# Dowels.



## pe2dave (6 Jan 2016)

I sold my lathe. I now want some (roughly) 5mm ebony dowelling.
Hunting round I found this rather ingenious variant on dowel planes.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/337277459565656717/

More detail at http://woodgears.ca/dowel/making.html


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## Woodchips2 (6 Jan 2016)

How does one guy have so many innovative ideas :roll: 

Thanks for sharing =D> 

Regards Keith


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## Retire2004 (6 Jan 2016)

Hi pe2dave
Not sure if you want to make your own or buy-in!
How accurate do they need to be on diameter?
How long? How many?
Can you supply material?
PM me if I can help
Regards
Tudor


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## pe2dave (7 Jan 2016)

Retire2004":mkz5e3aj said:


> Hi pe2dave
> Not sure if you want to make your own or buy-in!
> How accurate do they need to be on diameter?
> How long? How many?
> ...



I've got alternatives - just loved the idea. He's getting +/- 5 thou!
I appreciate how easy it would be with a lathe, just like the idea of DIY!

Thanks for the kind offer.


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Jan 2016)

Great idea - one for the memory. I wish I could think of an easy way of making them cross grained to make plugs. :?


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## pe2dave (7 Jan 2016)

phil.p":23uhotl5 said:


> Great idea - one for the memory. I wish I could think of an easy way of making them cross grained to make plugs. :?



Plug cutters there - if you can find decent ones. I bought cheap and regretted it.


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Jan 2016)

I've got a plug cutter, but it would be good to do them in lengths - and I could use sizes I can't buy cutters for. It's a pig turning plugs one at a time when you need 4 or 5 dozen.


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## pe2dave (7 Jan 2016)

phil.p":hp4nvg29 said:


> I've got a plug cutter, but it would be good to do them in lengths - and I could use sizes I can't buy cutters for. It's a pig turning plugs one at a time when you need 4 or 5 dozen.



Cheat? Fill most with long grain wood, then cap it (where it shows) with plug cut cross grain?


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Jan 2016)

They don't have to be deep - there are just loads of them and they're generally 15mm - 25mm. To lose the glue line totally they need a very slight taper, which makes turning several at a time difficult. I can do 5 or 6 but they have to be fitted and parted off one at a time.
Tedious. I know, I should really get a life. :lol:


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## pe2dave (7 Jan 2016)

phil.p":2716o7ez said:


> They don't have to be deep - there are just loads of them and they're generally 15mm - 25mm. To lose the glue line totally they need a very slight taper, which makes turning several at a time difficult. I can do 5 or 6 but they have to be fitted and parted off one at a time.
> Tedious. I know, I should really get a life. :lol:



Or just enjoy the turning! Skill development


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## AndyT (7 Jan 2016)

*Plug It* sell side grain plugs in a choice of sizes and species - http://www.plugitdowel.co.uk/wood-products/side-grain-flat-head-plugs - which could be a solution, unless you want an exact match to the particular plank you are using.


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Jan 2016)

That's a new one to me, thanks. I enjoy doing the inlays but hell, it's tedious making the plugs.


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## pe2dave (7 Jan 2016)

phil.p":3v2wlvot said:


> That's a new one to me, thanks. I enjoy doing the inlays but hell, it's tedious making the plugs.


I cheated. Take 1 6 or 8mm commercial dowel.
Saw and smooth one end. Dip in ebony wood dye.
Drill the corresponding hole, et voila! Fools most of the people most of the time (and cheaper
than ebony)
Shhhhh ;-)


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## Phil Pascoe (7 Jan 2016)

I've long given up trying to fool myself, though.


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## ED65 (8 Jan 2016)

phil.p":3i3h7phz said:


> To lose the glue line totally they need a very slight taper, which makes turning several at a time difficult. I can do 5 or 6 but they have to be fitted and parted off one at a time.
> Tedious. I know, I should really get a life. :lol:


Checking if I'm visualising this correctly: are you turning a long piece with multiple tapers on it so the dowel ends up with a sort of sawtooth profile when you're done? If so to turn it into individual plugs would it not work to clamp a stop onto a bench hook or mitre block so you can saw them off one after another? I presume this would be a lot faster than parting off.


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## Phil Pascoe (8 Jan 2016)

I'm trying for perfection. Sawing them would mean measuring them very precisely plug to plug. I can get the blank close to finished size, taper the end very slightly, check it against the hole it has to fit and part it off. If I took the blank off to saw it, I doubt it would go back on quite the same centre. I can't see an easy way of getting an absolutely perfect fit.


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## ED65 (10 Jan 2016)

I might be oversimplifying this in my head Phil but surely tapered plugs are by definition not A perfect diameter but rather the perfect diameter lies somewhere just under their widest point? That means they don't have to be any one specific length either, as you knock each home one might be very slightly prouder than the next but 1mm, 1.1mm or 0.9mm doesn't matter as you flush them all after the glue has dried.

As to cutting them down I'm suggesting that you can do all the turning in one go, take it off then put one end against your stop, saw, move along, saw, move along and so on until you've cut it down into its constituent plugs in one operation. The fixed position for the saw and the clamped stop giving a pretty accurate repeat length.


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## Phil Pascoe (10 Jan 2016)

The first paragraph is of course 100% correct. I've tried doing them in strips, but the main problem is that being cross grained in an often coarse grained timber they tear out badly unless you can turn in from the end of the piece. The protrusion is no problem, it just gets turned off, as you say - but they are in quite shallow holes which don't allow much leeway on the other side.


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