Dowels

[Gary Petrauskas]

Needed some dowels for a project I was doing this past Sunday so I went to the big box store to buy some. When I got home I checked the dowels for size consistency and found that the consistent thing was that they were NOT. Then I noticed the "Made in China" on the bar code. Note to self: Don't buy any more dowels from HD. If I had a lathe I could make my own but I don't, by hand with a draw knife? That might take me a month of Sundays and probably would be worse than the ones I just bought. After some thought and research I stumbled upon this seemingly easy way of making them http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=z3MNbm3NCHE
Anybody make their own? Care to share your method?

[Cary Falk]

I buy mine in bulk from McFeeley's

[Harvey Miller]

Lee Valley sells a similar, but all metal jig at $30.
If you want better quality commercial dowels Laurier Wood Craft supplies Lee Valley and (I believe) Dowelmax.

[Dave Richards]

This topic seems to come up about twice a month.

I make mine with a router and a cordless drill. They come out looking like they were sanded smooth. I can make them as long as I need and in any diameter for which I have a drill bit.
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4044/4550675295_ed947f80d7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8294157@N08/4550675295/)

[Glenn Vaughn]

I have purchased 6,000 dowels for use with my DowelMax from http://www.wood-dowel.com/store/ and have not had a problem. They deal in bulk but the prices are quite low.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

hey dave, can you explain how you do that?

[Sean Hughto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAt_JtiC-U4

[Gary Petrauskas]

Sorry to bring up a topic that has "beat to death", I should have done more research here before posting. Thanks for the interesting responses. Dave, I, like Kevin, would also be interested as well.

[Dave Richards]

hey dave, can you explain how you do that?

Sure thing.

For this dowel I used a scrap of oak but I usually use a scrap of 2x4 or whatever is handy. I suppose you could make up a block and keep it around for futre use but I bother. I'd probably not be able to find it when I want it again.:rolleyes:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4032/4550690883_e03141510e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8294157@N08/4550690883/)
So here's the block I used for the dowel in the previous picture. I drilled a hole the diameter of the dowel through the block with a counterbore which has a diameter equal to the diagonal of the square blank which is sized slightly larger than the final diameter of the dowel.

There's also a hole drilled at right angles and tangent to the smaller hole. This is for a 1/2 diameter spiral upcut bit.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4017/4551535010_70c1568b8b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8294157@N08/4551535010/)
This is a top view of the block. Actually I drill the vertical hole with the router bit.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4067/4550668377_a422a19ab8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8294157@N08/4550668377/)
I stick the block in the clamp on my Router Boss and adjust the router position. Plunge the router in and adjust it slightly if needed to put the cutter exactly tangent to the small hole. You could do this with any router, though.

The blanks for the dowels are ripped square, slightly larger than the diameter of the dowel. I whittle the ends a bit so one end will fit into the small hole in the block and the other into the chuck on my drill. Power up the router, put the blank in the hole and start the drill. Then just feed it as fast as it'll go.

If the cutter is adjusted to far in, it'll leave a sort of screw pattern on the dowel. If it is too far away, the blank won't go into the block. When it is just right you'll get perfect smooth dowels.

It sounds like a lot of work but it really goes very quickly. I think a dowel plate is fine for short dowels but if you want longer pieces, this method is better. And you can get a better surface.

[Paul Symchych]

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler to measure your dowel stock and use a drill bit to make an appropriately size hole?

[Brian Brightwell]

I buy mine in bulk from McFeeley's

Thanks for the site, looks interesting. Are they good to deal with?

[Sean Hughto]

Do you have a drill bit set graduated in thousandths?

[Cary Falk]

Thanks for the site, looks interesting. Are they good to deal with?
I have never had a problem and lots of time they run $1 shipping promo's.

[Myk Rian]

Care to share your method?
Router table. Cut the stock to size, and use a 1/2 diameter roundover bit of the size you need.
1" dowel = 1/2" bit. etc.

253548

[Sean Hughto]

I was addressing Paul. Jokingly, by the way. I took him to be suggesting that one could drill holes to match the Depot Dowels. My point was that the fitting is not a matter of 16ths or even 64ths.

[Steve Peterson]

Do you have a drill bit set graduated in thousandths?

And oval in shape? Cheap dowels may be cut with green wood that does not stay round when it dries.

Steve