I am building a small tray for keys, watch, wallet, cell phone, etc for a dresser top. I was startled to see the cover of FWW this month- mine looks remarkably similar to the large one with the more complex top. Mine has no lid. I have joined the corners with miters and looking for a unique way to reinforce them. I am comfortable with exposed splines which I have used many times on other boxes and picture frames. I would like to do something different here and pin it with some small dowels. Gary Rogowski has described using bamboo food skewers as dowel material, and in terms of diameter, they are sized about right for this project. I have the made the tray out of Honduras mahogany, and would like something to contrast with the darker wood. The end grain on almost any dowel won’t exactly stand out, and I’d love to have something very light. Anyone with ideas for a wood solution to the problem or experience using a nontypical material like plastic of some sort, dyed epoxy, etc?
Thanks in advance
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Use Nails
OK, Ok allow me to elaborate :
The first photo is of a marking gauge. The brass dowel is acting as a nut to thread into to clamp the blade
The second photo is generic hardware store dowel stock also acting as nuts to thread into. One tracked mind here. What can I say. These are pretty light colored. There is no finish on them. Maybe if you size the ends of the wood dowel using some thinned glue they will then resist finish and stay light colored for you.
The third photo is of my saw horses. I experimented with different end treatments for the brass "nails" I used to pin the top rail to the uprights (stiles ?).
The far left nail end I turned/faced on the metal lathe for a machined look then pressed it in flush with the wood. The other two I domed and polished the ends and then pressed them in to two different heights above the wood to see how I liked that look.
I used my drill press as an arbor press to push the brass dowels into place.
Sorry for the out of focus photos. Using an iPhone and got too close I suppose.
light colored dowels
Thanks for the ideas. I have used brass in the past and didn't think of it this time. I like the idea of glue size also. I ended up going with the bamboo- photo attached. It worked reasonably well. I learned one thing on a practice piece- the bamboo has some green streaking on the surface which runs into the center to a variable extent. When it is inserted and cut flush, the green area looks closer to the background wood and the net effect is a very irregular blob which doesn't look circular at all.
Honduras mahogany, spalted maple, bamboo skewers, oil based poly on mahogany, and water based on maple to keep it as light as possible. Insides and outsides of sides are beveled.
Thanks for your help
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