# Making super thin dowel rods



## mpex (Nov 21, 2012)

I've got an idea that I'm hoping I can get some help with.  I come from throwing pottery and have always signed my pieces with a symbol.  I have an idea of how to 'sign' my pens.

I want to create a very think dowel rod and drill a hole in the side near the top of the pen and insert.

I need help figuring out how to do a perfect 1/8" dowel.  On top of that, I want to make it out of 2 different types of wood laminated together if that is possible.  To do that I would have to make a perfect lamination and find the absolute center of the wood.  I'm also not sure I would be able to turn down a piece of wood to that small of a diameter, especially not accurately.  

Any ideas of how I would accomplish this?

Thanks alot!


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## underdog (Nov 21, 2012)

How long?

It's easy to make an 1/8" diameter dowel that is short. It's quite another trick to make one 14 inches long.

I've seen a Veritas tool that seems to make short work of making dowels. However, I don't think they make them to go that small.

Veritas® Dowel Maker - Lee Valley Tools

Dowel Maker for long Dowels, Dowel Sizing Plate

You might possible make a jig for your router that would cut it, or do it like this:
Homemade Dowel Making Jig - Tool-Rank.com


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## Ed McDonnell (Nov 21, 2012)

Couple of things come to mind.

You could try using a hardened half round draw plate and then glue the two half rounds together.  Kind of pricey for an experiment though.

Another way would be to make a jig you can use on a router table to shape the two half rounds.  If you aren't real comfortable with routers, router tables and jigs this is probably not the way to get comfortable.

With a metal lathe you might be able to glue up two rectangular pieces into a square and then turn the rod round.  Using a 4 jaw chuck at the headstock and a square work hold attached to your live center.  


Or some other way......


Ed


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## PTsideshow (Nov 21, 2012)

Draw plates as Ed said are no longer cheap and come in assorted shapes, You can get 1/8 dowels at most hobby shops that deal with doll house and Model RR hobbies.
Jeweler's Draw Plate here is Micro marks version
Jewelry Making Supplies | Drawplates / - Beading Supplies, Metal Working Tools Here is where I got mine, but they were a lot cheaper then :wink:
You can google Pepe tools are import version of stuff for jewelry trade.
:clown:


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## ed4copies (Nov 21, 2012)

I would consider modifying an old pencil sharpener (the "razor blade" type) to allow the dowel to continue to pass through, until you have the length you want.


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## low_48 (Nov 21, 2012)

underdog said:


> How long?
> 
> It's easy to make an 1/8" diameter dowel that is short. It's quite another trick to make one 14 inches long.
> 
> ...



I have the dowel maker, and it won't work on that small diameter. I can snap 1/4" stock if the grain is running at an angle.


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## Rick P (Nov 22, 2012)

Ummmm how about turning them on your lathe? A short insert could be segmented and turned easily....all ya need is 1/4 inch of dowel and most of the will get trimmed off.


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## PTsideshow (Nov 22, 2012)

The first link is to their dowel selection, the second link is to their small sized hard woods. You could start with the next size larger and use either a purchased draw plate or homemade one. to make your own.

| Dowels | Project Woods | Store & Catalog | Midwest Products

| Hardwoods | Project Woods | Store & Catalog | Midwest Products

They also have a wide section of of other small sized wood and plywood for hobby projects. Generally sold at hobby stores that deal in RC, boats, planes RR, dolls' houses Hobby lobby and some Micheal's
:clown:


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## jttheclockman (Nov 22, 2012)

To me this sounds like an excersise in basic turning. Take a couple pieces of 1/4" stock of your choice and glue together. find center and using a pin chuck and live center turn the dowel down to size. Here is where you need to be able to control your cuts and the use of a skew is a perfect tool for this. You will get flex with that thin a dowel but using your finger to control this as you run the skew down the rod will prevent this. Just don't make such a long dowel and the flex will be limited. Use a gauge block or open end wrench !/8" to guage the thickness when you get close. Final sanding will also get you there but again remember the flex. Use a backerblock on your sandpaper and not your fingers. Now it depend on how long the final length needs to be but you can make a whole bunch of small ones just using a pinchuck and no tailstock. I do this all the time when making the perches for birdhouse ornaments. Good luck.


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## mpex (Nov 23, 2012)

Ok.  I will give some of these a try after the holidays.  One other question.  What about using a duplicator and using a premade dowel as the guide?

Thanks for all the advice!


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## mredburn (Nov 23, 2012)

try this Making dowels - YouTube


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## KenV (Nov 23, 2012)

Model makers do this kind of thing as do the ornamental turners.

Use very dense woods for best effects.  Stabalized woods should work will too.

Boxwood and blackwood are the traditional very dense woods.


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## Ed McDonnell (Nov 23, 2012)

mpex said:


> Ok.  I will give some of these a try after the holidays.  One other question.  What about using a duplicator and using a premade dowel as the guide?
> 
> Thanks for all the advice!



Hi Moishe - A "vega" type duplicator would allow you to turn a constant diameter, but you would want to support the work to eliminate deflection on something that thin.  You could rig up a simple traveling support pretty easy (if you are the type of person who is a jig rigger, otherwise maybe not so easy for you.  Using your finger as a follower is probably not a good idea on a long cut).  I would not use a premade dowel as the guide.  All you need is for the duplicator to follow a straight line.  A nice clean edge metal bar or sturdy metal rod would make a much better guide.

But at the end of the day, you still only have a dowel.  You would then have to figure out how to get it down to a half round to accomodate your design.  You could rout a half round into a piece of material to hold your newly made dowel and then plane (or sand) it flush to the material surface leaving you with your half round.

Good luck with your project.

Ed


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