Thread: Half round dowel supplier and how would you make this?

South Australia is as close as you'll get if you don't want Vic Ash from Bunnings 30mm diameter Half Dowel (American Oak) — Hammersmith

Glued and pinned to a frame is fine; you don't need 100% contact for the glue to hold, it's not like they'll be under any load

I did see that website was hoping there was someone local!
What sorta glue would you use?

Just regular PVA; the frame is supporting the table, the cladding is just for looks. The gap under each side of a 30mm half round is 0.5mm on a 450mm circle and 0.37mm on a 600mm circle so there shouldn't be any problem bridging it.

You could have it made locally but I don't think a custom run would be more economical than freight

Oh it is too re gap - i shouldve done the sums

Easiest way is to purchase full dowels then run them through the bandsaw with a custom fence in front and a splitter behind the blade.

They don't have to be perfect half rounds as the fluted illusion is what you are after with say 0.75 mm lost to kerf width per half.

Another calc to do - check the circumference of the base to ensure you get a whole number of 'slats' with no thin rip/s required.

Looking at how the ones you linked to are made, it looks like they use sections of solid wood and route the pattern in to simulate dowels.

I would consider doing it that way before paying $24 per meter of readymade half rounds. You would need a lot.

Cheers

my BIL made a table similar he ended up buying them from bunnings yes not cheap but unless you've got the setup to accurately cut dowels or rout the profile its the best option.

In terms of attaching the half rounds, nailing is fine, just make sure you're pinning sufficiently far away as to not split the ends. If you're finding that concept bit sketchy or don't have a brad nailer you could glue them to bit of cloth or leather and make a "wrap" around the base.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

A lot of them are just nailed into a frame, but it doesnt seem like an elegant way of doing it. You could add some glue but the contact area will be tiny (half dowel will be flat on a curved base). I suppose you would have to use a really thick glue... like construction adhesive? You could screw from the inside but that might be a pain in the ass? Thoughts?

If the table is a one off special.
I would make the half dowels . A spindle moulder for the half round. Pass through the moulder then saw it off for each one would be nice. For a one off though getting the cutters for one job is a bit of an outlay.

Or machine up a board and hand plane each half round on the edge then saw that off. Both these methods are good in that you can pick what ever size half round suits.

The attachment to the base is an issue . Like you say the slats are flat at the back and your fixing to a round piece.

The best quality way it can be done which is a bit more time consuming would be to glue the slats down onto a canvas backing . The same way a roll top desk like a Cutler desk is done . A tambour door. Then roll that around and glue it to the base with a pin every 125mm maybe . You would have to leave a gap and hand fit the last three or four slats to get a good look possibly.

Just pining them with no glue would be asking for trouble down the track but if its cheap that is wanted do cheap. And glue and pin , It'd work with a good gap filling glue. Plasti bond would be the go. There is still some flex between slats on the in between parts though.

To wrap the slats on canvas around the base some band clamps would work but so would elastic bandage . I use elastic bandage a bit and its great . Its sold for wrapping horse leg wounds . The more you wrap it around something the stronger it compresses .

Originally Posted by tonzeyd

If you're finding that concept bit sketchy or don't have a brad nailer you could glue them to bit of cloth or leather and make a "wrap" around the base.

I didn't see that before I posted

Qwertyu, have you done a cost estimate for this? For 30 mm half round:

• American oak from Hammer & Smith, Adelaide - $23.85 /lm.
• Tasmanian oak(*) from Bunnings - $19.50 per 2.4 m length = $8.13 /lm.

(* In photo it looks more like mountain ash than messmate - but last time I was at Bunnings, I thought it was too light and too soft, possibly light tropical hardwood.)

If the drum base of the table has a diameter of 450 mm then its circumference will be 1,414 mm. It will take 47 x 30 mm half rounds to fill that space. If the table drum is 900 mm high, then 43 lm of half round. Cost of half round:

• American oak from Hammer & Smith = $1,025,
• Tasmanian oak from Bunnings = $350.
• Plus 10 - 15% for wastage!

Ouch !

Im not actually making this, was just curious if there are suppliers for half round dowels and also curious about how one would make it. TBH if I wanted to make something like this for myself I would just cut strips of timber and put a large round over on the corners it would basically have a very similar look and be much cheaper!

Originally Posted by auscab

A spindle moulder for the half round. Pass through the moulder then saw it off for each one would be nice.

Yep. Made 100s of meters like that for a wall panelling job several years back. If you keep the knives sharp they don't even need sanding

Id love to have a spindle moulder with sliding table and power feeder - its such a versatile tool. I dont even have a router table lol

Just thinking, what is the setup on a spindle moulder to make half rounds? Say you want a 30mm diameter what would the starting blank be? How do you stop the piece from rotating during the cut?

edit: or, do you start with a wide 30mm thick board, cut the half round then go over to the saw and cut off the half round, then go back to the moulder and repeat?