How to Join Wood With Dowels

Common dowels are 1/2-inch wide and 3 inches long.

Dowel joints are among the strongest of all wood joints. When a dowel is properly used, it actually becomes part of the wood, creating a bond that is stronger than the wood itself. Dowels are used by drilling holes in one piece of wood, then drilling corresponding holes into another piece of wood. When dowels are placed in the holes with glue, pressure is added with clamps. When the glue dries, it shrinks, pulling the wood fibers of the dowel and the wood together in a permanent bond.

Things You'll Need

• 2 pieces wood, 3/4-inch thick
• Doweling jig
• Cordless drill
• Drill bit, 1/2-inch brad tip
• Glue
• Dowels, 1/2-by-3 inches
• Hammer
• Clamps

Instructions

1. Lay two pieces of wood together on a flat surface. Arrange them in the manner that you wish to glue them together. Make pencil marks across both pieces of wood at six inch intervals down the length of the joint where the two pieces come together. Mark one piece of wood "A" and one "B."

2. Set the depth indicator on the doweling jig at 3/8 inch. Clamp the jig to the piece of wood marked "A," using the pencil lines on top to align the jig. Use the drill to bore a hole 1, 1/2-inch deep at each one of the pencil marks.

3. Clamp the jig to the piece of wood marked "B." Drill holes using the pencil lines.

4. Squirt glue into all the holes. Insert dowels into the holes on one piece of wood, hammer them in part way. Place the other piece of wood against the dowels, line up the holes, and tap the other piece of wood into the corresponding dowels.

5. Lay clamps across the two pieces and tighten until glue oozes out and the joint between the two pieces of wood is tight. Let the glue dry for one hour. Scrap off any residual glue.

Tips & Warnings

• The measurements are for examples only. To dowel any dimension of wood, simply center the dowel according to wood thickness.

• Pick up a doweling jig at any home improvement store.

• Wear safety glasses when working with wood.

References

• Autonopedia: Basics of Woodworking
• Amature Woodworker: Dowel Joints