Making dowel pins

[Gerald]

In several post there was reference made to buying hard wood dowel pins. At one time I made arrows and it goes without saying that arrows need to be uniform and straight. I will try to explain how I made them:
Cut a 2x4 block about 4 inches long. Into the end grain cut a 1" hole 2" deep. Change to a 1/2" drill bit and using the 1" holes center drill thru to the other side. Mount the block onto your router table so that a straight router bit is at the point where the 1/2" and 1" holes meet. The block should be adjusted so that the router bit is at the edge of the 1/2" hole and at the point where the two holes meet. Cut a piece of stock so that you have a 1" diagonal. Attach your electric hand drill to the end of the dowel stock. Turn on the router and the hand drill and start feeding the stock into the 1" hole. If adjusted correctly, as it feeds past the turning router bit you should exit the 1/2" guide hole with a 1/2" dowel. If you want to make a different size pin you will need to change the size of the input, output holes and move the block closer or farther from the router bit.
That's one heck of a lot of writing to make up for a digital camera that isn't working. Maybe someone out there could take a picture of this set up and post it here.
Gerald

[ 03-13-2005, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Gerald ]

[ssor]

A very well written picture!! :cool:

[Terry Rhoads]

Neat idea, well described. How do you attach the 1" diagonal stock to the (I assume 1/2") drill? Do you have a larger drill? Or maybe you start it by hand, cut a few inches, then remove, chuck the turned end in the drill and then proceed?
-Terry

[Gerald]

Of course the options are unlimited. If you are turning larger stock, you might consider drilling a 1/4" hole in the dowel pin stock and inserting a 1/4" dowel that you would then insert into your hand drill. A common screw inserted and then cutting the head off would work as well.
The fact is that I never used a straight router bit, but a router bit for a 1/2" round over. It turns a smoother dowel pin. I also ran the square stock thru a round over and rounded the corners before running thru the dowel pin guide.
Gerald

[pipefitter]

I guess you are talking about cross grain dowels but with regular dowels you can pull square blanks through a plate of steel with a hole drilled in it up to about 3/8ths rather easily.

[Bob Smalser]

Originally posted by pipefitter:
I guess you are talking about cross grain dowels but with regular dowels you can pull square blanks through a plate of steel with a hole drilled in it up to about 3/8ths rather easily.This one for hollow spar plugs is one-inch White Oak:

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/6035832/90843434.jpg

[Gerald]

>>>>>>>I guess you are talking about cross grain dowels but with regular dowels you can pull square blanks through a plate of steel with a hole drilled in it up to about 3/8ths rather easily. <<<<<<<

I sounds like you missed the point. The system I have, tried to describe will produce a dowel pin ten feet long if you want one that long. There is also no reason you cannot make that 10 foot long dowel pin 3 inches in diameter.
Just look at it this way. Cut a piece of stock 2" X 2" X 10'. As you run the piece of stock past a turning router bit you turn the 2"X 2". If you are steady enough you will produce a round dowel pin. I happen to like the idea of the guide system because I am not very steady.
Still have not gotten to town to buy a new camera. One of these days I will post a picture.
Gerald

[pipefitter]

1"?? by "easily" i meant more like pulling them through with a pair of vise grips...i think that white oak one would have to be knocked thru or hooked to the bumper of my truck? j/k...i thought they meant pins like one step beyond needles.

No Greald,I got your point....I thought it sounded like a pretty neat trick. I just added the part about the steel plate for quick ones that fit any size drill bit you have in your box.I used to make smaller ones that way for model boats.I am sure the jig you mentioned would do alot nicer job.

[ 03-29-2005, 01:29 AM: Message edited by: pipefitter ]

[Gerald]

I added the steel plate that you mentioned at the back of the output hole and then cut the pin a little oversized. As the pin passed thru the steel hole it would burnish it. The finish was wonderful. Great for arrow stock but might be overkill for most projects.
Gerald

[Tom Lathrop]

Gerald,

I learned these methods from a woodworker many years ago and they work great. For small dowels I mount the rough stock in a drill press and drive through a steel plate with severa sized holes in it. For the larger or longr ones, I mount an old stanley router on the side of a 2x6 with in & out holes as you describe. Made some 1/2" cross pins for wooden hand planes from persimmon wood this way last week.

I use a cove bit in the router which I think gives me a better finish than a straight bit.

I make the stock in octagonal cross section on a table saw first. The end can be reduced to the drill capacity by feeding it into the tablesaw a bit and then rotating and refeeding until it is concentric. This takes the wobble out.