Tips on Making dowels with my Shop fox 1812 Moulder

[dirk martin]

I just got a Shop Fox 1812 moulder.
Thinking about making dowels with it.
Anyone try this? Tips?

[Jim Finn]

I make walking sticks and to make the stick round I run it through my router with a round over bit, four times. I make them 36" long and leave an inch, on each end, square so that the almost finished dowel does not turn while making the final pass. Not sure how to do this using a shaper.

[Lee Schierer]

I make dowels on my router table when I need them out of a wood that is not available in the local stores. I cut the stock to the finished dimension size, select the appropriate round over bit. Set the bit so the bottom cutting edge is flush with the table, set the fence flush with the guide bearing. Set a feather board to hold the stock to the fence and start making cuts. I make the first cut the full length of the stock and then rotate the stock 90 degrees so the cut I just made is up and against the fence. Doing this keeps a square edge against the table and fence all the way trough all four cuts. Wrap a piece of sandpaper around your dowel and slide it back and forth in your hand and you'll have perfect dowels any length you want from any wood in your inventory in no time.

[dirk martin]

Interesting. So, it sounds like my moulder is NOT the way to go, eh?

[Lee Schierer]

You could try it, but I'm not sure how you would keep it aligned for the third or four pass with a round over profile bit or the second pass with a half round cutter. You might need to build a jig.

Some folks have success making dowels with a router dowel making jig (http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=977).