Replies

1. 
   curmudgeon | Sep 14, 2020 05:49pm | #1

   IMHO, that thick, a quarter of an inch is too little. I’d err on the strong side n go 3/8ths. Uh... don’t ignore your cross grain expansion on the breadboard end.

2. 
   _mj_ | Sep 14, 2020 05:51pm | #2

   Sounds reasonable as you present it. 1/4" would probably be fine structurally. A little wax in the tenon bore helps a bunch.

   Make sure the pins are straight grained, or MAKE them straight grained. rounding the bend in the drawbore will shear diagonal grain and leave you trying to dig it out.

3. 
   lat_axe | Sep 16, 2020 08:09am | #3

   As MJ says, straight-grainer pegs will be strong enough at 1/4", for straight pegging or the slight bending of a true drawbore peg. Fibrous woods like oak and ash are certainly strong enough if straight grained. I don't know much about hickory but it's role in axe handles and such presumably means it has good long grain strength and resilience?

   The matter of size vis-a-vis the appearance (rather than the strength) is another matter. Myself, I think breadboard ends look best with square pegs for some reason. Perhaps because the things that are breadboarded tend themselves to be rectilinear rather than curvaceous. In some ways, bigger is better for square pegs.

   But square pegs for true drawboring ..... They might not like to bend.

   The pics are of a breadboard end pinned straight through in the middle with square pegs, not a true drawbore. I'm not sure drawbore is strictly necessary with a breadboard end. Those in that table top do keep the breadboard close to the end grain of the tabletop; and the breadboard was given a slight concavity on the table top side, so the pegs do pull the breadboard into the table edge but they aren't drawbored as in the holes through breadboard and table top tongue being offset.

   Lataxe

   
4. 
   john_c2 | Sep 16, 2020 09:10am | #4

   I prefer square pegs on breadboard. Drawboring is great for structural elements, such as a mortise and tenon. But breadboard are decorative, and really don't need the drawbore.

   I also don't need to use breadboard on things, unless my goal is to hide end grain. Breadboard are completely unnecessary on a tabletop, for instance. They are not needed to keep it flat. The top is attached to the table below, and that's more than enough. I've never had a table top without breadboard ends warp, and I've made 4/4 tops as wide as 70 inches in width.

   The only time I feel a need for breadboard ends is on panels that are unsupported. A drop front desk, for instance, where one end has hinges, but the panel is not connected anyplace else.

   Lee Valley has a few square punches that are fantastic for squaring up round holes.

5. 
   kikodoss | Sep 18, 2020 03:49pm | #5

   Thanks for your advice. I like the idea of going with square pegs. As you say, drawboring is not necessary, but I hadn't tried it before, and thought I'd give it a shot.

6. 
   _mj_ | Sep 18, 2020 04:50pm | #6

   If you're worried about the bendy-bility of the square pegs you could carve or turn them down to fit a drilled hole, leaving a small square head to seat in the top board. That'll get the visual weight you want without adding to the dowel thickness too much. BTW, a pencil sharpener works great to help the dowel wind its way through the drawbore.