I’ve recently finished a reproduction of a Shaker hanging wall cabinet in cherry. I’m about to mount the peg rail. I’m concerned about the weight of the cabinet on a peg. The pegs are tappered so I assume a straight hole is needed for strength? Some retailers sell pegs with a 5/8″ screw already installed. But that doesn’t seem long enough to be secure.
Should I split the peg and wedge it from the back, drill a hole for a larger size screw to be inserted into the peg, drill from the back of the peg board into the peg or just use Gorilla glue to hold the peg in?
Finally, I’ve read where applying an oil finish to a peg board MAY cause some of the pegs to become loose…not sure how much truth there is to that one.
Thanks!!!
Replies
The pegs used by the Shakers were quite substantial, the tenons were 1/2 inch in diameter and at least an inch long. Many of the pegs, and the boards they went into, were actually threaded, presumably with a die stock. The tenons were straight not tapered. The exposed portion of the peg was typically just under 3/4" in diameter and 2" to 3" long.
The boards the pegs were set into were 1" to 1 1/4" thick or thicker, but most of the thickness would have been hidden by the plaster since the peg boards were nailed to the framing and then the the lath and plaster was applied hiding most of the board's thickness.
If the "Shaker" pegs you have are the smaller ones I've seen in hardware stores with a short tapered tenon, they probably won't be sturdy enough for safely supporting a cabinet.
John White
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