Cob: Fasteners

Fri May 23 08:39:02 CDT 2003

I was describing a tiny building of vertical logs we're building to a
> friend, saying "the logs were free, but we may be using $650 dollars worth
of fasteners."

Hi All,

         Fasteners are expensive if purchased.

         Why not make your own?

          I have made rustic and traditional furniture for years and found
that a tenon cutter allowed me to make these short dowels from almost any
piece of wood. Note that this requires a power drill.

          I like the 1" size which gives me a tenon of 1"dia x 3" length.

         Drill a corresponding hole in the pieces which are to be joined.

         You can add glue if needed.  However, if you make the tenons from
seasoned wood and put them into wood which has a higher moisture content,
the shrinking of the wood with the hole will make a very tight glueless
bond.

         Traditional post-and-beam construction often relied on this natural
method of union.

         A person with a wood lathe can make longer tenons/dowels.

         There are also non-electric antique tenon cutters which are quite
as serviceable today as in the past.

         I have a number of these and they work well.

         And then there is always the option of using a jack-knife ; draw
shave ; or other simple cutter to make your own tenons.

          These may not be as uniform as the tooled tenons, but they also
have worked for thousands of years. A piece of flat heavy steel with the
appropriate sized hole will finish off these rough dowels.

         Place tenon over hole and drive through with a mallet.

          Voila; home-made fastenings.

                       arne

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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I was 
describing a tiny building of vertical logs we're building to a<BR>> friend, 
saying "the logs were free, but we may be using $650 dollars worth<BR>of 
fasteners."<BR><BR>Hi 
All,<BR><BR>         Fasteners are 
expensive if purchased.<BR><BR>         
Why not make your 
own?<BR><BR>          I have made 
rustic and traditional furniture for years and found<BR>that a tenon cutter 
allowed me to make these short dowels from almost any<BR>piece of wood. Note 
that this requires a power 
drill.<BR><BR>          I like the 
1" size which gives me a tenon of 1"dia x 3" 
length.<BR><BR>         Drill a 
corresponding hole in the pieces which are to be 
joined.<BR><BR>         You can add glue 
if needed.  However, if you make the tenons from<BR>seasoned wood and put 
them into wood which has a higher moisture content,<BR>the shrinking of the wood 
with the hole will make a very tight 
glueless<BR>bond.<BR><BR>         
Traditional post-and-beam construction often relied on this natural<BR>method of 
union.<BR><BR>         A person with a 
wood lathe can make longer 
tenons/dowels.<BR><BR>         There are 
also non-electric antique tenon cutters which are quite<BR>as serviceable today 
as in the past.<BR><BR>         I have a 
number of these and they work 
well.<BR><BR>         And then there is 
always the option of using a jack-knife ; draw<BR>shave ; or other simple cutter 
to make your own 
tenons.<BR><BR>          These may 
not be as uniform as the tooled tenons, but they also<BR>have worked for 
thousands of years. A piece of flat heavy steel with the<BR>appropriate sized 
hole will finish off these rough 
dowels.<BR><BR>         Place tenon over 
hole and drive through with a 
mallet.<BR><BR>          Voila; 
home-made 
fastenings.<BR><BR>                       
arne</FONT><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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