Dowel Joint

Dowel joints are very strong and attractive if they are, like all other joints constructed well. Dowel is also very useful for greatly increasing the strength of weaker woodwork joints such as the butt joint.

This type of joint is secured with an adhesive and a small piece of dowel. Construction also requires nothing more than a drill and some accurate markings.

To achieve perfect markings a special measuring tool can be used to measure the position of the holes for the dowel to be inserted.

The tool is called a dowel center and they are placed in a predrilled hole to create an accurate mark on the other piece of timber where the next hole will be drilled.

The dowel joint is assembled in the same way that you would screw a regular joint together only pieces of dowel are glued and inserted into holes instead of screws. By using pieces of dowel over screws the joint becomes much stronger and can be turned into an appealing feature.

How To Make Half-Lap Joints

Step 1: You need to calculate the size of dowel suitable and then mark where you are going to make the joint.

You can either mark the position of the joint and where to drill the holes with a ruler or you can drill a hole in one piece of lumber and use a doweling jig to mark the second piece and this should be a very accurate method if done correctly.

Step 2: The next step is drilling the holes for the dowel but remember to only drill as far as you need to fit your dowel and to use a drill bit the same size as the dowel.

You can drill the holes with a handheld drill or a stationary drill but the stationary drill is more accurate so it is usually the best option.

Step 3: Now insert the dowel into one of the pieces of lumber and insert the other piece on the other end of the dowel. Bond the joint together with wood glue and clamps can be used but are not usually needed depending on the size if the lumber.

Tip: You can drill a hole all the way through one of the pieces of lumber and insert longer dowel but using this method will mean that the dowel will be visible in the back of one of the pieces of lumber.

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