A few doweling questions in regards to combining some 3.5" x 3/4" boards.
1) What size dowel would you use? My instructor recommended 1/4".
2) How far in to the board should I go with the dowel?
3) Any tips on lining the dowels up?
4) Hand drill (power) or drill press?
I bought a couple of different aids and don't know whether I should use them
or not. One is a set of little "plugs" with one end having a point that you
insert into one hole. Then when you push the boards together, the hole for
your other board is marked from the point of the little plug. These weren't
that expensive.
The other aid I bought is a dowel jig where you clamp the pieces of wood
together with the jig and then move a guide with drill holes from the one
board to the next to make sure you are on the same plane of the two boards.
I'm not sure how the jig works on lining your hole up along the width of the
wood (centering on the 3/4" part).
Tkanks
"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> That would be a good size if you feel the need to join with a dowel. Is
the
> joint or panel going to be under some kind of stress?
Building a bookcase of red oak. Not sure what's going on it. I doubt there
will be a set of encyclopedias though. I think it's going to be for my
daughter's room. So some kid books, some knicknacks, maybe some snowglobes.
"Corey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:9Y35d.1800$Wu1.246@trnddc02...
>
> "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> That would be a good size if you feel the need to join with a dowel. Is
> the
>> joint or panel going to be under some kind of stress?
>
> Building a bookcase of red oak. Not sure what's going on it. I doubt
> there
> will be a set of encyclopedias though. I think it's going to be for my
> daughter's room. So some kid books, some knicknacks, maybe some
> snowglobes.
Forget the dowels. The joint will be strong enough. My reference was more
if you had a lot of weight placed on an unsupported panel where the break
would be along the grain of the wood.
"Corey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:zO25d.522$me5.134@trnddc06...
>A few doweling questions in regards to combining some 3.5" x 3/4" boards.
>
> 1) What size dowel would you use? My instructor recommended 1/4".
That would be a good size if you feel the need to join with a dowel. Is the
joint or panel going to be under some kind of stress? In not, the glued
joint will be stronger than the wood itself. Use the dowel to help
strengthen the whole panel if there is going to be stress. In that case I
would use deep holes and long dowels.
>
> 2) How far in to the board should I go with the dowel?
See above.
> 3) Any tips on lining the dowels up?
Dowel indexing pins.
> 4) Hand drill (power) or drill press?
Hand drill WITH a doweling jig.
> I bought a couple of different aids and don't know whether I should use
> them
> or not. One is a set of little "plugs" with one end having a point that
> you
> insert into one hole. Then when you push the boards together, the hole
> for
> your other board is marked from the point of the little plug. These
> weren't
> that expensive.
Yes # 3 answer above.
>
> The other aid I bought is a dowel jig where you clamp the pieces of wood
> together with the jig and then move a guide with drill holes from the one
> board to the next to make sure you are on the same plane of the two
> boards.
> I'm not sure how the jig works on lining your hole up along the width of
> the
> wood (centering on the 3/4" part).
Yes, # 4 answer above.
"Corey" <[email protected]> wrote in news:zO25d.522$me5.134@trnddc06:
> A few doweling questions in regards to combining some 3.5" x 3/4"
> boards.
>
> 1) What size dowel would you use? My instructor recommended 1/4".
That works.
> 2) How far in to the board should I go with the dowel?
Measure the commercial dowels you buy at the hardware store, and add 1/16"
to each end, for glue spacing. Commercial dowels, because the spirals or
flutes are already in them.
> 3) Any tips on lining the dowels up?
The doweling jig should be self-centering for the board thickness. Mark
the surface with a pencil line.
> 4) Hand drill (power) or drill press?
Drill press, if you can, because you want the holes perfectly square to the
edge in both x and y axis.
>
> I bought a couple of different aids and don't know whether I should
> use them or not. One is a set of little "plugs" with one end having a
> point that you insert into one hole. Then when you push the boards
> together, the hole for your other board is marked from the point of
> the little plug. These weren't that expensive.
Known as dowel centers.
> The other aid I bought is a dowel jig where you clamp the pieces of
> wood together with the jig and then move a guide with drill holes from
> the one board to the next to make sure you are on the same plane of
> the two boards. I'm not sure how the jig works on lining your hole up
> along the width of the wood (centering on the 3/4" part).
>
> Tkanks
For edge gluing, there are few, if any, reasons to dowel. They add little
or no strength, and, as you're finding, the alignment is problematic. A
biscuit or plate joiner is far easier to use successfully, but there is
little reason to use one here. See the thread on gluing up a table top.
Doweling can make sense when the joints are cross-grain or end grain, or
where the parts can be jigged for exact accuracy. Mostly used for
production work today, on automated lines, so I'm told. They helped with
some stretchers on a hall table I built sometime last year, where I wanted
to make a stronger joint, yet hadn't planned adequately for a mortise and
tenon. (I often design as I go, and redesign in process. Don't try this
for your first projects.)
Does any of this help?
Patriarch
"patriarch [email protected]>" <<patriarch> wrote in message
>
> > 2) How far in to the board should I go with the dowel?
>
> Measure the commercial dowels you buy at the hardware store, and add 1/16"
> to each end, for glue spacing. Commercial dowels, because the spirals or
> flutes are already in them.
Well, I bought dowel rods that are about 4' long. I looked for ready cut
dowels, but I didn't find any (shopping at Lowes). I did buy a set of
tapered plug cutters that someone recomended though - to cover the screws
later.
>
> For edge gluing, there are few, if any, reasons to dowel. They add little
> or no strength, and, as you're finding, the alignment is problematic. A
> biscuit or plate joiner is far easier to use successfully, but there is
> little reason to use one here. See the thread on gluing up a table top.
The instructor recommended the dowels. Not sure if he recommended for
strength or for preventing the boards from slipping while gluing (I read a
tip somewhere to dowel to avoid the slippage).
>
> Does any of this help?
Of course it does. I think I end up with better help here than in class.
It's tough to get time in with the instructor with the other attendees.
Thanks
I hate to contradict but why are dowels being used at all . If alignment is
a problem the biscuits are a solution, a better one is probably a routed
spline .
In my view glued dowels or biscuits for that matter detract from the joint
because they both introduce undue stresses into the joint due to their
transverse grain direction . In short if you use them leave them dry. A
spline does not induce stresses into the joint.
Modern glues [tightbond etc] when cured are as strong as the parent wood ,so
the use of dowels does not increase joint strength.
A series of brads along the length of one of the boards with their heads
nipped off a 1/32" above the surface then the other board aligned and tapped
together will accurately mark both boards where the dowel holes should be
drilled [after removing the nipped off brads of course ]. I would use 3/8"
dowels in this case and to drill the holes a 3/8" BRAD tip bit is essential.
If you do not use dowels, the nipped brads alone will prevent the boards
from moving when pressure is applied .....mjh
--
http://members.tripod.com/mikehide2
"Corey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:zO25d.522$me5.134@trnddc06...
>A few doweling questions in regards to combining some 3.5" x 3/4" boards.
>
> 1) What size dowel would you use? My instructor recommended 1/4".
>
> 2) How far in to the board should I go with the dowel?
>
> 3) Any tips on lining the dowels up?
>
> 4) Hand drill (power) or drill press?
>
> I bought a couple of different aids and don't know whether I should use
> them
> or not. One is a set of little "plugs" with one end having a point that
> you
> insert into one hole. Then when you push the boards together, the hole
> for
> your other board is marked from the point of the little plug. These
> weren't
> that expensive.
>
> The other aid I bought is a dowel jig where you clamp the pieces of wood
> together with the jig and then move a guide with drill holes from the one
> board to the next to make sure you are on the same plane of the two
> boards.
> I'm not sure how the jig works on lining your hole up along the width of
> the
> wood (centering on the 3/4" part).
>
> Tkanks
>
>