Oak joinery guide
The joints that hold a frame for centuries
Mortise and tenon, drawboring, oak pegs, the traditional joinery behind every Southern Oak frame, and how a green oak building is cut and raised by hand.
In short
Every Southern Oak frame is built on mortise and tenon joints, drawbored and pegged with oak pegs, no metal brackets, no glue, no shortcuts. It's the joinery that has held timber frames together for a thousand years.
The pegs draw each joint tight and lock it under tension; as the green oak dries, the joints tighten further and the frame beds in. A frame assembled this way doesn't just hold, it gets stronger and more settled with every year.
The joints
Six joints in every oak frame
Each has a job, to take a load, resist a force, or extend a run. Together they make a frame that outlasts us all.
Mortise and tenon
The cornerstone of timber framing. A projecting tenon on one timber fits into a matching mortise (slot) cut into the next. Pegged through, it resists tension and shear and has held frames together for a thousand years.
Drawbore and peg
The peg holes in the tenon are offset fractionally from those in the mortise. Driving an oak peg through pulls the joint tight, locking it under tension without glue or metal. It's the joint that tightens itself as the frame dries.
Lap joint
Two timbers cross or meet at the same level; material is removed from each so they sit flush and bear onto one another. Used where a post meets a plate or in intermediary framing.
Scarf joint
Where a single span needs more than one timber, a scarf joins two beams in line with interlocking faces and pegs, extending the run without losing strength. The mark of a framer working with what the forest provides.
Brace (knee) joint
Diagonal braces tie post to plate or post to tie beam, stiffening the frame against racking. The brace is tenoned at both ends and pegged, the skeleton of a frame's lateral strength.
Dovetail
A fan-shaped tenon that resists pull-out by its own geometry. Used in tension members, floors and certain joinery where a mechanical, self-locking hold is wanted.
How a frame is cut
From template to raised frame
The six steps of cutting a green oak frame by hand, the craft behind your building.
Design & templating
Design & templating
Every frame starts as a drawing. Dimensions, spans, roof pitch and joint positions are set out full-size on the workshop floor, the 'scribed' template that governs every cut.
Scribing
Scribing
Timbers are laid over the template and the joint positions are scribed directly onto the wood with a knife and plumb bob. Each joint is marked to its exact place, no two frames are identical.
Cutting mortises & tenons
Cutting mortises & tenons
Mortises are chopped with chisels and a mallet, cleaned with a framing square; tenons are cut with a handsaw and shoulder plane. We cut by hand and by eye, the grain tells you where the joint wants to sit.
Drawboring the peg holes
Drawboring the peg holes
Peg holes are bored with an auger, offset by a hair's breadth between tenon and mortise. When the peg is driven home it draws the joint tight and locks it for good.
Test fit & assembly
Test fit & assembly
Each joint is trial-assembled in the workshop, pegged and checked. The whole frame is dry-fit before it ever leaves, so raising day is about lifting, not problem-solving.
Raising on site
Raising on site
The frame is raised onto a prepared plinth, posts set and braces pegged, beams dropped into place. A whole oak garage can be standing in a single day.
The framer's kit
Tools and pegs
No power tools at the joint, just the hand tools that have framed Britain for generations, and oak pegs cut from the same tree.
By hand, not by machine
- • Framing chisels & a wooden mallet
- • Handsaws, rip and crosscut
- • Augers and a brace, for boring peg holes
- • Framing square and a marking gauge
- • Plumb bob and chalk line
- • Drawknife and spokeshave, for finishing
The oak peg
Pegs are split (riven) from seasoned oak, then shaved to a taper with a drawknife, far stronger than a turned peg. Each one is driven through the drawbored joint to pull the tenon tight and lock it for the life of the frame.
Because the peg is oak and the frame is oak, they move together, no differential movement, no loosening. It's a fastener made of the very material it joins.
People also ask
Your oak joinery questions
Concise, snippet-ready answers to the questions buyers ask most about how an oak frame is built.
What is a mortise and tenon joint?
It's the joint at the heart of oak framing: a tenon (projection) on one timber fits into a mortise (slot) cut in another, then pegged through. It resists tension and shear and has held frames together for centuries.
How are oak frames held together?
With drawbored mortise and tenon joints and oak pegs, no glue, no metal brackets. The pegs draw each joint tight and lock it as the oak dries.
What does drawboring mean?
Drawboring offsets the peg hole in the tenon slightly from those in the mortise, so driving a peg through pulls the joint tight. It locks the joint mechanically without any fasteners.
Why no metal brackets in oak framing?
Pegged joints let the frame bed in and tighten as the oak seasons, and they give the clean, uninterrupted look of a heritage frame. Metal brackets interrupt that and don't let the joint bed the same way.
How long does it take to cut an oak frame?
Cutting a bespoke frame in the workshop typically takes a few weeks, depending on size and complexity. The frame is then dry-assembled and raised on site, often in a single day.
Dig deeper
Frequently asked questions
A little more detail on the joinery and the build.
Every frame is built on mortise and tenon joints, drawbored and pegged with oak pegs. We also use lap joints, scarf joints, dovetails and diagonal brace joints, all cut by hand, no metal brackets.
The hands behind the frame
Built by people who care about the joint
The framers who cut your oak, and what sets our craft apart.
What makes Southern Oak different?
Every frame is cut and jointed by hand using traditional mortise and tenon joinery, no metal brackets, no shortcuts. We design each building around your home and plot, handle planning and building regulations in-house, and back our work with a 100+ year design life. It's heritage craft, delivered with modern project management.
How are Southern Oak's buildings constructed?
We cut each frame from selected green oak using traditional mortise and tenon joints, pegged and drawbored for strength, then finish and assemble on your site onto a brick or stone plinth with a concrete pad. Roofs are clad in cedar shingles, clay or slate, or integrated solar panels. Every building is designed for a 100+ year life and matures to a soft silver-grey as the oak seasons.
Why choose Southern Oak?
You get one team from first sketch to final handover: design, planning, hand-cut manufacture and on-site installation. Transparent staged payments, nationwide coverage and a frame built to outlast generations mean your investment is protected at every step.
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