Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions assembly, pegging

I am still in the process of cutting my frame (24x42 queen post) but am thinking ahead. Is it practical to wait to drill all peg holes until the bents are assembled on the deck as opposed to drilling mortises during the cutting and then assembling bents and completeing holes through the tennons? I am planning on using straps and come alongs to draw bents tight together on deck as oppossed to draw boring. Also is their a commercially availabel hand saw that does a better job of cuttin end gain (rip) than the stanley "fat max" Im currently using? Not sure if my cardiovascular system will hold out on the 11" deep end mortise cuts? Also when errecting frame is it reasonable to stand entire frame and then go back and commander plum/align bent by bent or do you do this as each bent is set in place, plumbing and bracing as you go? Someone on another post mentioned strongbacking the connecting girts and going back through later and pegging? Thanks in advance bman

It's hard to beat drawboring, you can drawbore ahead of time rather than during fitting by moving the tenon peg layout.... If you're determined not to drawbore, I'd think that drilling all the way through mortise and tenon would be a way to go. The challenge in that process is to have the drill bit coming out in the right spot on the opposite side of the timber. This wouldn't matter on outside joinery, only where you can see both ends of the peg.
For handsaws, I like the Zeta saws(although 11inches is big for these blades), available from tashiro's hardware(prompt processing on orders) -timber blade and king rip blade. http://www.tashirohardware.com/
You could also check your local sharpening person, they will often have a rip saw or two hanging around(literally) and for sale.
I've always plumbed and braced as I go, it takes about the same amount of time to place a bent plumb as it does to place a bent crooked. Also, if you don't plumb as you go, your plate braces will be a nightmare. In my opinion, saving pegging for later just means more work to do later.

My suggestion would be to drawbore at least one hole of each connection on the deck prior to standing the bent then check for square and spacings, etc before through-boring the balance of the holes. This will help to ensure tighter joints as the wood shrinks from drying.
Clamp strongbacks to the joints which might be stressed during the raising.
Save the staps and come-a-longs for "racking" the bents and for plate/girt placements.
You'll find that there are never too many straps or clamps during a raising. When in doubt, err on the side of safety and put a clamp or strap on it.

Ode to the drawbore:

Oh why do modern framers fear me so?
When I save time and money as I go.
When they check the frame for square and plumb, they find the job has already been done.
No need for straps, except for rigging.
No better way to hold the frame as it is settling.
Draw boring is easy!
Draw pinning is fun!
Draw boring squares!
Draw pinning plumbs!
So why trade in what has worked for carpenters since old,
for an obsolete method that does not hold?
-Collin

Rip saws:
An older 4 tpi to 4 1/2 tpi 28-30 inch long rip saw is the best way to go, or
check out Pax and/or Lynx handsaws on line. They sell a 5 1/2 tpi 28 inch rip saw.

Right on Collin!

I have seen many draw bore scenarios (by others) go badly but like anything: if you get it you get it.
Draw bore in pre-assembly works well if you do not have the experience/confidence to do it on the horses. Scribers will wait to pre-assemble but square rulers following precise rules have succeeded for a couple of centuries.

There are lots of tricks and techniques and none are wrong as long as they work.

Curtis

bman--The keys to successfull drawbore and raising will come from your understanding and execution of building with control. Never assume the foundation is level, square or on dimension, verify everything, chart varience, setup a numerical scribe for post lengths and layout the footprint to your best. Your goal is to have plates, ridge and bents as level, square and straight as possible. Within the bounds of the greater building, the details of joinery and components, loads are supported and forces are resolved. So while you are thinking ahead, ask yourself, how will I know what I need to know to get predictable results? The question can be asked continually and the answer is in geometric planes, lines, points and solids, and their relationships of dimension, square, parallel and slope. So in a sense, layout of a drawbore is no more difficult than any other detail, once you get it. The trick mostly is the control of boring perpendicular to reference face, use of a boring jig, antique boring machine or a drill frame are the usual means.

My suggestion to you, if you feel cautious, is to bore through the mortise and prick the tenon during fit up with a peg modified into a ecentric center punch ie drill the end of the peg off center,press in a short piece of nail and file a point.

Remember the draw peg should be considered a spring and requires taper in the active part of the bore.

I while erecting set connecting girts, plates and braces to secure the building as I go. I bolt and strap strongbacks and never clamp.

I have found that a survey of the foundation is my best guarantee of an accurate frame.

Do you usually work off a "conventional" (stick framed) deck or a timber sill system? How far off the perfect plane do you find is acceptable?

OK, that sounds good, I will look into the draw bore method more closely. My foundation is mono slab and is easily reconciled to level and square. I was struck by Bensons statement from his BTTFH book that he felt the drawing of the bent together on the deck with straps and come alongs was "superior to draw boring" Having never assembled a frame it just seemed that one could assemble and kerf for fit and square then cinch it up with straps and drill and peg, Viola! I envision draw boring as doing the above and then pulling each joint apart to drill a second time through the tennon and reassembling again. Never been there done that but would like to hear opinions on the other side of the aisle besides Benson. Gracis Bman

Raphael--I have used and surveyed all foundation types. If I can measure a deviation from level, I correct the post length. I use a 1947 Brunson surveyors dumpy level. Error is minimal with proper adjustment. The obvious adjustment is the level vial, the less obvious but profoundly important is to adjust the crosshair to the precise optical center. Without proper crosshair adjustment, the level will sight a conical surface not a level plane. Learn to verify optical and laser instruments with the two post method. With proper crosshair adjustment, the instrument will sight a plane, how level is the plane is the function of level vial precision and adjustment. Builder levels and transits should sight a plane at + or - 3/16" in 150', better precision is not needed. So chart the deviation from the sighted plane.

bman--I have used the Benson method and have mostly moved on to drawbore.

While on the subject of draw boring. I'm using a previously assembled (draw bored) frame as a portion of my new home/office. The frame was "carefully" dissasembled by driving out the pegs that could be and drilling out the blind pegs.

Unfortunately the drilling wasn't as careful as it should have been leaving several tennons with oval pegholes. In most cases larger pegs won't leave enough meat at the shoulder of the mortice.

Anyone have a simple solution to this?