How to join dowels together 45 deg? Looking for something very specific

[Thomas Colson]

After an entire morning of glue, clamps, and dowels flying around my shop (and a few pieces into the woods out of frustration), I've biting the bullet and asking the internet: how the heck do you clamp/join two dowels at 45 degrees? Looking for a link to a picture or a video of this magical process, which I assume involves a jig of some sort and a person with a 3rd arm surgically (albeit temporarily) attached. What I have is 3/4" oak dowel and a ton of parallel, K, bar clamps. What I don't have is 45 degree picture frame clamps, or enough stock left to keep with the failed experiments. To be clear, I'm not using dowels for joinery (have a doweling jig), I'm wanting to join two separate lengths of dowel together on a 45 degree miter. Look forward to a photo/yt video of how this is done, text description really doesn't help me a lot, neither does google, which only returns joinery using dowels results, but not a single video on how to *(*)!)@*)!)_!__!_ clamp two dowels at 45 degrees.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Buying A picture frame clamp may be the way to go. Clamp and a small Dowel should work. I will try it tonight if I have time.

[Kevin Jenness]

You want to apply pressure square to the joint surface. Easiest way is with Collins clamps or similar miter clamps https://collinstool.com/tools/miter-clamps/ but they leave marks. Otherwise temporarily fasten some clamping ears to your dowels with hot melt glue and use a c clamp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ-MavxFOQI

[Jim Becker]

Make a jig to hold the two pieces at the proper angle using wedges to "clamp" them in place. Consider a spline to add strength to the joint...just gluing the end-grain is likely not going to make you a happy camper. If you're clever, you can combine both the clamping and provision for cutting the slot for a spline into the same jig...used flat for initial glue up and then rotated to run along the table saw or bandsaw fence to slot for the spline.

And since this is purely in my head...I can't provide pictures. LOL

[Ralph Okonieski]

Thinking out loud, so to speak. It two pieces of 2x4 and drill holes the diameter of the dowels at 22.5 degrees in each 2x4 piece. The holes should be in opposing directions. If the holes are drilled through the 2x4 and near the ends, it should be possible to feed the dowels through the holes . If the holes are not near the end, use a small piece of wood as a spacer between the two 2x4s. I think this will work with a little fiddling.

[John Kananis]

You can clamp the dowels with regular clamps just using a square corner of a piece of stock and clamping to two sides. That said, I agree with Jim that you need splines.

[Edward Weber]

To be clear,
Do you want each dowel to have a 45 on it so that together you get a 90 finished product
OR
Do you want to have 45 degrees as your finished angle?

[Doug Garson]

CA glue and then add splines as Jim said with wood glue.

[Lee Schierer]

Just be sure to apply your glue to both sides of the joint.

You need to make or buy a clamping set up like this. You don't need to fill in all four pieces, you can glue up just two at a time, but you need the four sides of the clamp to get a perfect 90 degree clamping action.
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Here's a link picture frame clamp (https://www.woodsmith.com/article/low-cost-frame-clamp/)

[Michael Schuch]

You expect 2 pieces of 3/4" oak dowels to hold together by butt joint gluing the two 45 degree faces? I can see why you are frustrated!

I think I would put a spline in the joint to hold them together while gluing and to give them extra strength after the glue has dried. I think I would use a spline the thickness of my table saw blade. I think I would make a real basic jig to hold the pieces of dowel at 45 degree angles to the table saw table to put the groove in for the spline. After everything is glued up and the glue had dried I would go ack and sand the spline down to be flush with the joined dowels.

Just a thought... I haven't actually done this myself.

[Scott Winners]

I have been stewing on this all day. I am not "logged in" on my phone, so I can see stuff but not respond while I am at work. I think the spline idea is a good on. Do the glue up end grin to end grain, say several Hail Mary's, and hope it hold together until the glue on the spline dries.

The only other idea I have is to cut a bridle joint, aka an open mortise and tenon joint. This would be tricky in round stock. I can think of two bridle joints with pictures fairly easily, but they are both in square stock and at 90 degrees...

Here is one example of a bridle joint (aka open mortise) at one end of my (very) small workbench: https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?270765-Small-heavy-Workbench-inexpensive&p=2884741#post2884741

and another at the floor end of Derek's vise chop: (pics 6, 8, 9) Derek (I think) put and open M/T joint aka a bridle joint at the floor end of his vise chop. There is probably a dozen names for this joint: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/OhSoclose.html

If I had this problem I would try gluing it up a few different ways end grain to end grain and try to make it work with a spline. Cutting a tight tenon shoulder with a rounded profile at an angle would drive me up a nearby wall. Promptly.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

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I agree with the others that it won't be very strong even with a spline or tiny dowel. I have a mini biscuit jointer. The smallest biscuit will be too big to be hidden. 2 grams of thickened epoxy would do the job well. I used Titebond III

[Michael Schuch]

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I agree with the others that it won't be very strong even with a spline or tiny dowel. I have a mini biscuit jointer. The smallest biscuit will be too big to be hidden. 2 grams of thickened epoxy would do the job well. I used Titebond III


Nicely done!

[Edward Weber]

Can you cope or fish-mouth one dowel to the other, this can be a strong joint when reinforced

[Maurice Mcmurry]

It is much stronger Than I expected. These dowels are around 7/16. They are soft wood, foam brush handles.

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