How can I flute my own dowel or create dowel with similar properties

Question

Now I know that I can just buy these in packs of hundreds likely but lets play pretend that I need to make some from what I had available. When I think of fluted dowel I picture these guys...

^{Image from HomeDepot.com}

That style of dowel would be difficult to emulate. I am not going to make a jig where I would rotate the dowel and run a beading moulding plane, or similar tool, to scratch a groove in. If they are actually compressed maybe I just need to compress them with something? Is there another method of working the dowel that will get a similar functional result?

If you need LOTS you could considering finding machinery to produce them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77_DkBDM5Nk https://www.brusa.it/en/woodworking-machines/special-woodworking-machines/spi-line-for-dowels-production — Geordie, Dec 30 '18 at 09:19

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 14 '16 at 18:15

That style of dowel would be difficult to emulate.

Not so much actually! You can do a decent job of simulating this texture by simply gripping the dowel in pliers, vice-grips etc. and drawing it through, or squeezing hard to compress them into the wood.

Here's that tip in an old issue of Popular Mechanics, with another technique underneath:

[Source: Popular Mechanics, Dec 1987]

Both tips are often repeated online and sent in to the tips sections of woodworking mags :-)

In either case you end up with some grooves that prevent a hydraulic seal from forming, allowing air and excess glue out of the drilled hole.

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 14 '16 at 15:19

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Is there another method of working the dowel that will get a similar functional result?

You could maybe make a dowel plate,

but instead of drilling a regular hole through the steel plate, make a series of smaller holes in a circle that approximate the cross-section profile you're going for, then punch out the section where the dowel goes through.

Or, going with the dowel plate idea again, drill a normal hole and use a small circular file to get the same effect as drilling a series of smaller holes.

answered Apr 14 '16 at 15:19

grfrazee

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This would be the more reliable and repeatable approach. I wonder if it matters if the grooves are cut vs compressed. – Matt Apr 14 '16 at 15:21
@Matt, one might argue that a compressed dowel is stronger, but that might be a stretch. I imagine that the compressing operation is just a timesaver for mass manufacturing. – grfrazee Apr 14 '16 at 15:22
The compression is supposedly helpful when the glue is present. The compressed areas re-expand, leaving a stronger bond. (I read that on another answer here; I have no actual knowledge of this myself.) – Katie Kilian Apr 19 '16 at 19:02

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 19 '16 at 16:50

If they are actually compressed maybe I just need to compress them with something

Up until I read that answer I had never considered them to be compressed. I had always assumed cut.

If that is the case then a simple approach to this would be to file (or fine rasp) the ends to get the taper and the use a large toothed jawed tool, like pliers, to simply compress the dowel. This needs to be done carefully as to not break the dowel.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 11 '19 at 05:14

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Why do you need the dowel to be fluted? If you are worried about blowout (glue/ hydraulic pressure buildup) just plane a small flat spot on the dowel.

answered Mar 11 '19 at 05:14

Dave

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How can I flute my own dowel or create dowel with similar properties

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