# timber framing with pegs question - peg sizes



## metroplexchl (Jul 26, 2017)

I am building a workshop with joinery and pegs. I've been collecting the posts and beams and am about to get the foundation started. I am curious about pegs though.

I've got 6" and 8" white oak beams that will be pegged. but what size pegs should I use? So say I use a 1" diameter peg, should I make the hole a hair smaller in diameter than the peg or will the slight offset of the wholes between the mortise and tenon be sufficient?

thanks again!


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## metroplexchl (Jul 26, 2017)

I saw Wranglerstar on youtube say that he made the peg smaller than the hole? That doesn't seem right, but I can't find any info on it. Just a lot of videos and explanations of people putting the peg in the hole…..but never mentioning the peg vs hole size relationship.


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## tomsteve (Jan 23, 2015)

id saw get some scraps and test. seems that if the beams werent thoroughly dried to a low MC, the beams would shrink around the pegs locking them in pretty good.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

If you're doing draw bores you'll use tapered pegs so it doesn't matter that much.


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## Harryn (Apr 25, 2011)

1" pegs seem to be the norm on our old Wisconsin barns. Many were made with an octagon shape and then Slightly tapered with an axe.


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## metroplexchl (Jul 26, 2017)

Great info. I will use tapered pegs as I'm draw boring the beams. Sorry I should've been more clear.

If I have a 1" hole, what diameter peg should I use? Some say 1" peg goes in 1" hole. Some say 1 1/16" peg for 1" hole. Others say 15/16" peg for 1" hole.

Im using already dried white oak beams, so there will be no shrinkage on the beams.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

From the Timber Framing forum at the Forestry Forum:

"Pegs should be one half the tenon thickness. So a 2" tenon should have a 1" peg, and a 1 1/2" tenon should have a 3/4" peg.
Now sometimes a 1" peg will take away too much wood and therefore a smaller peg may need to be used as long as it's strength is high enough as to not fail during it's load carrying capacity."

If you haven't been there before, the Forestry Forum is a great place with lots of good information.

Herb


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## metroplexchl (Jul 26, 2017)

> From the Timber Framing forum at the Forestry Forum:
> 
> "Pegs should be one half the tenon thickness. So a 2" tenon should have a 1" peg, and a 1 1/2" tenon should have a 3/4" peg.
> Now sometimes a 1" peg will take away too much wood and therefore a smaller peg may need to be used as long as it s strength is high enough as to not fail during it s load carrying capacity."
> ...


Great info! Thank you, sir. I have already tried to register with the Forestry Forum, but they really scrutinize the requests and haven't gotten back yet. I hope I make it!

However, my question is about the relationship between the diameter of the peg and the diameter of the hole it goes in. So, if I have a 3/4" peg, what size hole should I drill in the mortise and tenon?


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