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My homemade dowel maker jig, (Corrected version)

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75K views 36 replies 11 participants last post by  stefang  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I promised quite awhile ago that I'd show some images of my dowel making jig. I got the plan from a book , but I don't remember the name of the book. It's real easy to make, & you can get the material right out of your scrap pile.
For 1/2" dowels you use 9/16" square stock. You chuck it in your hand drill, & spin it as you feed it in. You can round the end of the square stock in order to fit your chuck, put a large screw, or hanger bolt in the end. You can make this jig longer, & put a series of dowel sizes.
You use a 1/2," or larger core bit in your router.

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Clamp the jig in a vise. then clamp your router to the jig.
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Here's the Windsor Chair
 
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#2 ·
Interesting idea.

Let's see if I've got this right.

1. You chuck the square dowel stock in your hand drill.
2. You place a 'core bit in your router.
3. With both the router and the hand drill turned on, you feed the square stock into the jig.
5. The router bit turns the square stock into a round dowel.

Am I close?
 
#4 ·
Right on the money Don,
It's not very fancy, but it did the job. I was more interested in getting my Windsor chair done, so I slapped it together in a hurry.
It takes a little adjusting of the cutter depth to get the perfect dowel diameter, but once it's adjusted it stays adjusted, until the next time you setup.
 
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#7 ·
Dick - nice dowel jig! I copied this and Don's pdf to my woodworking files for future reference. You never know when you will need a custom dowel from the stock you are working with instead of a store bought dowel that doesn't match.
 
#8 ·
And i can't sleep. I've got dowels on the brain. I got the new dowel maker that I ordered from Veritas. It arrived today and I made several dowels. But now I'm not satisfied with making just one size dowel. And the one that Karson bought for $300… I'm thinking that $300 would go a lot farther with another purchase. So I'm thinking somewhere between Dick and Don there is a happy medium.
 
#11 ·
Don
I like that Highland setup.
I might make one with the following modifications. I'd have it clamped to the router fence making it a simpler changeover. I'd also use a large 45 degree bit, so you can use the up, down adjustments of the router for fine tuning the dowel size.
 
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#13 ·
A great jig Don. Maybe your next step is to make the center changeable so you can do other size dowels too. While Os could have made them on his lathe, I know it would take me forever, and not likely they would all match.

Yes Obi, maybe it is your new picture. Is that what they call fade to black (and white)? Or LIB (lumberjocks in black). hahaha
 
#15 ·
Obi
The one Don shows, that it's screwed to the router base.
 
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#16 ·
Bill, I'm sure it wouldn't take any longer on the lathe than it must take to set up the router and the drill. Personally, I don't care to have a bit turning at 20,000 rpms while spinning a piece of stock with a drill, when I can have the piece secured in between centers with a roughing gouge firmly resting on my tool guide. But, as everyone knows by now, that's just me talking. In reality, you are doing the same functions: spinning a wooden blank and using a cutting edge to shave off the high spots. A steady rest on the lathe will make turning such thin material an easier task. With it you wouldn't have to use your fingers to support the center of the dowel to keep it from chattering.

The great thing about all these different methods is that no matter what your comfort level or what tools you posses, these show that with a little thought and imagination it can be done. I love the sharing of ideas.
 
#17 ·
My hat is off to you Os that you can make those things on your lathe. Maybe someday I will get that good. But it takes me so long to do certain things now, I would hate to delay a project several weeks while I improved my lathe skills.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
A little off your topic, but if you don't have room on your workbench for a wood vise and a machinests vise you can do what I did. I made a ttttttttt with some 2×6 and mounted my
! ! machinests vise on the t, when I need the vise I just stick it in mywoodvise
mike
 
#20 ·
That's just the thing I do too Mike.
 
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#22 ·
Peter
Did you check the link above? It's from Patrick Spielman's book.
 
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#23 ·
Well, Bill if I need a dowel super fast, I just go and buy one premade. My skills on the lathe are slightly better than rookie. Turning a square blank round is the very first thing that you learned on the lathe. It is the begining of any spindle work or bowl work for that matter. The biggest thing is having a good steady rest so you don't get the flexing. Honing your skills is never a waste of time and as your skills on the lathe improve you will find more uses for your lathe in those great projects that I've seen you make.
 
#24 ·
I needed some Ash dowels for my Windsor chair. I could have turned them on my lathe, but with my jig. I can make 8 dowels in the time it takes to make only one on my lathe.
 
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#26 ·
You can even setup your router on your wood lathe to make dowels, or just about anything that's round.
 
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