Drawer Bore Pins

[greg Forster]

Were drawer bore pins used in construction of furniture and why?

[Dave Matson]

http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/z_art/drawBoring/drawBoring1.asp

Yes, because its stronger than glue alone. :)

[Rob Young]

Not sure you need to draw bore a drawer (drawer bore pins). ;)

But if you mean "draw bore", yes, they were used to hold mortise and tenon joints in furniture large and small. Done right, they provide a mechanical lock for the joint. Also can be used to pull closed the shoulder. Undercut the shoulder just a smidge and it will close up gap free.

[Derek Cohen]

Were drawer bore pins used in construction of furniture and why?

Draw bore pins are a temporary clamp for mortice and tenon joints. They are not necessary to make the joint, per se.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[harry strasil]

Personally, I think draw boring a mortice and tenon joint comes from the old art of timber framing in the days when green wood was used and the timbers were squared with broad axe and adze, and the timbers shrank in drying and the draw boring kept the joint tight even thru shrinking. At some later time it was introduced into smaller work as the apparent advantage of pulling the joint together tighter.

just my 2¢

[Josh Bowman]

I agree with Harry. If you think about it, it would be hard to clamp a barn together. So the old timers simple let each joint be drawn together with the pins, ingenous if you give it some thought. Many barns in this area where built that way and still stand today.

[Adam Cherubini]

Greg,

I'm not sure if you mean "draw bored" joints or the tools used as temp clamps called "draw bore pins". Mortise and tenon joints were certainly pegged throughout the ages. Whether those joints had offset or "draw bored" holes is a different question.

There's no good way for us to prove they did this or that the practice was widespread. The shrinking of wood over the centuries complicates matters.

I do it and I believe it was done. But we really don't know for sure. Good arguments can be made both ways.

Adam

[George Neill]

I have disassembled many 17th century oak chests, chairs and wall panelling during restoration and many of the salvaged pegs looked like crankshafts where they had wend their way through the off-set holes in the tenons.

I understand the need for draw bore pins for assembling large timber framed structures, but in my view, draw bore pins for furniture are completely redundant tools. The actual wooden pegs do the work of the pins.

[Derek Cohen]

... I understand the need for draw bore pins for assembling large timber framed structures, but in my view, draw bore pins for furniture are completely redundant tools. The actual wooden pegs do the work of the pins.

George, I am sorry, but you have it backwards :)

Pegs cannot do the job of the draw bore pins because they do different tasks.

The peg or dowel (or whatever) fixes the joint permanently. The pin, on the other hand, is a temporary clamp that is used to check the fit or hold the joint together, which is especially useful when the structure is too long for a clamp. You could not easily use a wooden pin simply because it would be difficult to remove to adjust or glue the joint.

A draw bored mortice-and-tenon joint resists opening up due to humidity or stress, which is the reason it is used in furniture.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[George Neill]

Pegs can of course do the job of braw bore pins (I have done it many times when installing 6 ft wide 10 ft high wall panelling), but draw bore pins can not do the job of pegs. As I said previously, I believe draw bore pins are redundant for furniture making (they didn't appear as hand tools until the 1830s which was several centuries past the heyday of draw bored joinery), but if you like the look and feel of them then why not have one or two.

[Adam Cherubini]

I have disassembled many 17th century oak chests, chairs and wall panelling during restoration and many of the salvaged pegs looked like crankshafts where they had wend their way through the off-set holes in the tenons.

I understand the need for draw bore pins for assembling large timber framed structures, but in my view, draw bore pins for furniture are completely redundant tools. The actual wooden pegs do the work of the pins.

George,
Some guys say that what you saw is the result of 300 years of wood shrinkage. The pins become essentially steam bent into that shape. What they look for is the elongation of the hole. But that could be very very subtle and also a function of age.

I suspect draw boring was very common for anglo american wainscots/panelling etc etc. Where the argument seems to lie is whether formal mid 18th c chairs and other mahogany furniture was draw bored. Its possible they clamped these pieces together and drilled straight through the joints.

The mortised bit is always going to shrink relative to the tenon shoulder and that could bend the pin (I always feel any appreciable shrinkage will just crack the mortised piece but apparently that doesn't always happen).

I've not disassembled any 17th c furniture and my sense is that you are seeing evidence of draw boring. I'm not sure what Peter Follansbee says on this subject. He would be the guy I would ask about this.

Adam

[George Neill]

I am aware of the arguments you site, but having worked on so many pieces of old oak and panelling and knowing realistic shrinkage rates for the period and climate, with respect to their authors, I reject those notions. I can add that on one or two ocassions, I have seen pegs that stopped at the tennon and broke off or were snapped off intentionally, or were sawn off (as retrieving them from the hole was presumably too difficult or time consuming). The reason for these unsuccesfully inserted pegs was apparent from the round dent left in the tennons caused by the hole off set being too great. Proof enough for me at least.

[James Owen]

George,
........I'm not sure what Peter Follansbee says on this subject. He would be the guy I would ask about this.

Adam

Exactly.....in the days of poor quality glues (Pre-late 19./early 20. C), draw-boring was one of the accepted methods for ensuring that joints would not come apart for the "useful" life of the piece of furniture.

Prior to the advent of quality (i.e. reliable) glues, mechanical joinery (draw-bored M&T joints, dovetailed joints, etc) appear to be the methods that were routinely used to ensure that furniture and other wooden objects held together.

IMO, the "old ways" very frequently are very effective and "better" than new-fangled ways......... (sorry...the Festool Domino, as one example, just doesn't do anything for me, and especially not for $800+.....)

[James Owen]

BTW....I find that eccentric draw bore pins (specifically the ones that Ray Iles makes) to be extremely useful in testing draw-bored M&T joints......

[George Neill]

Exactly.....in the days of poor quality glues (Pre-late 19./early 20. C), draw-boring was one of the accepted methods for ensuring that joints would not come apart for the "useful" life of the piece of furniture.

Prior to the advent of quality (i.e. reliable) glues, mechanical joinery (draw-bored M&T joints, dovetailed joints, etc) appear to be the methods that were routinely used to ensure that furniture and other wooden objects held together.

There has been very reliable glue (hide glue) up until the 20th century when more conveniently packaged glues appeared. Some of them aren't too reliable!