Tips for precision cutting 1/8 hardwood dowels?

[Weston Porter]

I have some wooden toys I'm working on that move using 1/8" dowels cut to very particular lengths, some are really short even down to 1/8" long. I can't seem to cut them cleanly or accurately by hand and my chop saw is definitely out of the question. Any recommendations?

[Grant Wilkinson]

I've done some toy trucks with similar pieces. I just rolled the dowels on a hard surface, scribing them with a sharp razor knife. They snap off easily and the very small nub can be sanded off.

[pat warner]

Make a block with 1/8 holes of various depths on the end grain.
Cut dowels with wire cutters, long.
Insert the dowel in one of the holes in the block.
And end sand them on the disk or edge sander.

[ken masoumi]

I wonder if chopsticks or even toothpicks would help.they can be cut with a sharp blade ?maybe?

[Dave Cullen]

Mount the dowel in a drill chuck, either a drill press or a lathe, and cut them off with a parting tool or the corner of a chisel.

[Charles Coolidge]

I'd drill a block of wood 3/32 through hole, then drill those out 1/8 to the depth you need your dowels, rough cut the dowels to length, shove them in your wood block and sand or joint flush. You can then pop them out from the back side hence the smaller through hole. Or buy a lathe with a DRO she's accurate to .0002

dr24.jpg

[john bateman]

There is a small hand power miter saw for that type of work. It's only about $20.
Olson 35-231 Saw and miter box.

[Tony Joyce]

Try one of these. Google "razor saw"
35105-1000-3ww-l.jpg

[Dick Brown]

Never tried it but how about a copper tubing cutter? I will try it this p.m. and report back.

[Michael Mahan]

140347.jpg 21.xx @ WoodCraft

[Weston Porter]

Try one of these. Google "razor saw"
35105-1000-3ww-l.jpg

140347.jpg 21.xx @ WoodCraft

I appreciate all the replies. This was the quick solution I needed.

[Mike Heidrick]

Id do the block with holes in it but I would cut the block in half and then drill the holes in the middle of the cut. A couple holes 3/4 through 90 degree to the face at end will allow some registration dowel pins. Id use a vise with some parallels in it to keep the block off the bottom of the vise. Once the dowels are cut, split the block in half to remove the cut dowles.

[Wade Lippman]

Scroll saw works nicely.

[Loren Woirhaye]

I like the wire cutter idea.

Lee Valley sells a miter shear for up to 3/4" softwood mouldings. They imply it does a clean cut. I think it's an Asian knockoff of a European tool. I never tried it. About $25 I think. Looks useful to me.

A saddlemaker's head knife can be rolled into a cut. It has a half-moon shape. I have one. I've never cut wood with it but I'm sure 1/8" dowel would be no problem.

[Chris Parks]

Saw a kerf with the saw you are going to use in a block of wood. Cross drill through that kerf, insert dowel and cut using kerf.