Dowels are round studs used to secure objects together and can be made from wood, metal, or plastic. They come in various sizes, with or without tapered ends, and can be used for furniture joints, curtain rods, and more. They can also be machined for specific purposes and come in different widths and lengths. In fine woodworking, dowels are commonly used for strong joints and stable support.
A dowel is a type of round stud that is used to secure objects together. Dowels can also be used to make things like racks, curtain rods, and so on. As you might imagine, dowels are made from a huge assortment of materials and come in a range of sizes, with and without tapered ends, and a variety of other features. Most hardware stores carry a terrific selection of dowels, and you can also order dowels for specific purposes or machine them, if you have access to a metal or wood store.
A common choice of material for dowels is wood. Wood dowels are often used in woodworking to reinforce joints in furniture, and are also included in flat-pack furniture to allow consumers to quickly assemble furniture with minimal building skills. You may also have seen wooden dowels in birdcages as perches or used as curtain rods for drapes and curtains. Some people also use the dowels to build drying racks, or mount protruding dowels in convenient places to hang coats and other clothing.
Dowels can also be made of various metals and even plastic. Plastic and metal dowels can be machined with things like ends that will expand once the dowel is inserted, locking it in place and creating a very strong joint. Metal and wooden dowels can also be used as pivot pins in something with moving parts, or they can be designed to be removed to separate various parts of an object.
Some dowels have tapered ends to make insertion easier, while others have blunt ends. The dowels can also be grooved to provide traction and can be painted, left plain or reinforced with a variety of materials. They come in a range of widths and lengths, from long, thick dowels that can hold heavy drapes on large windows to very small, thin dowels used to join pieces in a closet.
In fine woodworking, dowels can be extremely important. Some woodworking disciplines place a high value on avoiding nails and screws, relying on very strong joints to hold a piece of furniture together, and dowels are commonly used in these disciplines. A dowel can also provide stable support with a reduced risk of a piece of furniture cracking or breaking, since the dowel can be designed to break under stress without damaging the piece of furniture; this feature can be useful for things like chairs, which sometimes take unexpected loads.
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