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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    melb
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    Default Dowel maker or plate

    Does anyone here make their own dowels? What setup do you have?

    Veritas has a dowel maker which looks pretty good but very expensive

    Lie Nielsen has a dowel plate but limited sizes

    And this one on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/DFM-Steel-Dow...EA54QG15KH77DG

    What other options are there?

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Ringwood, VIC
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    575

  4. #3
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    Jun 2010
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    Bundaberg
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    54
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    Default

    You can make your own just by drilling through steel plate, at least 1/4” thick*. The LN and Veritas plates are nothing but that in principle, what you pay for with them is much harder steel and precision, polished holes.

    Edit: *Which is exactly what Russ’ video link shows...
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Katoomba NSW
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    4,770

    Default

    I have the 3/8 and 1/2 inch sizes of these. They are awesome. You can quickly make many meters of dowel in a matching timber to your project. I used to turn all my scraps into dowel stock.
    Veritas Dowel and Tenon Cutters - Lee Valley Tools
    Those were the droids I was looking for.
    https://autoblastgates.com.au

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Hobart
    Posts
    5,097

    Default

    Good Morning qwertyu

    I just use a home-made dowel plate made from a bit of 50 x 6 mm stainless steel - because I had some on hand. On the drill press I just drilled holes in 0.5mm increments from 3 to 12.7 mm - the final hole is imperial! Slow drill speed, lots od pressure and lots of drilling oil, but I still broke several smaller bits. In retrospect, I have never made dowell smaller than 5 mm so the smaller holes are unused. Largest dowell I can make is 10mm because I have to step down through the holes from 12.7. Usually, I make dowells as I need them. Every couple of months I lightly pein the holes as the burr seems to improve the cutting.

    A Friend has wooden "pencil sharpener" dowell makers similar to the Veritas ones - I think his are home-made, and are in sizes 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15mm. If he gets an offcut - say a 10mm strip - then he will run it through the saw again and get a 10mm square strip. He immediately puts that strip in an electric drill and runs it through a "pencil sharpener" and makes some dowell. He always has a great collection of dowells in all species - pine, blackwood, sass, rosewood, etc. Dowells will wobble violently if the drill speed is too fast for the dowell thickness, length and timber species and they will break at any fault in the wood, especially knots.

    Advantage of home made dowells is that you can easily match or contrast timbers.


    Cheers

    Graeme

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Parkside - South Australia
    Age
    45
    Posts
    3,314

    Default

    I have a set of the Veritas. I must have purchased them when our dollar was doing well as they do appear pricey now.

    They work reasonably well. I get better results if I put a little UBeaut wax in to help reduce friction. Mostly I have used jarrah which is a bit of an ask for them. Handy when making toys or models as you can obviously match timber species.
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    blue mountains
    Posts
    4,880

    Default

    This is a quicker way to make dowel and as you can see from the video no great woodworking skill required.
    Regards
    John

    YouTube

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    Hobart
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    5,097

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by orraloon View Post
    This is a quicker way to make dowel and as you can see from the video no great woodworking skill required.
    Regards
    John

    YouTube
    Thanks, John

    That's exactly the method used by Baz that we call his "pencil sharpenner".


    Cheers

    Graeme

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Perth WA Australia
    Posts
    826

    Default

    I've been considering getting the one from your amazon link DFM TOOL WORKS

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    SE Queensland
    Posts
    62

    Default

    Have made a few dowels lately from very old (and very hard) recycled Grey Iron Bark and plantation Southern Spotted Gum deck boards, left over from demolishing and rebuilding a front and side verandah::

    PB021042.jpg

    Used a previously mentioned shop made "pencil sharpener" with a freshly sharpened plane blade instead of chisel.
    They turned out pretty good but ended up refining them more with the other mentioned shop made jig, made with steel:

    P9151034.jpg

    They worked out quite well when building a squatters chair, using the same old Iron Bark and Spotty, using mostly through dowels:


    PB021044.jpg

  12. #11
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Sth Gippsland Vic
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    4,340

    Default

    This thread got me inspired enough to do something Ive wanted to do for a while .

    I need 1/4 " dowel in various timbers . Pegs for tenons so the ends show. I use 1/4 3/8 and 1/2 ".

    Veritas looked good but pricey and no 1/4 inch . I made these last week, had a few goes at it .

    The veritas tapered reamers I have helped .

    I couldn't get a clean result spinning square stock without a closed entry hole / tapered , and a closed exit hole / tapered as well, though its probably not as important there . The main middle is tapered and the bed angle for the chisel matches that taper.

    600mm long square stock 9.5 x 9.5 is fed in spinning in the cordless drill and 6.35mm round comes out the other end .
    The larger one is for 3/8 . The plan is to tidy the design and re do them if I get around to that .

    I have a job coming using Walnut . Chopped up some scrap walnut today and had enough a short time later .

    The bundles pictured are 1/4 Oak.

    Ive always used a plate to punch them through before this . This is a heaps faster and more accurate clean job.

    Rob

    IMG_2732a.jpg IMG_2733.JPG

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney Upper North Shore
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    4,464

    Default

    Is the chisel skewed slightly or parallel to the bore?

    3108068B-2517-418B-8E1F-F6B416AFE116.jpg

    Cheers

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    Sydney
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    53
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    8,879

    Default

    I have a lie nielsen dowel plate. I've only used it once or twice. You are welcome to buy it and it will be cheap. PM me if interested.
    Visit my website at www.myFineWoodWork.com

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    Albury Well Just Outside
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    13,315

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lappa View Post
    Is the chisel skewed slightly or parallel to the bore?

    3108068B-2517-418B-8E1F-F6B416AFE116.jpg

    Cheers
    Skewed as it gives a slicing action.

  16. #15
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    May 2007
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    Sth Gippsland Vic
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    Default

    The hole is a tapered hole though . For finished 1/4inch round the square that enters is approximately 9.5 mm square and finishes at 6.35 round . The hole tapers and the blade matches that . That means the bed for the blade is angled to match the taper of the hole . So I didn’t skew my blade , I did give a bit of a rounded lead in at its left but I think it’s possibly not even touching spinning wood there . Both times I cut the bed not quite right and had to add a bit to bring it back up so the blade was cutting right at the top of the tapered hole which also left a fine opening as a mouth .

    By the looks , it’s what the Veritas ones do . The hole is tapered , the blade matches that and the entry and the exit are closed holes . Rings . The YouTube guys are not having closed ends and not spinning squares . Their having to machine down the dowel close to the finished round then feed it through their jig from all the ones I saw . 4 passes on a router to take off the corners then feed it through the jig !! Not so efficient.

    I used the large one of these for the taper .
    Google Image Result for https://www.carbatec.com.au/images/ProductImages/500/05J62-01.jpg

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