suare peg into a round hole??

What he’s using is a mortising chisel from a motising machine.

Like this:

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/41

-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX

no sorry I have a mortising machine that’s not what I mean. I mean exactly what I said, a piece of square metal stock being driven in to a round hole to square it up a bit like a metal broach only simpler in design.Alistair ps it works I’ve seen it done

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Allistair, you may have been referring to this article in Fine Woodworking. He uses square key stock (like used on motor shafts) to make the square holes. Try this link and see if it will open for you.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011191038.pdf

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

that wont open for me tenontim sorry they want me to join a free trial for 14 days or something thanks anyway I am sure you are right about this .I definitely remember seeing it done was quick and cheap.regards Alistair ps if you can get this link to open I would apreciate it Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

I have a membership. This is from FWW #191. It’s a photo of how to modify the key stock to cut the hole.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

That’s it TIM your a absolute genius go to the top of the class.I now see how its cut it’s what’s called a broaching technique used in machining when changing a round hole to a square.I knew I had seen it done many thanks brother regards Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease

Interesting Technique. Looks like a cool way to peg the wood other than dowels.

-- Jerry

Alistair, if I can just add that the pegs we use in G & G furniture are made slightly oversized with the sides chamfered. When tapped into the hole the sides are compressed for very clean insert with no gaps.

-- Phil in British Columbia

This goes back many years ago to a highschool woodworking class hence about the only thing that I can really remember is that the instructor chucked a fixture into the drillpress, turned it on and drilled a square hole. I can remember the fixture was not merely rotating but was cycling through different axis’s as he drilled.
For sure…it was not a mortising bit. Maybe someone here can also remember seeing something similar.

Lee

-- Lee

The trick I’ve seen, but have not yet tried, is to take on old old brace bit with a tapered, square shank and cut the shaft just above (below, depending on your perspective) the square shank. Pound the square end into your round hole and it deforms the hole into a tapered square hole. You can pick up various sizes of old brace bits at most flea markets for next to nothing.

-- Anything worth doing is worth overdoing