Old-school Dowel Chamfers

Chamfering the ends of dowel pegs makes them easier to tap into holes. Here’s a simple way to do it: Just stick the dowel into an ordinary pencil sharpener and give it two cranks.

Presto — you get a nice, clean chamfer. A typical sharpener will accept any standard-size dowel diameter up to 1/2″ by turning the dial on its side.

– Jake Wilhelm
Plymouth, Minnesota