Dowel sticks
- Thread starter Mavrik
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Ken Nagrod
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Festool pocket knife?
Peter has one.
Chuck it in a lathe (real or homemade) and go over the length of it with the RAS while it's spinning. Maybe use the RAS first to kill the 4 edges before chucking it.
Peter has one.
Chuck it in a lathe (real or homemade) and go over the length of it with the RAS while it's spinning. Maybe use the RAS first to kill the 4 edges before chucking it.
Ken Nagrod
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How long is the piece of wood? Do you have a router table?
Peter
Peter
GaryLaroff
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Take a hand plane, sort of make an octagon from the square, slightly point one end and drive it through a dowel plate. These are great and work well on too-large or oval-shaped store-bought dowels. The plate is available in both metric and dinosaur (imperial).
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1239
Gary
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1239
Gary
, I would use a roundover router bit of the appropriate size. 
pugilato
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Router table with a roundover bit... do each side in turn. To maintain some semblance of control, leave the ends square. I was going to say go to Home Depot, they got plenty of dowels, but then I saw you were in South Africa.
Someone may need to correct me on this, but get a square stick that is twice as big on the side as the diameter of the dowel you want to make. For example, if you want a 1/2" diameter dowel, use a stick that is 1" square and a router bit that is 1/2". I think I would start there and refine the technique.
Someone may need to correct me on this, but get a square stick that is twice as big on the side as the diameter of the dowel you want to make. For example, if you want a 1/2" diameter dowel, use a stick that is 1" square and a router bit that is 1/2". I think I would start there and refine the technique.
Ken Nagrod
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Chris,
How do you make toothpicks?
How do you make toothpicks?
Jesse Cloud
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+1 on the dowel plate. You can use a pencil sharpener (old school kind with multiple hole sizes) to get it slightly pointed. Works best with riven wood. Your dowels will fit like dominoes. [big grin]
waho6o9
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Thanks for all of the advice.
The last time I had a desire for such a tool was in making a counterweight for a homemade microphone stand.
As you can see I used a router to round off the edges, but it still is square-ish in shape.
Perhaps a lathe is the way to go.
http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt104/nev-wiz/?action=view¤t=micstand1.jpg
The last time I had a desire for such a tool was in making a counterweight for a homemade microphone stand.
As you can see I used a router to round off the edges, but it still is square-ish in shape.
Perhaps a lathe is the way to go.
http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt104/nev-wiz/?action=view¤t=micstand1.jpg
[attachimg=#]
There's another way not mentioned above although Alan M seemed to hint at it.
You can make any size dowel if you have a drill bit the size you want and a router with a straight bit.
Sharpen the end and feed past the spinning router bit a little.
Turn it round and chuck it in a drill then power feed the rest.
The router bit is set right on the edge of the drilled hole and about one quarter diameter in front.
Set the router bit correctly and you can make perfect dowels of any size.
Too low you get a ragged dowel,too high and it won't cut efficiently.
obviously the router needs to be well fixed in a jig or router table.
There's another way not mentioned above although Alan M seemed to hint at it.
You can make any size dowel if you have a drill bit the size you want and a router with a straight bit.
Sharpen the end and feed past the spinning router bit a little.
Turn it round and chuck it in a drill then power feed the rest.
The router bit is set right on the edge of the drilled hole and about one quarter diameter in front.
Set the router bit correctly and you can make perfect dowels of any size.
Too low you get a ragged dowel,too high and it won't cut efficiently.
obviously the router needs to be well fixed in a jig or router table.
