How to cut a Dowel
Dowels are wooden pegs that hold two pieces of wood together in joinery. The dowel joint is great for furniture making. Dowels are available at any home improvement store although some people choose to make their own. Cutting the dowel joint into the wood is a matter of patience and precision. Look below for details on how to cut a dowel joint.
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Instructions
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1
Decide the needed diameter of your dowel and the type of wood you want to use. The wood should match the wood of your furniture piece and be a straight grained wood. The diameter of the finished dowel should allow for the joining of the wood without cracking or splitting.
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2
Use either a dowel plate or a circle stencil or template to draw the edge of the dowel on the edge of your wood. A dowel plate is a joiner's tool that offers a number of diameters. Use a pencil to mark the circle that will act as the guideline for your finished dowel.
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3
Repeat Step 2 for as many dowels as needed for the project and cut the pieces of wood to length. Use a saw to cut a square dowel or peg shape around the proposed circular dowel. The idea is to have the basic size of the dowel so you can plain and sand it into a finished dowel.
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4
Shave the corners of the square wood to create an octagon shaped dowel. You can use a chisel, a precision sander or a wood plane and vice for this step. The goal is to begin rounding the dowels to their final form so repeat Step 4 with each dowel.
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5
Hold the dowels firmly in place as you begin to plane the octagon shape into a tubular shape. Use long chisel or strokes to create a continuous smooth line along the dowel free of chips or lines.
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6
Push the almost finished dowel through the corresponding diameter on the dowel plate and force through using a heavy hammer. You may want to clamp the dowel plate into your vice. This stage will create an accurate smooth tubular appearance to the dowel.
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7
Place the next dowel to finished on top of the dowel in the dowel plate and use it to force the first one all the way out. Repeat this step to create uniform shaved dowels for your project.
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