tenons are usually 2inches with no pegging, 3-4in for a 1" peg with no tension, and 5 or more inches for pegs in tension.

Oak is the most common material for pegs as it tends to have the highest shear strength against the grain. You can also buy pegs. I haven't bought any yet, but I found www.Pegs.us on the web. It looks like they are really set up to make pegs. I guess the question is, do you want to start making your frame, or make pegs for awhile.

It is a shaving horse with a peg in the clamp.
I sent you an email about it.

Jim Rogers

PS: a quote from that email:
this is what you need to make in order to produce your own pegs.
We do this all the time.
In fact one of the girls at the high school where I teach timber framing, at the after school program, are now making pegs at under 5 minutes each peg.....

Jim. Where do you find a shaving horse? or do you make your own? I prefer the riven pegs off the horse compared to lathed pegs, just the same as an axed timber over a sawn timber , as I think it allows the wood to have a say in its new shape. Welcome Woodbutcher, I believe black locust is also a great wood for pegs. tb

Rain changed over to snow, so a short day. timber brained, a shaving horse is easy to make, an hour and you can be shaving pegs. I have a simple design via Bill Copperthwaite, it's based on simple living. The idea is any one can make this machine and move on to the item at hand, in this case pegs. This horse has no legs, you just set it anywhere, a chair, pony, chopping block etc.. It's light and easily moved, so it can be taken to the work site. It is friendly to young and old.

The problem is a picture is worth a thousand words and as everyone knows I don't do pictures. So I am going to try something else. We'll see if it works. Tim

Due to copy right laws I can't post any pictures of the plans of my shaving horse, because I got them out of a book.

But I can email them to you.

There are several ways to make them but the one I have you sit on and push on the pedal to clamp the peg stock between the clamp jaw called the dumb head and the ramp.

It is very easy to clamp and un-clamp and we bore a test hole through the seat to test each peg through.

You just keep shaving until it fits through.

We start with straight grained red oak lumber and cut it on a table saw into squares just a little larger, say 1/8" then the finish size of the peg.

At a shaker village, I visited a few years ago, I saw all different type, and sizes of shaving horses:

Here are some:





And here is a close up of my horse with a peg in it's clamp:



Email me if you want the plans, anyone.....


Wow, what a corrupt upload.....

From Timbeal:



And:



He can explain these shots.

Jim Rogers

Thanks Jim, there is 2 knots with holes for testing peg fit, as Jim mentioned. No plans included it is up to the individual to make changes to fit their needs, just keep it simple. Shaving pegs is a kid friendly job. That is my daughters boot to the left. Time wise one of my sons, at age 13, made 60 pegs in an hour, after riving. I have found in sawn stock, the grain can run off, it's worth the time to rive. Tim

Tenon length depends on the work it has to do, if any. 3" for minor girts, studs and braces, 4" for post tops, and longer than that for major horizontal members like tenoned joists, tie beams. If there's any tension at all, 5" would be a minimum. You have to balance that with the hassle of a deep mortise (if not thru). The weather problem with an exposed tenon end is a good point by Carlos. I would suggest making the tenon on the horizontal piece 5" long and using two 3/4" pegs 1.5" off the shoulder with 1.5" edge distance (3" in between pegs). Keeping the pegs nearer the shoulder gives good relish at 3.5"
Eric Sloane and "Woodworking in Colonial America" have plans for shaving horses.