How to Perfectly Cut Dowels
Intro: How to Perfectly Cut Dowels
No matter what power tool I use, I can never get clean, flush cuts on wooden dowels.This 5-minute dowel cutting jig will give you perfect cuts every time.
The problem with cutting dowels (especially small ones) on a chop saw is that the bottom of the dowel always chips out. The table saw usually makes for slightly better results, but the same problem occurs. On the band saw I can sometimes get a cleaner cut since the teeth are much smaller, but there’s still some degree of chipping and they’re never perfectly flush.
With a dowel cutting jig, not only can you avoid chipping altogether, you can cut multiple pieces the same length very quickly.
STEP 1: Cut a Slot
Get a piece of square stock that’s big enough for the dowel you want to cut. I’m cutting 1/4” dowels, so I used a piece of 2X2 (1 1/2” X 1 1/2”) hard wood.
I wanted to make sure there was enough stock leftover to clamp the stock to the table saw sled, so I made the piece 6” long. I’m cutting several dowels that are 1 1/2” long, so I measured 1 1/2” from the end of the stock to cut the stock. This cut is going to pass completely through the 1/4” hole for the dowel, to it has to be at least 7/8” high through the middle of the stock. I made it 1” high for good measure.
STEP 2: Drill a Hole
Since my dowels are 1/4” Ø, I drilled a hole with a 1/4” bit on the center of the jig. It’s important to use a drill press for this hole to make sure you’re getting a perfectly flush hole in the jig.
This same method would work for dowels of any diameter provided there's enough material for the
STEP 3: Make Some Cuts
Make sure the edge of the slot is aligned properly with the side of the blade, then clamp it to the table saw sled on the long end. With the height of the blade set to 1” above the surface of the sled, insert the dowel from the long end and stop it at the edge. You could probably be more sophisticated with stopping the dowel at the end, but I just used my finger and put some pressure on the long end of the dowel to keep it from moving. When the cut is done, just put the small piece through the hole.
Once you get the hang of it, you can crank these out very quickly. The cuts are prefect every time because the hole in the jig keeps the wood fibers together while the saw does the cut. This would work with larger dowels as well, but it's especially useful on smaller ones.
36 Comments
plazz 6 years ago
Clever idea! Nice one.
bratan 7 years ago
Nice! I need to make this! BTW here's an idea. If you add a small flat piece of wood at the end, you'll make an end-stop so you don't have to stop dowel with your finger. And you can hinge it on a screw so you can lift it up to push thru dowel...
JON-A-TRON 7 years ago
That's a good idea. I'd love to get more sophisticated with stuff like this.
Maplewoodshop 8 years ago
That is great! I had to cut 320 dowels for 40 pegged tenon footstool kits and did them with a tenon saw using a similar jig. A tablesaw would be much easier at this level of production!
JON-A-TRON 8 years ago
So glad it worked out!
shedman335 8 years ago
Neat idea, thank you
NVRider46 8 years ago
Similar jig works for cutting metal all-thread to specific lengths with little or no thread damage. Clamp the jig in a vise and make the cuts with a Sawsall or hacksaw.
pmshah 8 years ago
What I have found useful is to screw on a very hard nut beyond the point where you want to cut the threaded rod. When you unscrew the nut after cutting the rod it cleans up whatever little irregularities happen at the cut point. The nut MUST be of harder material than the rod itself.
FlorinJ 8 years ago
Or just screw on a thread die before cutting. After the cut, when unscrewing the die, it will cut away whatever damage was done to the thread.
JON-A-TRON 8 years ago
Good trick! I never thought of that. My metal cuts are always crazy messy.
jeanniel1 8 years ago
Brilliant idea - and perfect for those many dowel projects like for basket weaving for the form to start, as well as basic gear teeth!
tgirard 8 years ago
I LOVE Projects that are so simple and effective you stand in wonder asking why I didn't think of this. I can't tell you how many times I've cut dowels and always have them moving around. I am definitely making one for a couple of sizes :)
JON-A-TRON 8 years ago
Glad to hear it!
foglemam 8 years ago
I would like to see a blade guard that would work in this situation. Using a sled, especially one with a raised up hand hold out of the blade path as it exits the back of the fence, keeps your fingers away from the blade. The majority of hand/finger injuries from table saw blades involve kick back and resulting movement of the hand/fingers into the spinning blade. I don't see how crosscutting on a sled w/o a guard could result in a problem unless you have your hand/fingers in the blade path in a normal table saw. The fact that it's a SawStop makes all of this a moot point.
If you don't have power tools a shooting board and a sharp block plane will work for precise, square, chip out free dowel ends if you rough cut them first with a crosscutting handsaw. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcIOfQGja8
fred_dot_u 8 years ago
I just finished cutting 90 dowels of 1-1/4" diameter. Some were 3/4" long and were tricky to manage on the miter saw, but I made it through without destroying any of them. Your method is perfectly simple and would have made a big difference in my project. I hope I can remember this for the next time I have to cut dowels. Nicely done.
JON-A-TRON 8 years ago
Thanks for saying so! What were you using your dowels for?
fred_dot_u 8 years ago
SusanH75 8 years ago
Great idea
mdeblasi1 8 years ago
Thank you.
I do lapidary and I am forever swearing because my dop-sticks are not perfectly flush!
JON-A-TRON 8 years ago
Oh cool! I've always been interested in lapidary. What kind of work do you do? Got any instructables on it in the works?