Shaping Small Pegs - Method?

[glenn bradley]

I am making some walnut pegs for a small cherry box. I take the 3/16" square blanks and work them on an inverted plane with a stop to get the rough shape. I then chuck them in the DP and go at them with a file to get a round peg with a square top.

So I'm working away and I'm thinking "Somebody has got to have a better idea than this". Any help out there?

69711

The pegs will be driven in the last little bit with a bit of glue, sawn off and sanded down. The piece of cherry in the pic is the thickness of my stock. The peg will extend into another piece mounted at a right angle to the face piece (that would be one side of the box attached to the other as in a pegged, butted corner joint).

TIA,

Glenn

P.s. No 3/16" or 1/8" chisel or I'd just use a square peg . . . now where is that wish list?

[Scot Ferraro]

Hi Glenn,

I would use a dowel plate. Lie-Nielsen makes a nice one with lots of common-sized holes or you could fashion one out of some scrap steel -- just drill the size hole you need and drive the dowel through, leaving the last 1/4 - 1/2 inch for your square end.

Another option is to cut the entire peg square and then round it with sand paper. Are you using a draw-bore type joint with the peg where you offset the hole a little and then the peg draws the joint tight? If the round end is not showing I do not think it is a big deal if the dowel is not perfectly round. Draw-boring the joint is very tight fitting too.

Good luck,

Scot
Scot

[Steven Wilson]

Lathe and a wrench for sizing the tenon.

Or ---- how about using a tenon cutter? Have a look at the Veritas mini tenon cutter. Just feed it your square stock.

[glenn bradley]

Maybe I should move this to the Neander Forum. Turns out a little whittling ain't too tough. Peg heads will be burnished to darken the color and increase the shadowline.