Drawbore – An Inside Look

Posted 31 May 2019

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The drawbore is an ancient and intriguing method of holding joints together without the need for glue. However, it is hard to make this right if you don’t understand how it works. Paul has put together and then sawed in half a drawbored mortise and tenon to show how the peg works and what is needed to achieve the strength and unity of this type of joinery.

36 Comments

  3. Using a heavy washer to form pins is a good idea. And of course there are countless other equally good options for making pins and dowels. You could repurpose an old drill bit gauge (pennies on ebay) or simply drill a range of holes in some scrap / repurposed piece of steel. No need at all to spend £££s on factory made dowel plates.

    Worth adding that lightly faceted pins work as well, some would argue better, than fully round pins so don’t hesitate to go straight from a chisel or spokeshave. Maybe a little harder to correctly size that’s all. However you make them its worth making a few extra in case one splits (usually wonky grain or too tight) and also so you can drill a hole in some scrap and test your fit before assembling your project.

  4. I always look forward to your updates. Some I have done before, but even then a refresh of my memory is an excellent way to be sure that what I do is correct. Just like on molding around a door or window remembering the long side of the cut is always on the thickest part of the molding. I have ruined more wood than I want to remember till I actually review in my mind which side is which way.

    1. Steve, have you made or watched Paul’s video series on the cutting board from the castle kitchen? It uses draw bore mortise & tenons and is a great project. I made several of them which are very popular. People are very impressed that there is no glue in the project yet it won’t come apart or fail.

    1. I am no expert at this so please consider this with my reply. Because the draw pin deforms the inside of the bore on the tenon and somewhat on the mortise side, I’d say you could probably dissemble once or twice but after a few times of driving the pin in, it will loose it’s purpose and the joint would become loose sloppy. If you are just dissembling for a one time repair you could increase the size of the hole and pin when you reassemble. If you want something that will be dissembled over and over you might just use a straight through bore so that it doesn’t deform the pin or the holes. That’s just my humble opinion.

  10. Yes………… it’s reversible, but not without a little risk and involves leaving a little forensic evidence behind..

    Many old building – even ships – were built using this method scaled up. Lots of old barns were reassembled on new sites and put to a new purpose. Did a bit of that myself 40-odd years ago when there was a fashion of “rustic” pubs made from dismantled agricultural stuff with old tools hanging on the wall.
    ……DIY Pub-kits if you prefer.

    In good furniture (assuming that you want to reassemble it later, elsewhere), the minute entry/exit marks left by a previous dowel will likely remain amidst the site of new pin……. it all adds to the history of the piece.

  13. Mr Sellers, another wonderful insight into the past methods that are still current today, however, I think I am missing something here, I understand that there was not commercially made dowels way back when so the craftsman had to make his own. In our families joinery run by my Uncles they have inherited a very old dowel maker from my great great grandfather when he started the joinery works, they still use it for large draw bore pins on restoration work. Will this still work with a 1/2 inch or larger commercially made dowels
    Thanks Stephen

    2. Stephen, in my experience commercially made dowels often have runout in the grain instead of being straight. If you use them for a drawbore, or any other type of weight bearing fixture or joint, they will split off at an angle. Better off to make you own using this or similar technique.

      Aaron

  14. Paul, Thank you for posting this video. I never knew or thought of this technique before but I am trying to learn how to build items without nails or screws. I’ve been using my wife’s bamboo skewers and old incense sticks to hold my tenons, half laps and rabbets together. They have been holding tightly because I also use glue and bored pins throughout the builds so that it wouldn’t fall apart over time. I first used that technique on my aircraft Technicians Tote. It’s a showpiece for myself and I tried to hide the multiple pins by burning the wood with an electric heat gun. It’s been holding well and only weighted it about 30lbs. I will not try anything heavier since it’s built to hold the least amount of tools to perform a specific job. I will definitely use your technique in building my wife’s ladder stand. Thank you. Reggie aka BackYardJackofAllTrades.

  15. Thank you Paul, for another really practical and informative video. I didn’t think to use this technique on a project last year but will remember to do so in a subsequent one where I want a permanent and strong joint; I like the way it allows you to avoid using glue.
    Are there any adjustments you need to make for working with lower-grade softwoods? I make a lot of things out of recycled wood, especially the various pines used for pallets and scaffolding planks.

      1. There’s a hole lot of boring jokes here lads and they all lack depth.

        I was in therapy the other day and after half an hour of talking about my struggles my therapist said “It could be worse, you could be in an underground hole filled with water”. I know he means well.

  18. I have learned something new: making the hole near the tenon shoulder is also to minimise shrinkage between the peg and the tenon shoulder.
    Until now i was thinking the only reason was to avoid tenon shearing if the hole was made on the other side: close to the exit of the tenon.

  19. Great job of show and tell. I learned about Drawbore before I made my thick top work bench. All the joints are glued and drawbored. I was totally amazed at how tight it drew those joints together. Highly recommend using them. Thanks again for all your wisdom you share teaching what has been lost in so much of our world today.
    Jim Light, USA

  20. Thank you for this video. I always love learning about joinery developed to suit different (often sparse) available equipment, and seeing exactly how it works is always a wonder! As a bonus, it helps me remember the technique itself 🙂

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