A dowel is a solid cylindrical rod of wood inserted into matching drilled holes in two mating pieces of stock. When glued in place, dowels provide mechanical strength and precise alignment for edge joints, frame assemblies, and chair construction. Fluted or grooved dowels allow excess glue and trapped air to escape during assembly.
Drill three holes for a 3/8 inch dowel to reinforce that miter joint.
Always dry-fit dowel joints before applying glue, as the tight tolerances leave no room for adjustment once the glue swells the wood fibers.
Also heard as
- dowel pin
Related terms
Biscuit
A compressed, oval-shaped wooden wafer used to align and reinforce edge-to-edge glue joints.
Spline
A thin strip of wood inserted into matching grooves on two pieces to align and reinforce a joint.
Pocket-hole
A steeply angled counterbored hole used to drive a screw blindly into an adjoining board.