,

If your furniture piece is Arts and Crafts inspired, you may want to consider a square pin draw peg rather than a drawbore dowel. Square pegs, if I am not mistaken, are more in keeping with the "Craftsman Style".

[paul cottingham]

Heh, that is why I said "inspired" square pegs intimidate me.

[Harlan Barnhart]

Here it is in EWP with a 1/4" white oak pin.

[Terry Beadle]

Just a comment to say that if the legs are 8 qtr stock or there abouts, that's plenty of thickness to drive the pegs from the back side but not let them go completely through the front. That is if you don't want the pins to show. Personally I like to see the pins.

Also the square pegs don't need to be square all the way through. Just the outter 1/4 to 3/8ths can be square with the remaining portion of the pins round.

[Ray Pine]

Terry,
Sure you can drawbore in this instance. Here are a couple thoughts:
As another poster said, drawboring (offsetting the hole in the mortised member slightly forom the hole in the tenon) can eliminate the need for clamps; the pin trying to pull the holes into alignment draws the joint together. This can be helpful if the project is longer than your longest clamp.
There are draw(heh) backs to this technique. Too little offset, and the pin may not be adequate to pull the joint up. Too much offset, and the pin may break in two, the wall of the mortise may split, or the tend of the tenon may break out. In any event, the pinned joint may not be square, and with no clamps to shift to pull things aright, a project in a skew may be the result.
An agreeable alternative is to glue the joint, clamp it tight, square it up, then drill through the joint, and pin it. Clamps may be removed immediately if the assembly is handled gently.
The joint can be pinned blind, that is, only drilled partly thru, as long as the pin pierces the tenon and partially enters the back side of the mortise. This is helpful where a breakout on the backside of the assembly would be unsightly, as on a door frame.
Square peg in a round hole? If the pin is accurately sized so that its section is no greater than the diameter of the hole into which it is driven (ie a 1/4" x1/4" pin in a 1/4" dia hole), splitting is extremely rare, esp if the piece is in clamps when the pin is driven (joints can be pinned afterwards, if the assembly is left to dry in the clamps). Knocking the corners of the pin, making it roughly octagonal in section for part of its length helps the pin drive more easily, and is pretty much necessary in pinning a tenon buried deep in a member like a 4" bedpost.
Ray