Great Looking Dowel Joinery
Strong, good-looking through-dowels that stand out.
I saw an interesting technique in a Craftsman’s Legacy segment on Mark Whitley, who builds artistic tables and other furniture in Kentucky.
I like the look, so I’m doing it for my next set of meditation-bench builds.
Coming Soon: Close-up of dowels on finished bench
The idea is to glue and screw pieces together, then back out and replace the screws with dowels. That process lets me do the finishing with pieces assembled, without having to wait for glue to dry so I can remove the clamps. As a plus, I get strong, good-looking dowel-joinery with different-color dowels that stand out.
Note:
This process is only slightly different from my current screwed-in butt joints.
For those joints, I screw things together with temporary screws, finish the piece,
and then replace the screws with fresh, clean ones. The new process will take only slightly longer, but produce a great look, and eliminate the hard-to-find specialty screws I’ve been using.
Here is the process.
A. Drill a Pocket and Thru-Hole.
The pocket makes it possible to get a clean edge on the hole when finishing the piece. Of course, some of the stain and clear get onto the head of the screw, but only if you’re spraying, and not enough to keep a screwdriver from working.
Go 1/4" to 3/8" deep, in 3/4" thick wood. Then make a thru-hole that is wide enough for the screw you plan to use. (I’m using #10 screws, so a 1/4" thru-hole works well.)
B. Glue and Screw the Pieces
Everyone and his brother has a video or web page describing this process. ‘Nuff said.
C. Stain and Clear-Coat the Assembled Bench
This part of the process has taken forever to figure out. And I’m still working on it. Someday, I’ll write a book. The short version is: Varathane Water-based Black Cherry Semi-Gloss Stain+Poly (Home Depot) gives me the look I’m after for the frame, while Deft Satin Clear Coat lacquer (Amazon) gives me the clear finish I want on the “deck” of the bench.
The only remaining question is how to clear-coat the tops of the dowels, when the joinery is finished. At the moment, I’m planning to hit them with a bit of the lacquer. The question is how long the poly needs to dry to make it work. (Other options: Leave them unfinished, or hit them with a bit of clear-poly or polycrylic spray, or maybe touch them up with a brush. I’m still working that part out.)
Note:
If leaving the screws in and covering them with screw hole button plugs (dowel heads), finishing is pretty simple: Put down double-stick tape, put a slew of buttons on them next to one another, and finish them all at one time. (The spray lacquer makes it fast, and there is little or no dripping onto the sides of the buttons.)
D. Replace the Screws with Dowels
Doing one screw at a time ensures that everything stays in place during this part of the process:
Step 1: Back out the screw.
Step 2: Using the pocket as a guide, drill a hole deep enough to expose 1/4" of the dowel.
Step 3: Dab some glue on the dowel and tap it in.
E. Trim the Dowels After the Glue Dries
This part of the process was inspired by Brian Hilson’s YouTube video, Easy Trick for Perfect Flush Cut Dowels). I modified it only slightly.
Step 1: Drill a hole (or holes) in cardboard (preferably one glossy side).
Place it over the dowel(s) with glossy-side up, and flush-cut the dowel, to get a clear cut without marring the finish. (Brian uses sandpaper. That makes sense if you‘re trimming the dowels before doing the finish work.)
Step 2: With a sharp chisel, cut away the remaining sliver of dowel (or leave
it slightly proud, if you prefer that look.) To do that, put the chisel flat on
the surface, and gentle slice the dowel with a side-to-side motion.
Note:
For extra credit (if you can find one), get a special flush-cut saw that has “this side up” marked on it. That kind of saw has teeth that are raked (going slightly outward) on the top only, not on the bottom. With that saw, the cardboard
may not even be needed, which eliminates the trimming step.
About Eric
Eric Armstrong builds yoga meditation benches, and makes them available at MeditateBetter.com. His quest for precision is motivated by his desire to make the best possible benches he can, repeatably.
Learn more: About Eric (DIY’er)
