# Hole too Large - Dowel too Small



## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

This has been a common problem for a long time but now seems to be worse possibly caused by all the international trade.

Needing to glue a 15 mm dowel from Indonesia into a 5/8" hole bored with a Forstner bit. Being around 0.875 mm difference is too sloppy for anything short of auto body putty. 

Any ideas for dowel shimming or hole shrinking.  And of course the dowel is out of round. To the best of my knowledge all purchased dowels are.


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## giradman (Jul 23, 2012)

Hi *Robert* - I use a lot of various dowels, mostly in joinery, but also as shelves in storage units (3 @ the same level are great for a small CD cabinet); try to avoid the metric sizes since all of my drills/Forstner bits are standard (imperial) size.

_Dowel larger than hole_ - sand dowel and/or enlarge hole - an absolute pain if I have to run several dozen dowels through too small holes! 

_Hole larger than dowel _- less of a problem for me (again don't use metric dowel sizes); one solution (that is used w/ loose tenons) is the wrap the dowel w/ thin brown paper; again would be a pain w/ a LOT of dowels. I guess as suggested a 'gap filling' adhesive would be another choice.

Looking forward to some other ideas - I'm about to help a colleague build a CD/BD storage unit - 4 shelves will have the 3-dowel method (2 sides & 2 dividers) - will need to make 48 1/2" holes - YIKES! Hope that most of the dowels will slide through snugly? Dave


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

If it's just a tiny bit too small, you could try this...
Chair Doctor™ Glues - Lee Valley Tools


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

SandburRanch said:


> This has been a common problem for a long time but now seems to be worse possibly caused by all the international trade.
> 
> Needing to glue a 15 mm dowel from Indonesia into a 5/8" hole bored with a Forstner bit. Being around 0.875 mm difference is too sloppy for anything short of auto body putty.
> 
> Any ideas for dowel shimming or hole shrinking.  And of course the dowel is out of round. To the best of my knowledge all purchased dowels are.


You could always make you own dowels.

Making dowels - the pencil sharpener method

Al


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

DaninVan said:


> If it's just a tiny bit too small, you could try this...
> Chair Doctor™ Glues - Lee Valley Tools


I do have some of that chair glue I've used to assemble these pencil holders but the components were actually touching. I may try some on the dowels even though there is about 7/8 of a mm difference in the two diameters. I won't know unless I do it to it.


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

giradman said:


> Hi *Robert* - I use a lot of various dowels, mostly in joinery, but also as shelves in storage units (3 @ the same level are great for a small CD cabinet); try to avoid the metric sizes since all of my drills/Forstner bits are standard (imperial) size.
> 
> _Dowel larger than hole_ - sand dowel and/or enlarge hole - an absolute pain if I have to run several dozen dowels through too small holes!
> 
> ...


Thanks Dave

I did quickly try thin cardboard for dry fitting, about 1/2 the thickness of a cereal box. It was about right but I found that to be a pain too.

This is for tool storage. No pretty required, just stout.

My brain cells are working on another method or two and if either works maybe I've learned a new method.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

What about a thin cut from the inserted end to 2/3rds the depth of the dowel with a back saw and insert with a thin hardwood wedge?

Just reaching.

Back side of that would be that it would expand the end, tapering to the center.


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

MAFoElffen said:


> What about a thin cut from the inserted end to 2/3rds the depth of the dowel with a back saw and insert with a thin hardwood wedge?
> 
> Just reaching.
> 
> Back side of that would be that it would expand the end, tapering to the center.


Well Mike, I went down that road first thing. I even went full length of the depth on the second try using the band saw and cutting a +. Was planning on a full width and 2 half width wedges. After the first full wedge I could see I was probably defeated without cutting kerfs about twice the depth. Just too much diameter difference.

Thanks for the suggestion.


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Epoxy thickened with sawdust worked well to fill gaps when I was building a boat and makes a solid join.


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. I do believe those thought provoking ideas
were an aid in bringing about a solution. 

My final answer to this question was so simple I'm almost embarrassed that I ever presented to the forum. But I also find it somewhat amusing what we come up with sometimes to solve problems.

The Solution - Change from a Forstner bit to a 5/8" spade bit and using my 1725 RPM grinder I made 50 some years ago, along with a keen machinist eye ( well, they were keen at one time )  modify the bit so it bores a hole the size of the dowel. Checking diameter and run out to keep the sides even took at most 10 minutes and the second test hole fit perfect.

Thanks again everyone.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Robert

The solution is so simple just drill the hole the right size from the get go, they make drill bits in that size I'm sure..

http://www.ptreeusa.com/forstner_bit_sets.htm
==


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I agree with Bob. Lee Valley sells metric drill bits. I have their Forstners and brad drills and they are very good bits.


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

Now I must go check to see if that's what I actually did yesterday or if I just had a dream.


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## TRBaker (Jul 5, 2012)

I got a great deal at Home Depot on a set of forsner bits from PC. They are imerial sizes. The first one I used was the 1/4" size for drilling shelf peg holes in an entertainment center. NEVER drill a complete cabinet without checking to make sure the hole and the hardware match. The "1/4" " hole turned out to be bigger than 1/4" pegs. I was too disgusted to check which was off, the shelf pegs or the bit. Just so you guys won't make the same mistake.


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

TRBaker said:


> I got a great deal at Home Depot on a set of forsner bits from PC. They are imerial sizes. The first one I used was the 1/4" size for drilling shelf peg holes in an entertainment center. NEVER drill a complete cabinet without checking to make sure the hole and the hardware match. The "1/4" " hole turned out to be bigger than 1/4" pegs. I was too disgusted to check which was off, the shelf pegs or the bit. Just so you guys won't make the same mistake.


I've found the fluted dowel pins to have a satisfactory fit the majority of the time where dowel rod seems to always be too small for imperial measurement bits.

Wood Fluted Multigroove Dowel Pins


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Nice!  ...and repeatable in the future.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

DaninVan said:


> Nice!  ...and repeatable in the future.


Agreed. Just like plywood is slightly under sized --> router bits made intentionally for plywood dado's. Custom Dowel sized bits.

Undersized. Do they cut dowels green and shrink? Or do they just cut them undersized? 

When I was growing up, I used to get a lot of dowels for free. My aunt worked at an arrow factory and could bring home any that weren't straight. She used them for kindling. Me and my cousins on the other-hand...

But as Bob said as metric bits being available and opening up some other sizes of bits. 5/8" would be close to 16mm, so undersized would be 15mm... Which would sort of be an odd size wouldn't it? Know with sockets and wrenches, that's not a size that is usually included in a set... 

Knowing with drill bits there is fraction size, number size, letter size and metric size. I can't remember, so I have to keep looking at a drill size chart to sort it out.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

SandburRanch said:


> This has been a common problem for a long time but now seems to be worse possibly caused by all the international trade.
> 
> Needing to glue a 15 mm dowel from Indonesia into a 5/8" hole bored with a Forstner bit. Being around 0.875 mm difference is too sloppy for anything short of auto body putty.


Epoxy will do a fine job.

I like T-88 mixed by weight on a small digital scale (other people's structural applications include things like aerobatic airplanes)


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## sjacobson (Jan 18, 2020)

57759 said:


> Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. I do believe those thought provoking ideas
> were an aid in bringing about a solution.
> 
> My final answer to this question was so simple I'm almost embarrassed that I ever presented to the forum. But I also find it somewhat amusing what we come up with sometimes to solve problems.
> ...


If the hole is slightly too large, try soaking wood dowels in water. They expand.......


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## Frank Kerman (Feb 2, 2020)

Use small size dowels would be beneficial for hole.


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