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Arguments For an Old Favorite: Doweling
Issue: Issue 196
Posted Date: 4/8/2008
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These days there seems to be a prejudice toward the biscuit joiner as the fast and easy way to assemble casework. I'd like to make the case that dowel joinery is not only fast and easy ... but eminently practical for the home workshop. With stronger sheer strength than biscuits and an ability to join quite narrow pieces of wood, the old standby is my choice more often than not. So the next time you're deciding which joint to use, give a thought to the tried and true dowel joint.
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With a doweling jig, handheld drill outfitted with a brad point bit and some dowel points, you can build sophisticated projects in no time. It's inexpensive, strong and fast. What more do you want in a joinery system?
6 Tips for Successful Doweling
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| 1. It's best to use glue-dowels. To ensure that glue is moved into the dowel hole, these dowels have grooves or spirals compressed into their sides and chamfered ends. |
2. To fight twisting, always try to fit two dowels per joint. This makes for a stronger joint as well. |
3. If a dowel is too tight, the glue will squeeze out and get compressed at the bottom of the boring. |
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| 4. A splintered edge on a dowel hole can be a real problem. To ensure tight glue joints, add a slight countersink to each boring. |
5. A properly sized dowel hole will leave sufficient stock around the boring. Use the right size dowel for your stock. |
6. A doweling rule of thumb: leave a space approximately 11⁄2 times the diameter of the dowel from the edge or end of your stock. This is also the optimum space between dowels, when possible. |