Dowel Plate Woes

[Michael Peet]

So I watched Christopher Schwarz's video on draw-boring, a technique I want to use on an upcoming project. I especially liked the part where he made his own dowels with a dowel plate. I thought, "wow, even *I* could hammer a piece of wood through a hole in a steel plate. Then I can use the kind of wood I want and have it match the rest of the project." So I ordered one, the same Lie-Nielsen model Chris used.

It came in the mail today, my first LN purchase. I ripped open the package excitedly and ran down to the shop to make some dowels. Split off a little piece of cedar, knocked the corners down, sharpened it a little, and banged it through the 1/4" hole. Hmm, not too straight. Or smooth. Or round.

Well, it's my first try, I think. I do it again. Same thing. Again. Even worse.

Hmm. I try a different hammer. Then a mallet. And a sledge. Nothing too spectacular, although I got a beaut of a blood blister on my thumb now too (don't ask).

I think, well cedar is a pretty soft wood. Let's try oak - what Chris used in the video - to see if that comes out any better. Nope.

Am I supposed to be using greener wood? Should I have lapped the plate first? Any dowel plate gurus care to share the secret? All I can tell you is that I don't think I am forcing a too-big piece through the 1/4" hole - I pick the biggest hole it will just barely not fit through and progress down from that. Usually it was just the next largest hole up from 1/4". I'm using pretty straight-grained pieces too, with the grain running the length of the dowel-to-be (or not-to-be).

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[Tony Zaffuto]

Sounds a lot like the problems I had with mine. I was able to get reasonably decent dowels by splitting the stock and planing off the edges to get it close to round. Still, not what I expected!

[Harlan Barnhart]

Interesting... I was just thinking of bumping a LN dowel plate up on my "must have" list for use in drawboring. Maybe I'll stick to my current method (split from a straight grained block and "round" with a chisel) a little longer. For what it's worth, in softer woods like poplar and white pine, I have found that "mostly round" is round enough. After installation and planing they look round. But then again, I have never used pins larger than 1/4". From my vast experience of drawboring (22 joints if I count correctly) I wouldn't recommend using a soft wood for the pin or you won't be able to offset enough to do much "drawing". In which case you may as well assemble with clamps and glue then drill and install the pin later. Also the end grain creates as much contrast as using a hardwood pin.

[David Gendron]

I do have the dowell plate from LN and just love it. The way I use it is I slpit a piece from staight grain stock and go from a rough square to a nice square with a draw knife and then to an octogon with the draw knife and bring it "close" to the dowel size and tap it thrue the plate after sharpening one end with a knife!
Hoppe it helps!
David

[Allan Brown]

I've used the LN dowel plate for nearly two years and really like it. Perhaps you're expecting perfectly round dowels. While that may be achievable, I hardly think it worth the effort. I've used it for Walnut, Maple, Cherry and Bubinga dowels throughout its range...not all perfectly round, but all perfectly serviceable.
Allan

[John Powers]

Good stuff. I wanted one but the price is incrdeible. Can't believe one of the irnomongers on this site or Woodnet.net hasn't knocked them off. Not surprised that cedar won't work. I'd figure on using something harder and straighter. I'm saving for a LN low angle block plane and I screwed up not getting it when it was $75.00 instead of $95.00 so I get my dowels at Home depot.

[David Gendron]

Look at Jim bode tool web page, I think his got one for sale, not a LN but a vintage one that should be as good!

[harry strasil]

Its more than likely your hammering technique, hit a nail on one side and it bends away from the blow, same with making dowels with a plate, you have to hit it fair and square, an old blacksmith term.

For what its worth, I mounted my 2 dowel plates to hard wood and drilled the holes thru, then turned them over and oversized the holes by a 64th so they don't stick in the hole as bad,

small plate,



large plate,



And I do drive them thru successively smaller holes, but my plates also have 1/32 oversize holes too.

[Luke Townsley]

My "dowel plate" is just some bronze plumbing fittings screwed into a block of wood. It doesn't work perfectly, but it doesn't rust either. With a bit of judicious filing, it would probably do better.

I haven't seriously used it. I think I might have made it when I was making my workbench.

I suspect that air dried wood would respond better than kiln dried wood.

[Chuck Nickerson]

Like you, Chris' DVD inspired me to buy LN's dowel plate, and my results matched yours exactly. For me, the fix was in Harry's advice and lowering my expectations. Looking at my sort-of-dowels, it was clear my blows were also driving the peg from side to side. Looking at my hammer face and swing, I found a work surface at belt height. That solved my problem.

[Russ Hauser]

You don't have to buy a dowel plate, they're easy enough to make. I made my latest from 1 inch wide x 1/8 thick angle iron. The angle allows me to clamp the angle in my wood faced Emmert vise, so both hands are free, with one to help keep the dowel going straight thru the plate. The holes are redrilled from the back side like Harry's. I 've made dowels down to 1/16 dia using my own plates. In the smaller sizes you must pull the dowels thru the plate. When driving them I don't drive them very hard and strive to "Hit them fair and square."

Russ

[Charles Murray Ohio]

I like the idea of a hardwood backing plate to help keep your dowel straight. A dowel plate will work much easier with hardwoods (remember it’s a scraping action not cutting). Use straight grained stock, rive it out then knock off the corners. Start by taping it through the larger sizes and work your way down until you reach the diameter you want. This takes a little off at a time and helps prevent you from tearing the stock up.

[Sam Yerardi]

Hi Charles! Just wanted to say hi to a fellow SAPFM member....

[Charles Murray Ohio]

Sam,

Will you be at our local SAPFM meeting at the end of the month?

Charles

[Sam Yerardi]

I'm planning on it... How about you?

(Sorry to hijack this thread guys )