Every tenon in the walnut series is pinned with an offset peg. The hole through the leg sits a hair off the hole through the tenon, so the peg pulls the joint tight and holds it there.
No metal anywhere in the bench. If a joint ever loosens, a new peg fixes it in five minutes, in your kitchen, with a hammer.
If a joint ever loosens, a new peg fixes it in five minutes.
The pegs are riven, not sawn: split from a white oak billet along the grain, then shaved round. A riven peg follows the grain all the way through, so it bends before it breaks. A dowel from a store is cut across the grain and snaps.
We offset the holes by about 2 mm, a little more in walnut than in oak. Too much and the peg breaks going in. Too little and it does nothing.
Glue goes on the tenon cheeks only. The peg does the holding; the glue keeps out dust. When the glue gives up, in a lifetime or two, the peg will still be there.
