Here’s how to make dowels of any size with a simple router setup. First drill a pilot hole through a 2×4 the same diameter as the dowel you want to produce. Chuck a core-box bit in your router, rout a recess in the front of the 2×4 just above the hole and clamp the router in position. Center the bit right over the top of the hole with the shaft of the bit inset about 1/8 in. into the 2×4. Make sure the leading edge of the bit is precisely at the circumference of the hole. Now turn on the router and push the dowel blank into the hole, rotating the blank with a hand drill. Taper the front of the blank for easier starting.

G. Weldon Friesen, Middlebury, Ind.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, December 1981 No. 31

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