1" dowel 26? 27? mm Forstner?

[Wizard of Oz]

Possible to make your own dowels, the size you want. Just a thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8biVnA_x8iY&t=1s

[Timberwolf]

can you sand the dowel to provide a little breathing room?
will the dowel be receiving any finish prior to its final placement?
I recently built some Pikler climbing devices for our grandson, and like you, played around with the forstner bits til I found a happy medium. In my case, I had glue to keep everything fixed, not sliding...

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Would a one inch router bit work for a shallow hole?

[Eurekan]

Expandable bit for drill press is available. Dial in what you need.

   

[AHill]

The problem isn't your bits. It's your dowel. Dowels are rarely exactly the size indicated. Wood expands and contracts with humidity and moisture content, and that's probably what you're seeing. No telling what humidity and/or moisture content it was when they made the dowel. If it's too tight, but take some sandpaper, wrap it around the end and sand it until you get the desired fit. If you have a lathe, chuck it up and go to town. You could hold the dowel in a clamp also when sanding. Pretty easy to make those v-notch holders that make it more stable in a clamp.

[KyleD]

Everything will work better if you start with dowels that are the same diameter. You will find the tolerance you want and then need to find a way to make that diameter hole. I am talking tolerances that are measured in the thousandths of an inch. Keep in mind the diameter of the drill and the hole it drills in wood are not the same. Depending on runout and flex the hole is typically a little larger. Measure the hole the bit makes in similar material you are drilling not the diameter of the drill.
 
 Digital calipers are cheap and easy to read in this day and age. Do you have a pair? This is a perfect use for them. Some may say calipers are overkill for working with wood. I disagree. The difference between a sloppy mortice and tenon joint and a perfect fit is only a couple of thousandths. What you are trying to achieve is simply a round mortice and tenon joint.
 
 If you are buying your dowels from a store take the calipers with and check each dowel in multiple places and on multiple sides. There can be a lot of variation depending on the different production runs and the moisture content of each blank at time of machining and now.

[Cooler]

Do you have a lathe?

A lathe would probably be over-kill.  A 1.00" tenon cutter probably will do the the trick.

https://woodworker.com/timber-tuff-1-ten...gJx7fD_BwE

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

Thanks, folks, but the suggestions to modify or create my own dowels are time sinks that I will avoid.
I' m burning through about 75 dowels a week! I don't need a perfect fit. I need something that slips in better. Some of the dowels will slip in with very little persuasion; some require clamping forces to bed.

I've ordered a 26mm bit. We'll see how that works.

[iclark]

Thanks, folks, but the suggestions to modify or create my own dowels are time sinks that I will avoid.
I' m burning through about 75 dowels a week!  I don't need a perfect fit.  I need something that slips in better.  Some of the dowels will slip in with very little persuasion; some require clamping forces to bed.

I've ordered a 26mm bit.  We'll see how that works.

The suggestion to use a tenon cutter to standardize the diameter going into the hole sounds like it would make your job quicker and easier.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

Oh! I missed that before I responded. I'll check that out.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

Update:

26mm Forstner is perfect. Slip fit. No clamping or cursing needed!