Lee Michaels wrote:

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.


My guess is that Red Oak is a better choice than Poplar (those appear to
be my only choices in 1" dowels) that aren't broomstick handles! It
should stand up to abuse better, correct?

A Dewalt 1" drill bit (DW1629) is about $30. I will have to checkand
see whether that is in the budget.