Dowels joints are a way that drawers sections are fastened together. Including dowels in the connecting sections of wood make more accurate, stronger connections that simply using glue alone. Dowel joints are incredibly strong and visually attractive if they are done right. This type of joint is very popular for drawers or other woodworking in which a butt joint is being used. It helps increase the strength and durability of the joint.
What Are Dowel Joints Used For?
Dowel joints are used in a wide variety of woodworking projects. They offer a number of benefits during production and after.
Increased strength – Miter and butt joints are sometimes only glued together. This means that the stresses of whatever use the wood sees will wear on the joint. Humidity can also dry out or cause glue to lose its adhesive properties. Dowels are added to the joints by drilling into each joining piece of wood so the corresponding holes share a dowel. Having the dowels physically connect the wood dramatically increases strength.
Keeping It Straight – When producing wood products without dowels it can be a challenge to glue and clamp down the pieces without them moving during the drying and setting time. The inclusion of dowels ensures that everything is perfectly lined up and when glued and clamped it is perfectly straight and dries stronger.
Pin Joints – Certain types of joints require the ability to twist. Dowels are generally round in shape, which allows a certain level of twisting. This is easier and more simple than other tail-and-pin joints.
Dowels Work Better Than Biscuits – Biscuit cuts are easier and faster to make but are not as strong or durable. The material is thin and has a possibility to absorb humidity and swell. This can mean a bulge in the joint material and the extra stress can cause it to loosen or fail entirely.
Advantages Of Dowel Joints
No Need For Metal Fasteners – Nails, staples, and screws are fine when found behind sheetrock. For custom drawers or other fine interior cabinetry features they are visually disturbing and upset the grain patterns we all love. Dowels do the job while not being seen.
Increased Durability And Strength – Because the wooden dowel runs inside the connecting wood sections it holds fast and is much stronger. Nails, screws or staples are thinner and many times are not properly installed. They can stretch and splinter the wood making it weaker. This adversely affects the lifespan of whatever wooden structure is being made.
What Are Dowels Made Of?
Dowels can be made from metal, plastic, or more commonly wood. In custom drawer and cabinetry the internal dowel joints are made of wood. For cabinet shelves metal dowels are very common. They are good choices for the moving of shelves. This is good for moving shelves but wooden dowels are used for custom drawer manufacturing as they have increased grain and friction inside the drilled holes and increased durability.
Custom Dowel Joint Drawer Production
Drawer Connection, Inc. has been making customer drawers since 1997 and can produce any drawers you need. Be it dovetail or dowel we can custom make the drawers you want for your kitchen, custom closet organization system, bathroom cabinetry or anywhere else you need to have drawers. Give us a call to get your project started at 1-877-917-4887. Stay tuned for more from the expert drawer box manufacturers at DCDrawers.com
The English Dovetail is one where you can see the ends of the adjoining pieces at the corners of the drawers. This is the premium type of dovetail joint design as it is the tightest and longest lasting joint. The English Dovetail makes the joint at the very edge of the wood, which means you get the most space inside the drawer. In the finest drawers and furniture you will find the English Dovetail as it’s simply stronger and better looking.
The French Dovetail differs greatly from the English Dovetail. Instead of having numerous “fingers” that joint to create an incredibly strong corner the French dovetail is 1 channel cut in board A and board B is shaped to fit in that channel. This design is simply inferior as it hinges the durability of the drawer on thin edges of wood inside the channel. French dovetail joints also must be made a distance in from the corner of the wood, which means the drawers are more narrow or not as deep.
Time – You have a lot of jobs going and having your skilled labor putting together drawer boxes is a waste of their skills. They could be installing, or fabricating the critical or signature components of your particular designs.
Space – Each type of custom made part you use in your cabinetry requires space for raw materials, a place to assemble, and a place to store the completed drawer boxes. Outsourcing their construction opens up space in your shop for more custom cabinet components.
Money – The cost of paying your skilled labor and cabinetry experts to make drawer boxes costs more than simply ordering them from premade drawer box companies. Premade fabricators do one thing, and do it all day every day. This helps cut down on the time it takes to make the boxes, and what it costs to produce them.
Consistent Quality – Because it is simply the only thing that is built at these factories the machines are dialed in and the builders are completely focused on quality of drawer boxes. They are no rushing to get to the next jobsite or back to another project. They are simply focused on making the best drawer boxes on the market.
