Daiku, we bought two of the triple spur bits at the Eastern TFG conference this past fall from Timberwolf. So far, so good, although I will say that when someone on crew found a nail (what the...)in something he shouldn't have been drilling in, the steel of the bit felt pretty soft when resharpening. We're using a very small triangular file for this. We're about to do a raising in two weeks where we'll get to really put them to the test. If they really don't need a blowout block as advertised, I'll be a firm supporter.

Would you normally draw bore smaller joinery such as brace tenons? Do some draw bore the entire frame regardless of the type of joinery; or is it carefully chosen which joints require draw boring?

I drawbore everything, being careful about the principal connections and going easy on braces etc... It's partly a matter of putting it into the routine, like chamfering I spose.

I am building a small woodshed to get some practice at square rule layout, and I am drawboring all of my joints. The method I use is to drill peg holes in both mortices and tenons at the time I cut the timber in the "shop" (snow-filled backyard). I simply lay out the same point on both the mortice and the tenon, then offset that point on the tenon by an eighth in the (hopefully) correct direction.
I don't know if I read somewhere that this works well, or if I am just being lazy. My take is that, as long as I drill my mortice peg holes close to perfectly square, they should correctly misalign with the tenon peg holes upon assembly. I will be using tapered pegs, so there should be no problem engaging the offset peg hole.
There is still the question: how consistently can I drill my peg holes square? I can see a situation where the peg engages the tenon hole but won't pound in much further because of sloppy drilling, and ends up putting fairly localized pressure on one point of the peg and/or tenon relish. I suppose this could also be a problem if the "double assembly" drawbore method is used. If your initial mortice peg hole is out of square, you'll have to mimic that angle as you drill your tenon peg hole freehand.
My question is, does anybody else out there do what I am doing? Has it worked well for you, or am I in for a surprise? Is it as persnickity as I am making it out to be? I do like my method more because it is easier -- no drilling on assembly day.

offsetting your drill bit from the center of your marked location is, as I said, something less than the diameter of the finding screw on the end of the bit. Not the diameter of the bit.
The offering of up to 1/8" is valid. In all of this disussion the implication that the tenon is not too long is also valid. You are really trying for maximum shoulder contact so the joint will not wander in the long axis as the wood dries and gets smaller in cross section.

Emmett, my appologies, as you said to do, I read your first explaination at least a dozen times and keep reading as bit dia. not tip. What a big difference one simple letter can make,lol! It must be frustrating to teach this stuff to beginers. Thanks so much!!!

Jed,

That is exactly the way I was taught to do it by Jack Sobon. Peg holes are laid out and bored as each timber is completed. No "double-assembly" required. To keep the peg holes square to the timber while boring, set a couple of combination squares on edge to sight against. After a while your eye picks up the relationship between the bit and timber.

To be sure you are drawboring in the right direction, move the tip of the bit on tenon in the same direction you want to "move the mortice", i.e. towards the shoulder.

Is it the best way? Possibly for some, but not for others. Like many things there are several ways to do it. It's still possible to make mistakes, but in my opinion, no more so than any other part of the layout process...

Cheers,
Dan

RE: Triple Spur auger bits.

I used them at the Salem Pavillion Rendezvous. I was very impressed how cleanly they cut.

I subsequently bought one through Amazon. The brand was the same as the one I used in Salem (Wood Owl) but they don't have spurs. Consequently, they don't make a clean entry on the cut. I presume (hope) the bits from Timberwolf have a spur.

Dave

Yes, the wood owl bits sold by Timberwolf are spured.

We went ahead and orderd the 3-spur wood owl bit from TWolf tools. In short, we've had it for 2 weeks, and we love it. Very smooth entry hole, and no 'jerk' as the spurs start to cut, so it's very easy to steer. Recommended. CB.