chamfer on dowel ends?

[LCHIEN]

Anyone know of a good quick, simple jig for helping put chamfers on the end of dowels of varying sizes?

I usually use a disk sander with a table and kinda roll the dowel with my fingers against the disk, but its kinda hard to roll it in place - rather it tends to roll sideways and make a jaggy chamfer as I have to keep correcting the position.

Maybe a pencil sharpener, eh?

Seriously, maybe an angled groove like those found on the workpiece supports for grinders for sharpeneing drill bits???

[dkerfoot]

Seriously, maybe a groove like those found on the workpiece supports for grinders for sharpening drill bits???

Perhaps one of those v-shaped jigs for drilling the sides of dowels?

[pelligrini]

I've got a couple blocks with V shaped grooves for working with dowels. One is small and done with a veining bit on the router. The other large block was done with putting two beveled 2x4 scraps together.

They were mainly for use in the drill press but I have used them for chamfering the ends too. I'll put a sander in a vise at the desired angle, and clamp the groove block to the table and then rotate the dowel in the groove. If I need to be really exact with the chamfers I'll put a stop block on the other end of the dowel. It works pretty well for sanding PVC too.

I will also use those blocks on the tablesaw when crosscutting tube or dowel.


*edit* Yea, what Doug said

[LarryG]

A pencil sharpener will certainly work if the dowel diameter is small enough.

Lee Valley and others sell round tenon cutters, but they're pretty spendy if you only have an occasional need to chamfer a dowel.

Does your disc sander have a miter gauge slot? And how long is the dowel? If Yes to the first, you could set the head of the miter gauge to an appropriate angle and hold the dowel against its face and the table while you turn the dowel with your other hand -- if the dowel is long enough to get hold of.

Otherwise, some variant of the previous replies is the ticket.

[Mr__Bill]

I have successfully routed the ends of dowels, roundover chamfer and other profiles. I clamp two boards to the router table just far enough apart to hold the dowel and then slide the dowel in until it touches the bearing and rotate it by hand.

Bill, on the left coast

[LCHIEN]

OK, hadn't thought of using the router with a bearing bit for any profile... Good idea for uniform depth control.

[Uncle Cracker]

Here's one: Take a piece of scrap wood, like a cutoff from a 2x4 for instance. Drill a non-through hole (or holes, if you need different sizes) that will accept the dowels and allow them to be turned. A forstner or brad-point bit works best, as the holes will be flatter at the bottom. Then, use your TS to cut off a chunk of the block at the angle you want to chamfer, with just enough of the bottom of the hole exposed so that one of the dowel's shoulder edges sticks out the proper distance. then sand off the shoulder however you please while you turn the dowel to make the chamfer. You could even clamp this block to the TS or BS and take the shoulder off that way, and you won't risk sanding the block down and changing the setup.

[JR]

- rather it tends to roll sideways and make a jaggy chamfer ...

I gotta ask. Why do you care what the chamfer looks like?

JR

[pelligrini]

Hehe, remember who you are asking.

[cabinetman]

I gotta ask. Why do you care what the chamfer looks like?

JR

Exactly my thoughts. Usually they only need a slight easing. To set up a whole thingamajig just to do that seems counterproductive. A quick turn or two on a belt sander, stationary sander, or even a ROS will produce a chamfer. If those tools aren't available, a piece of sandpaper in one hand, and a dowel in the other...
.

[LarryG]

I gotta ask. Why do you care what the chamfer looks like?

JR

Hehe, remember who you are asking.

I'll be interested to see Loring's explanation, too. I assumed an exposed location, like the pegs on a cup rack or a hall tree, with a dowel diameter large enough to make any raggedness visually apparent.

I would fully expect Rod to insist on perfectly-formed chamfers for dowels that will be glued into blind holes, but I don't think Loring is that far gone.

[Mr__Bill]

I'll be interested to see Loring's explanation, too. I assumed an exposed location, like the pegs on a cup rack or a hall tree, with a dowel diameter large enough to make any raggedness visually apparent.

I would fully expect Rod to insist on perfectly-formed chamfers for dowels that will be glued into blind holes, but I don't think Loring is that far gone.

I can't speak for Loring, but I use the dowels as rods to hold quilts that hang on the wall. The fancy end looks better and gives reason as to why I take so long to get around to doing it.

Bill,

[pelligrini]

but I don't think Loring is that far gone.

We are talking about the guy (a professed engineer) who did a few iterations of a wrench to tighten a door handle. http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=44968

But, who am I to talk, I cut off the ends of a hand chamfered dowel and got my jig out because I didn't like the first results. It was an oak dowel for the holed spacer to the leg vise for my shop bench. Otherwise shop stuff.

[LCHIEN]

sometimes they go in blind and sometimes they show. Like pegs for hanging things on racks and pegs in game boards. Like Mr_Bill said.

Besides, some things we do for show and some things we do for personal satisfaction.
Sometimes the design, sometimes the process, and sometimes the result is the best part of a project.

[gerti]

Here's one: Take a piece of scrap wood, like a cutoff from a 2x4 for instance. Drill a non-through hole (or holes, if you need different sizes) that will accept the dowels and allow them to be turned. A forstner or brad-point bit works best, as the holes will be flatter at the bottom. Then, use your TS to cut off a chunk of the block at the angle you want to chamfer, with just enough of the bottom of the hole exposed so that one of the dowel's shoulder edges sticks out the proper distance. then sand off the shoulder however you please while you turn the dowel to make the chamfer. You could even clamp this block to the TS or BS and take the shoulder off that way, and you won't risk sanding the block down and changing the setup.

That was what came to my mind. Only I'd probably use a plane instead of a sander, I like to avoid dust where I can. Alternatively you can make the cut first, then drill the hole. That makes it easier to eyeball the depth.