Making pegs

I'm sure you guys have likely talked this to death in the past but I am curious to know how you are making pegs. Not that I can't make them but when it comes to things like roundness, how much taper, length and different mat., are my pegs normal?
My process:
1. Cut block (ash, oak, cherry etc.) 2" longer than timber width.
2. Split block into square pieces and throw out rejects.
3. With axe, point one end.
4. Using large wooden mallet, drive through hardened steel die.
5. Throw out rejects.
The remaining pegs will still have some flat sections on them. Some more than others.
I will not put any taper on them until I go to use them and I can see the hole alignment and then taper as needed.
I have not found any literature on peg making so I'm not sure if this is normal.

Thane

The tool list is pretty short -

An adjustable bungee for the billett (Split the sapwood off the billet before you begin riving proper), a large froe (good ones are hard to come by - it shoud be wedge shaped not made from flat stock) A Draw Shave (New English for Draw Knife) and a shaving horse.

Hi Thane:

I recall this has been discussed b/4. Type in a search in the window here. There must be threads about making them.

I remember driving them through a "steel die" was controversial before. Some here say it was not typically historic practice, but I've come across the mention of it in a book. Shaving horse and drawknife, riving, and lathe are the typical procedures.

check this thread: http://www.tfguild.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=16447&page=1

I was taught to rive them from a billet with a froe, then shape them on a shaving horse with a draw knife. We had a hole in the body of the shaving horse for different peg sizes. If it didn't fit, you took a little more off, but you never drove them through. I have heard of using a chamfered steel die however, but have no experience. Some have also used a table saw to cut the blanks, but the grain would have to be in perfect alignment to the cut for it to work.

I was also taught to always split any piece evenly in the middle to prevent the split from running to the thin side, as in making shakes. When splitting in the middle, the split should run evenly down the two pieces, provided you are working with a nice billet. I made some pegs from osage orange once, and that did not have straight grain. Was not fun.

I rived them using an old froe, and shaped them in to tapered octagons with a draw knife and shaving hoarse. I needed 170 pegs for my frame. I made half and my daughter made the other half, it’s Easy and quick. You should check them for consistency with a go/no go gage as you make them. I my self would not taper them to fit one particular peg hole on raising day, it would be very time consuming.

kfhines

Ok, I need to make myself a horse like that. It looks like it has adjustable positions if I'm seeing it right. Otherwise fairly simple to make.
I don't have a froe but do have a draw knife. I have split or rived them with a carpenters axe but stock can only be 4" wide.
Could you show me a picture of a finished peg so I can see the taper length you use.
Thane

Don, thanks for the tip. In that thread they were also talking about pegged braces in barns and would like to mention that of the hundred or so barns I've been in there have been no pegged braces. Mostly sawn 2x4's on their side with a small 2" tenon to prevent from coming out.
Thane

Interesting about your report of "no pegged braces" as being typical. That's what's great about this Forum, we can get a real feel for regional practices. In contrast, I don't think I've ever seen a barn in Maine where the braces are not pegged.

kfhines, my kids have made a lot of pegs as well. That is a fancy horse your daughter is using.

I have a type of horse that is very simple to make and works well, it can be made in less than half an hour and is light and easily moved, it is a bodger type of shaving horse, it has no legs, you set it on what ever is handy. I take at least one and often two to any raising, even though all the pegs are made ahead of time, I never really count how many is need, mostly an educated guess and I make more if they are needed.

I will post a picture later, my server is lagging. There may already be one on the forum somewhere.

I am curious what the bungee is for, Will? Does it keep things from exploding all over the floor?

Tim

Tim – Yeah, the bungee is to hold the billet together so you can split all four sides of each drawn blank, they work far far better than cordage, the stretch allows you to fully lever the froe when the billet fails to give up easily.

Still that's about all the new fangled improvement that can be added to an age old method, anything higher tech and you would not be able to read the billet and follow its suggestions.

I will have to try the new technology.

Are you strapping the whole billet or a quarter section? I don't square it up, I split it in half then quarters and so on always splitting halves, discarding the sappy wood in the end, it goes into fire wood.

Tim

I split off most all the sapwood first, as it seems to have great effect in steering the riving and is nothing I want in a peg anyway. I wrap the whole billet, and work it whole, though working in subsections, always avoiding the pith (typically ending up with a 4 or 6 square section that I have not split at all) as it also effects the blanks around it if split through.

The Gilpin's has beautifully rendered shaved pegs. Relativly unusual for a Covered Bridge, turned being far more common.

Thane,
The Shaving hoarse is easy to make and yes the dumb head height is adjustable to allow for use with items of different thickness. The dumb head was made from a small crooked Ash as well as the legs.
I will look around to see what I have left for pegs, I know I have a few extra pegs that were used in a 14" deep header. If I remember correctly, I cut the Oak billets to 13" lengths for making pegs to go with 8" timbers.

Hi Tim,
I don't think you would say it's all that fancy if you see it in person, and at over 6' it takes up a lot of space. I was really happy my daughter wanted to help.
I would be very interested in a picture of your portable Shaving hoarse if you get a chance.

Thanks.
kfhines

Sometime ago, when we were discussing shaving horse, Tim Beal sent me some pictures of his:

Thane:
I'll send you a set of plans if you'd like, but they are from a book and I can't post them here.

Jim Rogers

I wonder if you could split pegs with a wood splitter.

Thanks Jim, I knew I did something with them. That is my daughters leg in one of the pictures.

The design is something Bill Coperthwaite passed on to me an others, when he does a carving workshop he has the attendants make the horse first, they take that home with them as well as part of the craft. He always encourages changes for the simpler side, what can you do to make it still work yet have the tool be even more democratic, something anyone can make and use.

A wood splitter with a grate the billet is pushed through, like the old french fry maker. Out pops blanks ready for shaving.

Tim