I prefer to make my own dowels for several good reasons. I can make any size dowel in any length from any wood. My system is simpler and certainly less expensive than the commercial dowel-making tools that are limited to only a few sizes. The drawings show the complete tooling required: a hardwood block and your table saw. The block size isn’t critical, but it should be thick enough to clamp easily to the saw’s rip fence and long enough to cover the sawblade in use. This last point is important because you’ll need to reach across the saw to withdraw the finished dowel.

To construct the fixture, first drill a dowel-sized exit hole through the length of the block. Enlarge this hole from the front, halfway through the block, to produce a feed hole. The diameter of the feed hole should be the same as the diagonal of the square dowel blanks you plan to use. As a guide the diameter of the feed hole shouldn’t exceed the exit hole by 1/4 in. Now clamp the block to the saw’s rip fence. Center the block over the blade. In a succession of cove cuts (made by raising the sawblade into the block) cut a channel from the edge to just into the wall of the exit hole. The best blade to use to channel the block and make dowels is a heavy, small-diameter carbide-toothed blade. Next rip the dowel blanks so they will turn easily in the feed hole. With the block clamped and the fence locked, start the saw and insert the blank. Rotate the blank clockwise and feed slowly until the blade starts cutting. Adjust the block’s position with the rip fence until the dowel fits snugly in the exit hole. It’s a good idea to withdraw the dowel and check the size of the first few inches.

In smaller sizes, which are difficult to rotate by hand, I cut a short dowel on one end. Then I chuck the short dowel in my portable drill. A slow feed and a slow rotation yield the smoothest dowels.

Larry Churchill, Mayville, Wis.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, December 1981 No. 31

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