# Dowel hole worn over time



## Astubits (Jul 27, 2018)

Greetings,

New to this site, but have been building furniture for a number of years now.

Just bought a beautiful antique roll top desk. The top attaches to the main desk with 3 dowels (no glue). Over time, I think the constant movement of the tambour has worn down the dowel holes. As a result, the tambour slips out of the track sometimes. I'd like to tighten it up, but looking for suggestions. I'd prefer not to use glue so that the top can be removed if necessary in the future for moving purposes.

I've considered wrapping the dowel with paper or wood shavings?

I've considered drilling out the existing hole, plugging it and drilling a new hole for the dowels.

When I'm frustrated, I've considered just using pocket hole screws to keep the whole thing together.

Any thoughts, suggestions, experiences?

Thanks!


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## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

Drill out the next size hole, and get dowels to fit.. ......... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Just replace the dowels with ones that fit / aren't worn. There are three, you can do it! The less modification to the desk itself, the better in my book.


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## wuddoc (Mar 21, 2008)

Astubits this is another alternative.

McMaster-Carr website covering locating pins.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/124/2652/=1dwbfsr


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## Astubits (Jul 27, 2018)

Hey guys, really appreciate the input. After playing with it a little bit more, I'm not sure it is an issue with the dowels.

Like I said, it's a roll top desk and at times, the tambour falls out if its track. I thought this was from a loose dowel, but after more exploration, it seems like it is related to a crack in the wood. When the crack flexes, the tambour fall out of the track. When I hold the crack in place, the tambour moves freely.

I'm now trying to figure out how best to repair/stabilize this crack, see photos below. The crack is straight through the wood, so there's a lot of flex.

Any suggestions on how best to repair this while still looking good? Any epoxies, glues, or fillers you've found that work well? Has any tried WoodEpox Abatron? Or J-B WELD KwikWood Epoxy Putty Stick?

Thanks!


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> Any suggestions on how best to repair this while still looking good?
> 
> - Astubits


You could put a dowel in it.

Does it really need a filler? It looks like just injecting some glue in the crack and clamping it should do the trick.


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## Astubits (Jul 27, 2018)

Thanks Kazooman. There's very little flex in the crack and not much room to get a dowel in, atleast not without taking the whole piece apart. Thanks!


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

The dowel comment was a joke based on your original diagnosis. For some reason I can't get the smiley face emoticons to work on my iPad.


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## Astubits (Jul 27, 2018)

Got it. And I totally missed your actual response.

I think I could get away with glue, although I wish I had access from the rear to do so.

I was thinking an epoxy/ filler might help make the crack less noticeable. The images aren't great, but there's a good chunk missing.


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