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fit up question

Started by beetle, June 27, 2005, 08:56:55 AM

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beetle

When doing a fit up on a timber frame section where you are using the draw bore method, and you are going to take the assembly apart, should you or should you not drive the pegs home? If you do drive em home, will the joint not pull as tight when its time for the real thing?

I appologize for being repeatative if this subject was covered in another post here but I could not find anything.
Too many hobbies...not enough time.

Jim_Rogers

During a fit up, we don't usually drive the pegs "home". If these are dry pegs and the wood is green (wet), then the peg can suck up some moisture and swell up and not allow you to drive it out.
During a fit up your tenons should fit flush to the housings without any great deal of force to pull them in. Your tenons shouldn't be sloppy in the mortise but they should be trimmed to fit, that is the tenon should slide into the mortise and the tenon shoulders should touch the housing faces without pounding the joint together with a "commander".
If joints require pounding together (before draw boring will begin to work) then you run a high risk of splitting the timber with the mortise in it.
A good nylon strap around two timbers to pull the joint together should be enough.
Adding wax like anchorseal will help joints to slide together.
We also use a smaller peg or dowel as a peg pusher to hit against in order to drive a partially driven in peg back out of the mortise holes.
By the way good question.
Jim Rogers
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

beetle

Well....I drove them home and after I did that my little brain said...oops  :o maybe I should not have done that.  I guess it was the excitement of finally after a year and a half actually seeing some progress. 8)

This assemby is the upper Queen posts and straining beam bent, I can just leave them assembled like they are untill raising day if I will cause damage attempting to dis-assemble. Thoughts/comments?
Too many hobbies...not enough time.

ARKANSAWYER

If they fit well and you can leave them I would.  Most of the time I do my fitting with steel rods that look like "T" handles.  It aids in lining things up and can be taken apart easy enough.   Green pegs work good in fitting things up as they bend and over time dry and come out.
  If you have to remove a peg I drill a 1/4 or 5/16th hole down the middle of the peg to remove most of the tenision and tap it out.
  Also when taking things apart I often strap them together and support under them good.  I take the peg or pin out and then loosen the straps.  Once when dry fitting a frame on a king post bent some ponies were removed from under the frame when it was done.  Then we started taking it apart and a guy hit the bottom of a "T" pin and it poped out and the frame came apart and fell off the remaining ponies.  No one was hurt but there could have been some very smashed toes.
ARKANSAWYER

Jim_Rogers

If you do leave them together, will you be able to lift the assembly up to the second floor?
Whatever you do, have fun doing it!
Woodmizer 1994 LT30HDG24 with 6' Bed Extension

beetle

Ya we will get it up, plan on having a Crane there on raising day. The fit is good..actually I was a little impressed with the way it fit. Everything lined up, joints were snug but not too tight, and actually came out dead nuts square?? So maybe I will leave well enough alone and leave it together as long as there is no harm in doing so.

I have a picture or two so I will try and figure out how to get one on here, it is time to get a progress post going anyway.
Too many hobbies...not enough time.

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