Refinforcing the Indestrucible
Pegging through-mortise-and-tenon joints is an excellent way
to reinforce the already strong joint.
Good dowels can be hard (if not impossible) to fi nd, so when
I need the right size and the right species, I make my own. It
doesn’t take long, and the work is a nice relief from fussing
with other details. I start with a straight-grained piece of scrap
about 3" long, and split off pieces with a chisel. All it takes is
a good rap with a mallet after I put the chisel in place.
I start by aiming for about^3 ⁄ 8 "-square blanks to make^1 ⁄ 4 "
dowels. Sometimes the split will be off course, and the
blank is made smaller by laying it down on the bench and
continuing the splitting by placing a wide chisel on the wood
and pressing down or tapping with a mallet. Essentially, this is
riving lumber on a small scale. It doesn’t take long to get the
hang of it, and it doesn’t matter if I lose a few in the process.
Split material works much better than sawn for making these
short lengths. The blank is stronger because the grain is
continuous throughout the length.
When the blanks are close to the right size, I knock the
corners off with the chisel or by whittling with a knife. I
whittle down the end to make it easier to start in the holes
in the dowel plate. The plate is just a^1 ⁄ 4 "-thick piece of scrap
steel with a series of holes drilled in it. The holes are in steps
of^1 ⁄ 16 " and I didn’t bother trying to sharpen them. If they get
dull I may take a fl at fi le across the face to create a burr, but
this works just fi ne. If that’s too simple for you, you can buy a
fancy dowel plate or try to harden and hone the thing. To use
it, I start with a large hole and pound the blank through. The
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