Woodpunk LED Desk Lamp

Step 6 Cut the Dowels

The Woodpunk lamp requires a number of dowels of various lengths for its joints.  Be careful when purchasing the dowels; though some may be advertised as 1/2", for example, but they might be slightly more or less.  In my case, there were two different diameters in the bin at Home Depot - one that was exactly 1/2", and one that was slightly less!  One great way of making sure you get the right size is to bring a piece of scrap wood drilled with a 1/2" hole, and try them out right in the store.

From 1/2" round dowel, cut the following:

6 x 1.5" long
2 x 2" long
1 x 1" long
3 x 0.5" long

From 1/4" round dowel, cut the following:

1 x 1.5"
1 x 2"
2 x 1.75"

Sand the ends of each dowel to remove any burrs and roughness.  Don't sand the sides at all, or the dowels will fit too loose!  Depending on the thickness of the Baltic Birch plywood, these dowels may be up to 1/16" too long - simply sand or trim flush as necessary during the Assembly stage.

Now, for a bit of a tricky step.  Drill a 1/2" hole into a piece of scrap wood.  Insert each of the 0.5" long, 1/2" diameter pieces in the hole, and drill a 1/4" hole straight through the center.  The piece of scrap helps hold the short dowel in place, and parallel to the drill bit.  Do the same for the 1" long 1/2" dowel.

Two of the 1/4" dowels will need a little notch cut in the ends to prevent the springs from slipping off.  With the scroll saw or a small hand saw, cut notches on either end of the pictured dowels, about 1/4" from the end.