Dowel joint

This type of joint consists of drilling holes in each part to be joined, and then inserting dowels, which are thus the link between the two parts. Prefabricated dowels come in various sizes (e.g.: diameters of ½ in., ¼ in.) and have grooves allowing excess glue to come out.

The dowels can also be made by cutting pieces of twigs; their lengths and diameters are more varied than those of prefabricated dowels, and can thus meet specific needs. These dowels will not have grooves, but it’s easy to trace grooves oneself.
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When
The tools
How
1. Determine where to drill on part A
2. Determine where to drill on part B
3. Before drilling...
4. Proceed to the final assembly
5. Variation
6. To strengthen joints

When

By its simplicity and principle, this type of joint can apply to various jobs: assembling boxes, drawers, furniture, frames…

The tools

A vice, a square, a pencil and a drill (with the appropriate bit) are all you need.

How

For this type of joint, the two most important points to observe are the precise location of the holes (to ensure that they correspond on the two parts) and the perfect right angle of the hole in relation to the surface.

Typically, the narrow portion of a part (the end or slice) will be joined with the face of another part. In this example, the end of A will be joined with a face of B.

1. Determine where to drill on part A

Begin by locating the holes, at the centre of the thickness of the tip of A. To do so, trace lines parallel to the ends of the tip of A, at a precise distance (e.g.: 1.5 in.), and trace X patterns by joining the opposite corners of the rectangles formed by the ends of the tip of A and the lines you just traced. The points where the diagonals meet are exactly at the centre of the thickness of the part, where you will drill. Repeat for each hole you want to make on the tip of the part.

2. Determine where to drill on part B

Now precisely locate the holes on the face of part B, so that they correspond exactly to the holes that will be made in the tip of A. There are two techniques:

2.1 

Vertically hammer a narrow nail in each of the points marked in step 1. Using cutting pliers, cut the head of each nail. Lean part B very precisely on part A, where they will be joined, and lightly tap part B; the heads of the cut nails will make little holes in B, thus indicating the location of the future holes.

A variation of this method consists of drilling holes in the first part, and then inserting metal dowel centres in it; these replace the nails with the heads cut off.

OR

2.2 

First measure the thickness of A and then, at the location where A will be secured to B, trace two lines that will represent the contours of A (the space separating the two lines corresponds to the thickness of A). To do so, use a square; don’t use A as a guide. In this “simulation” of A, repeat the same operations you did on the real A in point 1.
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