pegs

Does anyone know of a source for mail order pegs? I need @ 100 1X10 or so. Will generic dowels work OK? I'm not building a taj mahal or anything, just a simple guest house. thanks, Jay

If you go to the timber framer guild home page and click on 'resource guide' and enter the category 'peg supplier' you'll get two listings. One is Northcott Wood Turning in NH. There is another in Ohio, I think. All the info on these two companies are there. Good luck, Jim

I've used oak dowels from the hardware store on several smaller frames with no ill effects. Just make sure the grain is straight, because if it runs out too much the peg will slit and then its hard to drive.
Good Luck!
Mark Surnoskie

Hello Jayibold:
Just a thought on the subject of wooden pegs for your project, if you have alittle time and some straight grained oak preferably in a green state, you should be able to produce your own pegs for this and future frames easily. I suggest sawing from 3\4" straight grained boards the number of pegs needed, and then have a friend at a machine shop drill a 1" hole through a piece of 3\4" steel plate about 4" by 6" in size. Have the machinist then re-bore the hole from the bottom up to within 1\8" from the top surface with 1-3\16" bit stopping when it begins to appear. Have him invert the hole from the bottom up with a tapered round wedge to push up the remainder of the 1" size, with a round file sharpen slightly this inverted part to remove any burs. Next Take your square wood dowels and sharpen and taper them well( about a 3" taper). Mount your steel plate on the top of a wood horse or wook bench with the hole in the steel plate over a corresponding slightly larger hole in the horse or other support. start the square wooden pin point first into the hole in the plate and continue to pound through with a wooden mallet until the pin drops out the bottom, you will find that it will be the exact size for a 1" hole and will look quite good and be especially strong when installed. You can make very strong pins by splitting from straight grained red oak planks, and you will be surprised how quickly this will move along
Hope this helps
The Northern Hewer

I can vouch for Scott Northcott. Doesn't mind small orders, ships promptly, reasonable cost. Great folks to work with. CB.