Thread: Dowels

G'day Shippers,
I'm just wondering if you're going to spend more making dowels, than you can procure ready made stuff.
First thoughts are what timber do you intend to use.
There are several threads here on dowel making.....so maybe have a search and find out the real guff!!
Myself.....I'd probably spend all my time making jigs and clever stuff...to find that I was just wasting my time...then again.....I have nothing but time.

get a piece of 35mm x 10mm mild steel about 800mm long drill a hole the diameter of the finished dowel then drill one 2 mm bigger an another 2 mm bigger keep drilling holes until you get sick of it Now put the bar over a vyce and drive the timber thru the biggest hole then the next until you get to the size required.
les

Shippers,
This is the kind of thing you need. Dowel Making Jig
I have not yet made one but have heard they work ok from some guys who use them to make wood arrows. The choice of sizes is up to you.
My plan is to make one for the router table (one day).

Regards
John

This may sound silly, but why not use a lathe?

Would it be possible to use a plug cutter? Carb-a-tec have ones that produce plugs up to 50mm long. If you have a lot to do this may be the way to go.

The draw plate idea looks good, it is based on the technique used to draw wire to the correct size. Can produce blisters quite easily so wear a pair of heavy duty gloves. It also pays to sharpen the end of the material to a point (like a pencil) to ease entry into the tool. Can pull lengths to metre or more without too much hassle, is always repeatible without adjustments, and doesn't need power tools (except for drilling the tool holes).

The router adaptor idea looks good also, provided that you have a router and drill. Set up for exact finished size might be a little tricky initially, but should be able to churn out a lot of dowel quickly once set up, and hold size until the jig or cutter are removed.

In theory, a lathe is ideal for this job, but in reality it would be a pain. The hassles are material flex and holding a finished size. Because dowel is long and slender it will flex away from the tool. This will mean that it has to be produced in a lot of short lengths, rather than a few longer lengths.

Originally Posted by orraloon

Shippers,
This is the kind of thing you need. Dowel Making Jig
I have not yet made one but have heard they work ok from some guys who use them to make wood arrows. The choice of sizes is up to you.
My plan is to make one for the router table (one day).

Regards
John

I made a similar one ,shown in the New Router Handbook ,works a treat once you get it set up ,you can turn out dowelling very fast.

Kev.

If you use a draw plate the grain will not be cut. the router method can form a dowel with angled grain and if you do that it will not be as strong. no idea about the lathe.

If you buy a draw plate the holes are tapered giving something like an edge which makes it easier and provide clearance. You also whack the timber with a mallet rather than pull it through with gloves.
Here are instructions
http://www.woodkit.net/articles.php?ai=63

Here is are some commercial ones if you do not want to make one.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5155

http://www.carbatec.com.au/store/ind...70_11130_19386

Pusser thnx for the links.
the carbatec jig looks to do the job.
i figure if doing a job in one type of timber why not use it for all aspects of the job.

Why is it so important to use same timber for the dowels? Are they going to be visible?

I got one of these dowel plates and it works a treat.



(They come in metric too.) Some kind of jig could be used to plane square stock to octagonal, then tap it through the dowel plate with a hammer for final trim to exact size.

You would need to use a lot of dowels to justify making them wouldn't you?

Originally Posted by munruben

You would need to use a lot of dowels to justify making them wouldn't you?

Not really, a lot of commercial dowel material varies in size. If you want accuracy these would be great. I wouldn't mind one myself.

Originally Posted by Groggy

Not really, a lot of commercial dowel material varies in size. If you want accuracy these would be great.

Exactly right. Dowels are one of my main joinery techniques, and typical 8mm dowels can often be anywhere between 7.7 to 8.3 mm. And these allow you to make your dowels from whatever material you want.