Using dowels rather than nails/screws/staples

[AwesomeOpossum74]

I've built a few projects using dowels to secure the wood together, rather than metal counterparts. Even though it's a little more work (cutting the dowels to length, and drilling the holes into the project), but it seems a bit more natural. The projects seem to be very stout.

My question: Is it actually worth the effort, vs. just gluing? Basically I'm just replacing wood with wood. The difference is that it seems logical that there is cross-support with the dowels, just like with nails/screws, but properly glued dowels would be less likely to work their way out.

[jteneyck]

If the joint fits well and you believe glue is stronger than the wood then it's a waste IMO unless you like the look.  Glued and drawbored M&T joints had lower peak strength than those just glued, IIRC from a FWW article several years ago.  They don't fail catastrophically, however, so they do have value in applications like chairs, although you will still soon have a wobbly chair if the glue fails.   Doweled joints look good in some situations, though, and I would use them for that reason alone.  

John

[Bibliophile 13]

I don't make doweled joints as a rule, but I've seen enough of them fail to be suspicious. It depends very much on the orientation of the wood.

If you're just using them to align an edge-glued joint, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I've never seen one fail.

But if you're using them to basically reinforce a butt-joint (end grain to long grain) then they're not very strong. You're better off with a mortise-and-tenon or even a simple bridle joint in that case. I've seen enough such old dowel joints like this fail that I wouldn't bother with them here.

[AgGEM]

Have you tried Miller Dowels?
http://www.millerdowel.com/
Fun and easy to use.
Ag

[Tony Z]

Have you tried Miller Dowels?
http://www.millerdowel.com/
Fun and easy to use.
Ag

Another endorsement for Miller Dowels! Buy the kit-comes with supply of dowels and an excellent drill bit. I've use them since they've come out, without an issue.

[MichaelMouse]

Dowels serve either as alignment aids, when making boards wider, or shear resistance when used on right-angle joinery.  In the first case, they are often left unglued, since long to long grain gluing is enough.  In the second use, they are glued, because while they provide shear resistance, they provide little pull-out resistance, and thereby allow the joint to rack when asymmetrically loaded, or pull out entirely. 

Where dowels might be used, use biscuits.  Easy to help align glue-ups, and greater gluing area to resist pull-out and by keeping the end grain shouldered in right angle joints, some racking resistance.  Other devices use the same principle as biscuits, just in more elaborate and  often expensive form.

[GeorgeV]

I use them to edge join boards to make panels and to join stiles to rails on cabinet doors.

The size of dowels is 1/3 of thickness of material used.

[Steve N]

Have you tried Miller Dowels?
http://www.millerdowel.com/
Fun and easy to use.
Ag

I use them all the time instead of nails or screws to hold treads, and other wood down to something, but had never thought of them as a joint feature? I guess I always thought of them as too long/big, but through side grain, into end grain they would work I think.

They would likely work better than.........





My biggest use of the Millers is on repair of stair treads where the nose has broken off. They hold, and repair the nose, and leaving some dowel out you can smear it with glue as you sand them down, and with the glue, and the sawdust you can make them virtually invisible after wiping on some dye, or jell stain. A slick fix for an otherwise in depth repair. IIRC that was the reason the guy who thought of them did so.

[AwesomeOpossum74]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. Now I have some things to look up ...

[bhh]

Dowel joints are notoriously weak for two reasons:
- minimal glue surface and most of that is end grain
- differential seasonal (humidity) contraction

http://www.finewoodworking.com/1980/04/0...owel-joint