If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

In article , (The Wolf) wrote:
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

It's a lot safer to use a lathe -- or simply buy a 1 1/4" dowel. Most home
centers and hardware stores will sell them. Just ask for closet pole.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

The Wolf wrote:
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

A dozen or so years ago I built a 3-legged stool (which I still use).
It was made from scrap wood and the plans called for round, and
tapered, legs. Not having many tools, I made up 1.5"x1.5" leg blanks
and turned them into dowels with just a hand plane. A V-block can hold
the blank, but I think I just my B&D Workmate.

If you're tying to do this on a table saw I would discourage it. How
do you plan on holding the wood to cut off the corners? This could get
pretty dangerous.

MK

lol
Do a Google for the type of wood and see if dowels are available OR use the
trusty method of sanding.
Last time I looked the angle is 360 )

I am currently working on toothpicks from 24-26" Dia. oak I cut down this
year. So far 123 sheets of 40 grit paper and still have only got to 13"
dia.
Not taking orders though so don't ask for some.

NO REASON TO GET PO,D' I'm just tossing in a bit of humor..



"The Wolf" wrote in message
. ..
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

That will work. But it's gonna take lots & lots of cuts and that last
one is gonna have a mighty small edge to work with. Enjoy your fingers
while you still have them.

AMW

On Oct 8, 10:09 pm, "A.M. Wood" wrote:
That will work. But it's gonna take lots & lots of cuts and that last
one is gonna have a mighty small edge to work with.

I agree - never tried it and never heard of it being done, but the TS
sounds difficult and potentially dangerous. I've reduced the diameter
of dowels with a spokeshave and sandpaper - not too difficult. I've
also heard it's possible to use a router table with a straight bit -
basically rotating square stock past the spinning bit. Try googling
the web or this group's archives for 'router table dowel making' and
variations on that theme. Also possible using a roundover bit, but
5/8" radius isn't a common size, and I'd guess you'd still need some
sanding. It'd be easier to sand if you could somehow chuck it up in a
drill press, if you don't have a lathe.
Good luck,
Andy

The Wolf wrote:
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

A lathe is cheaper,and anyway I'd get extremely bored.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

The Wolf wrote:
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

I've made tool handles that way. No, you can't make it round. Sooner or
later you'll be sending a piece through the saw that won't have enough
of a flat face and it'll want to roll and it won't feel safe. I settled
for a piece with many flat sides. In fact I liked that feel more than
round, but that's probably not important here. My point is, there's a
point somewhere between flat and round when it gets scary and you won't
want to do it any more, and if you do, you could probably get hurt.

Amana sells router bits with a 5/8 inch radius and probably others do
too. I'd go that route. Four passes. I've seen TV articles on diynet
where the artist made his dowels that way. The process looked safe and
the dowels looked good.

You could also make a simple box with nails at each end to hold the
stock, and put a router on a board above the piece, and you've got a
very simple, primitive router lathe. That's in one of my router books.

Or you could go really primitive and get a drawknife. They make
surprisingly good dowels in a surprisingly short time. But you might
need more precision than that. :-)

But no, in my experience the table saw will, uh, cut corners, but not
make nice round dowels.

Works just fine. Make a sled with two uprights. The uprights need to have
nails through them and into the end of the stock. Just like mounting
something between centers on a lathe. Need to rig up a clamp to keep it from
turning as you cut. Take a cut, turn it a bit, take another cut until done.
Faster on the router table though. Same kind of rig but you can turn the
stock against the router bit.

"The Wolf" wrote in message
. ..
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

(The Wolf) wrote in news:1hmwj3k.y1j1by19mqptkN%
:

If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

In theory, it would work. A circle by definition is a series of points
equidistant from the center.

However, it's not very practical. I'd probably stop when I got to an
octagon if I was making a handle or something.

Puckdropper
--
Wise is the man who attempts to answer his question before asking it.

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

On Mon, 09 Oct 2006 01:25:32 GMT, (The Wolf)
wrote:

If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this?

Nope.

What are the angles?

45, 67.5, 78.75, 84.375, 87.188, then sandpaper might work (halve the
angles starting with 45 [45, 22.5, 11.25, 5.625, etc] and add that to
the previous setting each time.)

But I wouldn't do it- it's dangerous nonsense, IMO. Especially when a
dowel at the hardware store only costs a couple of bucks. If I needed
it in a specific hardwood, the lathe would be the first choice, and a
drawknife would be the second. Pick the right tools for the job, and
your fingers will thank you in the end.

"The Wolf" wrote in message
. ..
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

The closer you come to round the harder it will be to keep the piece from
rotating during the cut.

On Mon, 09 Oct 2006 01:25:32 GMT, (The Wolf)
wrote:

If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

Table saw sounds dangerous. I made some interesting shaped dowels
using a router and round over bit. They can be seen at the bottom of
this web page:

http://webpages.charter.net/ray93402...woodwork2.html

Here is a realy dangerous and cool trick.

1. Get a piece of PVC pipe about 8" long. In your case lets say 2"
diameter

2. Cut a length of wood about a foot or more longer than you need the
dowel. Size it square so that it just fits inside the pipe but rotates
easily.

3. Mount the pipe on a board (use your imagination) and mount the board
on a table of most any cutting tool TS, Router, RAS, even bandsaw.
Mount it so the stock is running perpendicular to the blade (if using a
saw) and so the edges of the wood barely contact the teeth.

4. Run the tool and rotate the stock and move it in and out past the
balde nicking of the edges.

5. Now either move the pipe or raise the balde\bit depending on the
tool and run the stock round and in and out again.

6. Rinse and repeat until you have the size you want.

P.S. you can also get real fancy and have the pipe on both side of the
cutting area for better stability.


The Wolf wrote:
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.

Why not make a dowel the way they made them in the olden days. Find
yourself a chunk of steel plate and drill a hole the size you want your
dowel.

Now counter sink the hole.

Pound a square(ish) stick through the hole. It will come out round. It
will also slightly compress the wood fibers and the moisture from the glue
will cause it to swell for a nice snug fit.

Or you can buy one, but you would have to make a lot of dowels to pay for
it: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5155

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.


"The Wolf" wrote in message
. ..
If you start with a square stock and make an octgagon and keep going
won't it eventually turn into a round dowel 1-1/4"

Anyone done this? What are the angles?

Thanks.