A2 Tool Steel Dowel Plate (Standard)

My woodworking requires dowels and the hardware stores leave much to be desired. I have industrial measuring steel dowels acquired from Boeing surplus and they say "THIS DOWEL PLATE IS DEAD-ON." STORE PURCHASED DOWELS ARE EITHER 1MM TOO small or as much as 2mm too large. The dowels that are too large I whittle down one end a bit, then hammer the dowel through this Plate. Wa-LAAaa. Or I trim wood down to size on my bandsaw and then taper one end and hammer it through.1. I mounted the dowel plate on a 2" x 10" x 1" piece of oak.2. I marked the plate on the oak, then routed an inset leaving the Plate 1/16 proud.3. I used a bit to mark each hole size. Then pulled out a drill bit one size larger and drilled a hole through the oak.4. Mounted the Plate, sanded and stained.5. I intend to add to the oak another plate with a 3/4 and 1" and 1 1/4" holes. This tool is working well.

Sharp, works well

On receiving, I ran white oak and walnut through the various holes. The dowels produced are round and quite smooth. The holes seem to produce an undersized dowel. If you drill a 1/4" hole, and create a 1/4" dowel, the dowel is loose because the hole is slightly undersized. My need is to make dowels that will be used to peg mortise and tenon joints, so they have to be tight. I am looking for a brad point drill bit that is slightly smaller than 1/4" to resolve this issue. If buying this product, consider your needs for accurate diameter.

the metal itself is very sturdy but when I tried to make to dowel by hammering it down, it will not give a nice result, even after I chiseled it down to similar size hole. also, the Holes are a bit tight. I tried to fit a drill bit to the appropriate hole and it a bit tight. I believe you want the hole size to be slightly bigger to produce, slightly bigger dowel so it will make the connection tighter. these holes are slightly smaller. SO, no good. I just saw premade dowels from home depot and I would personally go for that instead. well, you could go to depot down or any hardware store or even local store for those. cheers

First time using one of these. Made 24 3/8" pins for a Roubo workbench (draw-bore pins). Worked great - not a scratch, dent or blemish after whaling on this pretty hard. A bit of advice - if anyone cares...For best results (I have only used with oak):Ensure the blank has as straight grain all the way through the length of the dowel/pinRun the blank through with the grain - if against the grain, it will result in a pretty ugly pin (bent, gouged, etc). You can tell if you knock the square edges down with a block plane - if against the grain, it will hang up/tear out.Make the blank at least 1/2" longer than you need as the last 1/2" or so has a tendency to blow out when you pull that last bit throughGreat tool and will be using more and more.

Easy to use and does a decnt job if you ar slow and careful usining it

So simple to use, but chamfer corners of your stock for best results.

It's a good idea still haven't got good results from the tool maybe there6a learning curve .