"Bill" wrote

Question: I expect I'll use a 1" spade bit. However, I'm guessing a 1"
dowel is likely to be smaller than 1". A 7/8" spade bit may possibly even
be a better fit. I guess I'll know for sure after I see the dowels, but
I'll still listen to any voices of experience. Is there a good way to make
up for a gap if a dowel is a loose fit in the "socket"?
This thing will be knocked over on concrete often (it's for the school gym
teacher)!

If you want a good hole to fit a dowel in, don't use a spade bit. Unless
you don't care about appearance and fit. Invest in a good forstner bit.
That combined with a drill press will allow a good hole.

No dowel is completely round. If the wood is hard enough, you can force a
dowel into it. If the dowel is hard and the wood is soft, the dowel can
eventually break the wood. If you want the best fir, drill a hole slightly
smaller than the dowel. Then trim the dowel to fit. Use some good glue and
make sure everything is snug and fitted before the glue dries.

I don't know how pretty this has to be. But I used to work with an old
timer who used to use dowels extensively. And since he was so cheap
(frugal?) he would use old broom handles. It was amazing what he built with
those old broom handles. Interestingly enough, a lot of broom handles were
more round and consistent than the dowels available at the lumber yard.
That may be different now. But back then, the broom stick dowels ruled! And
they fit the holes drilled well too.

I remember once he was building a bed and he dowelled the head board to the
bed with dowels. I protested that it would not look right with painted
dowels and stained wood. He handed me the cut pieces of broom stick and
told me to sand off the paint. I did and the bed went together and looked
great.

I must of seen him use a couple hundred dowels like this. Almost all of
them from the fabled broom stick stock.

Remember, to make a good hole, use a good bit. Get a small file and/or a
diamond home to keep the edge of the bit sharp. And keep your good bits
hidden away so folks can't come in and "borrow" it. Keep the bit sharp and
dry. You jobs will go much better with sharp tooling.

Another common practice is to charge for the tool needed to do the job. Buy
the bit and charge it to him. Just let him know that you need a good bit to
do the job properly. Another common practice for dowel construction is to
drill the hole in some scrap stock and bring it to the lumber yard. Make
sure the dowels fit the hole properly.