A dowel is a cylindrical piece of wood, metal or plastic that is used to join two components of wood together.
Dowels are inserted into holes in the two pieces of wood and then glued in place. Dowels can also be used to reinforce joints or to attach pieces of flat wood together.
There are many different types of dowels available, including wooden dowels, metal dowels and plastic dowels. Wooden dowels are the most popular type of dowel and are supplied in a variety of precise diameters and required length.
Dowels are easily found in old wooden children's toys.
Wooden dowels may also be found in making furniture such as dining room tables and chairs, shelves, where they provide reinforcement or structural integrity. Metal dowel pins can be made from steel or aluminium and are available in a variety of precise diameters and required lengthPlastic dowels can be made from various types of nylon plastic material, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and acetal copolymer (POM). Plastic dowels come in custom colours and precise sizes so they can match any decor.
holes drilled in the parts to be joined. Dowels are usually round and tapered from their ends up towards the middle, but square-shaped, blunt-nosed 'peg' dowels are also available as well as dowels with heads on them. Dowel equipment can produce accurate multi-spaced sets of corresponding holes at accurate depths within a workpiece. A typical use for dowel is joining together two sections of flat wood for added strength and support. Depending on the application, either hardwood or softwood may be used as a base for this type of joinery.
There are three common types of dowels:
This type joins two boards perpendicularly. The dowel pin is inserted all the way through them and then glued in accurate places to maintain proper alignment.
This type of alignment joins two boards at an angle. The one side of the dowel is inserted into one board, and the end is glued in place. Then, the second board is pasted to the first board, sandwiching the steel dowel pins in between.
This type of alignment joins two boards at a 90-degree angle. The dowel is the insertion into one board, and the end is glued to another piece. Then, a dowel hole is drilled through the other board into which the other end of the dowel is slotted. Then, the board with both dowels in it is pasted to the other plate.
Dowel provides several advantages for woodworkers:
It can strengthen a butt joint by providing extra support between parts.
It can be used as an interlocking joint instead of nails or screw.
A lot less effort and the cost is required to use dowel pins compared with using fasteners or nails, especially when joining large pieces of wood together.
Dowel joints are typically stronger than screws or pins because the glue adds additional strength.
When you lathe dowel holes to locate dowels, they're often perfectly spaced from each other which creates a very durable bond that won't easily fall apart over time.
There are a few simple steps you need to follow in order to use dowels:
Decide where you want to place the dowel joint and mark the position with a knife or pencil on both pieces of planed wood.
Drill a hole into each piece of wood that is the same diameter as your dowel.
Insert the dowel into one hole and make sure it's all the way in.
Glue the two sections of wood together and let them dry.
Once the glue has dried, cut off any excess dowel that is sticking out from the joint.
If you're not comfortable drilling your own blind holes, there are also many pre-drilled dowel sets for the same purpose that you can purchase which will make the process a lot easier.
Dowels are frequently used as structural reinforcement in forms of woodworking and cabinetry. Some common other uses of dowelling are to reinforce mortise and tenon joints, as well as half-lap joints. In addition, some musical instruments such as the pipe organ utilise long rows of dowels Dowel joints have many advantages over both face-frame and box constructions. This material tends to be stronger than a face frame because there is continuous straight grain across each joint instead of grain which changes direction at the edge of the frame members. This reduces the tendency for splitting along these grain lines which occurs with a face frame construction. The panels end up being more stable since the chamfered ends of dowels hold them in place rather than the fasteners used in box construction. Dowel joints are also easier to make, requiring less work at the table saw or jointer. Dowelling is advantageous for shelves and chair making because there is no exposure of screws or nails on the surface of the finished work. This reduces marring and wear caused by chairs rubbing against table edge during everyday use, extending the life of your furniture and maintaining the attractiveness of your piece.
A dowel jig is a tool used to help create evenly spaced hole for steel dowel pins. A dowel jig typically has two or more arms that can be adjusted to different distances apart. You then clamp your workpiece in between the arms and use a drill bit of the same diam as your dowel for drilling the holes. This ensures that each hole is drilled at the same distance from the other, measuring and creating an accurate joint alignment when you use dowels.
A dowel pin is a small, cylindrical piece of metal that is inserted into holes in wood in order to join two pieces of wood together. Dowel pins are typically used when a durable joint is required, such as in furniture construction. The chamfered ends of the pins are inserted into the holes and then clamped in place. After the glue has dried, the excess pins can be cut off flush with the surface of the wood.
There are several reasons why you might want to use dowels in your woodworking projects.
They provide extra strength and stability to a joint.
They can be used as an interlocking joint instead of nails or screws.
Less likely to split the wood than other types of joints.
Easy to make and don't require any special tools.
They create a clean, finished look on the surface of your project.
All you need to do is glue two matching pieces together to make the size dowel rod that you want.
For example, if you wanted a 1/2" diameter dowel rod, then first find two pieces of dowel that are already 1/2" in diameter and glue them together.
If you didn't have any pre-cut dowels lying around to use as the base for your homemade dowel rods, then all you would have to do is buy a piece of dowel plate from your local dowel centres and cut it down into smaller custom sizes. When cutting dowels, it is important to choose wood with straight grain patterns in to ensure a strong joint alignment.
If you don't want to go through the hassle of making your own dowel rods, then you can also buy the material pre-made from a variety of online stores. Interested in a career in woodwork? Take a look at the Australian Government's JobOutlook website for some some specialised woodworking trades.