# 1/2" hole will not fit 1/2" wood dowel



## EdsCustomWoodCrafts (Sep 21, 2014)

I'm probably going to get a lot of grief over the post, but I'm out of options… Why don't they fit and how do I get them to fit… Also the dowels need to move into and out of the holes easily otherwise I'd just hammer them in.










The project I'm working on is an adjustable height workhorse and the adjustable tier of the workhorse has several different holes to adjust the height of this jig of sorts. Before I went to the actual horse and drilled my holes I decided to do a test run and they don't fit…

What to do!!!!!!

Should I just use a 1/2" drill bit and see if I can widen the the hole even by a 1/16th or more


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Sand paper the dowels and use wax


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## SirIrb (Jan 12, 2015)

Dowels are not as accurate as a bit may drill. I would put calipers on the hole and the dowel and see how far off they (the dowel, I bet) is. Id bump the hole up 1/64th. But after you measure the Dowel youll know where you should go.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Two options:
1- see if you can find a metric dowel
2- use a brass dowel
Third one would be to hammer the existing dowels through a piece of hardwood about 1/2 thick with the same drill. If the dowels are store bought, they are more likely made of soft wood and will squeeze in once travelling through the hole. Some wax afterwards should make the travelling easier.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Chuck the dowel in a drill and sand it. A block plane works too.


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## jmartel (Jul 6, 2012)

> Chuck the dowel in a drill and sand it. A block plane works too.
> 
> - TheFridge


This is what I was going to say. I've done both successfully before. Store bought dowels are rarely exactly the size that they list. In the future, it's a good idea to bring a piece of scrap with a hole drilled in it so you can test out the dowels and find one that fits.


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## EdsCustomWoodCrafts (Sep 21, 2014)

> Chuck the dowel in a drill and sand it. A block plane works too.
> 
> - TheFridge


This option sounds like it would work I've got a drill press and excuse to use it … Thanks everyone for the ideas


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Sanding the dowels will certainly work. You can also go back with a 33/64" or 13mm drill bit and ream the holes out with it.


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## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

As others have said, dowels are not always very accurate when made commercially. But then again, it's summertime and so the most humid time of year along the NA east coast, so the dowels may simply have swelled a bit. Either way, the solutions mentioned will solve the problem.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Drill a hole in some steel about 1/64th under size and persuade

the dowels to behave.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

> Two options:
> 1- see if you can find a metric dowel
> 2- use a brass dowel
> Third one would be to hammer the existing dowels through a piece of hardwood about 1/2 thick with the same drill. If the dowels are store bought, they are more likely made of soft wood and will squeeze in once travelling through the hole. Some wax afterwards should make the travelling easier.
> ...


Most dowels I find in the big Box stores are actually Metric even though they say 1/2" or 3/4".

And as Steve Ramsey say's " If you hand sand a Dowel , Don't let anybody see you unless you wan to get some Crude Remarks"


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

It is my belief that almost all dowels are neither the exact size or round. I expect to have to size them with sand paper.

Secondly, drilling a 1/2" hole in different woods will result in holes of different sizes. Drilling in a 2×4, will give a rough hole. You can roll up some sand paper and run it through the hole to smooth it out. Between smoothing the hole and sizing the dowel should fix things.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

What "The Fridge" said.


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## jerryminer (Jun 15, 2014)

Don't know if this will work for your application, but I have had success with cutting a slot in the dowel with a bandsaw-a little less than the depth of penetration I want. this makes a somewhat undersized, but "spring-loaded" dowel--a lot like the "Tinker Toys" you may (or not) remember.


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

> Don t know if this will work for your application, but I have had success with cutting a slot in the dowel with a bandsaw-a little less than the depth of penetration I want. this makes a somewhat undersized, but "spring-loaded" dowel--a lot like the "Tinker Toys" you may (or not) remember.
> 
> - jerryminer


"Tinker Toys" I do remember them .


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## esmthin (Mar 2, 2015)

[/QUOTE]

And as Steve Ramsey say s " If you hand sand a Dowel , Don t let anybody see you unless you wan to get some Crude Remarks" 

[/QUOTE]
Everyone's favorite Steve Ramsey quote.


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## MrRon (Jul 9, 2009)

I don't know why you need to use wood for the dowels. Use a steel rod or a long carriage bolt with the threads cut off. They are much stronger.


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