# Using dowels to span cracks



## Nubsnstubs (Jul 10, 2016)

I was asked to post pictures by several members but first, some history on why I do it.

Anyone living in the desert knows that it gets pretty dry here. When a tree is cut or felled, cracks appear immediately. If you aren't nearby when someone removes a tree, chances are it will have cracks galore before you get it. Besides, when Mesquite is first cut, it's kind of bland in it's own way, but after 20-30 years plus lying on the ground rotting away, it becomes absolutely gorgeous wood. There will be cracks galore, and some will be up to 1" wide. Those I leave alone, and if the piece holds while turning, I count my blessings and go to the next piece.

The cracks I try to enhance are usually like the ones George S. posted in his latest thread. Those are the ones that will get you if you don't fix them beforehand. Usually turning to about 3/4" wall thickness is still safe, but anything thinner is too dangerous even for me. So, at or about 3/4" wall thickness, I drill holes across the cracks I see as being unsafe.

After drilling the 3/8" holes, I walk my property looking at my desert trees for dead limbs about 1" od and 6-8" long. I mount them into my chuck, and turn 3/8" dowel rods. After turning what I need, they are inserted and glued in with thin CA.

After the dowels are inserted, I usually fill the vertical cracks with brass key filings, and any and all horizontal cracks are filled with Inlace Turquoise granules that I've sifted to get almost a flour type powder. I get 5 different grit granules from my sifter, and depending on the width of the crack, I'll use the different grits to fill them. Larger cracks get the course granules, and the thinner cracks get the finest Inlace powder. After turning the piece after the initial filling, I'll use finer grits to fill any cracks that were missed or exposed.

Ok, that's enough. Picture time. Get your popcorn, sit back and click on the pictures. Please comment because it's a pain in the butt to post pictures of this stuff and get only 3-4 comments on what I posted. Negative comments are more welcomed than the positive comments because it tells me I need to do better. I'll see how this approach works.









































Thanks, ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Way Cool 3 | Creative 2


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## gman2431 (Jul 10, 2016)

Very cool!!


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## ironman123 (Jul 10, 2016)

Neato.


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## SENC (Jul 10, 2016)

Thanks for sharing Jerry - the technique makes sense to me and I think adds a very unique and distinctive look. I particularly like that you make your own dowels from wood on your own property. Nice work and great result.


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## Schroedc (Jul 10, 2016)

Interesting idea. I've done something like that with thin slots and a spline before but never a dowel. I'll have to try that one of these days.


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## Schroedc (Jul 10, 2016)

@Nubsnstubs I moved this one and deleted the duplicate for you.


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 10, 2016)

Schroedc, and I'm looking all over this site for the duplicate post. I thought I was going more nutz, even though I've been there for years. Thanks................ Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1


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## DKMD (Jul 10, 2016)

That's a cool way to deal with defects, Jerry!

What's the really white wood you used for dowels on the natural edge piece?


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## duncsuss (Jul 10, 2016)

Thanks Jerry, these are great examples of your technique.

+1 on liking your home-made dowels -- the ones that show grain patterns and/or pith add a lot of visual interest.


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 10, 2016)

Keller, the first 5 pictures are Palo Verde dowels and just one Agarita. It's the picture of the inside showing just one dowel that looks like it has legs on it. That particular piece is the best effort so far using my homemade dowels. My dowel holes are more accurate with less blow out where the bit exits. The dowels fit better and turning them allows me to predict what will happen when I grab my skew and put it to a spinning object. One day I'm going to learn to turn. 

The next three pictures are of a natural edge Mulberry form. The first two show commercial dowels, with the second picture showing a home made dowel on the inside as you can see a pith line in the middle of it. The third picture of this piece shows both ends of this dowel. I believe it is Pyracantha?. It basically just needed the bark removed to get the size needed. The pith doesn't show up very well, but both ends of this dowel looks like eyes looking back at me. I liked what I saw and decided commercial dowels sucked, and started making my own. 

The last two pictures was my experiment mixing copper rod and wood dowels, well before I started making my own dowels. This particular piece succeeded to completion. It's Mulberry with CA finish. If you look at the first picture of this form, you'll see some Turquoise Inlace and just below that, a dowel in the horizontal position, and then another dowel just off the end of the horizontal dowel. That is one of the copper rods I used. The last picture shows the same thing but a little better plus it shows the other end of the copper intersecting the wood dowel at the middle inside of the form. Of course, all cracks are filled with brass key filings and Turquoise Inlace. 

I liked how the copper turned out so well I used it on another, but that was a real disaster. One of the copper rods slid out of the hole it was inserted into when I was almost done, and the tool caught it just right and ripped the tenon and bottom cleanly off the form while tossing a pointed sharp piece of copper away from the piece while I was standing almost in the line of fire. The point was sharp enough to have performed minor surgery. I'm glad it missed me. I will not use solid rod ever again. It is also much heavier than wood, and caused this turning to be out of balance the whole time. Wood dowel rod whether store bought or home made is the way to go. 

If you think about it, where there are cracks, there is a chance of the wood letting go at the worst possible time. Drilling and inserting a dowel will insure that the wood stays together even if you only have 1/8" contact on either end. The glue most likely surrounds the dowel, and bonds things together. Then, when the cracks are sealed with CA and the filler of choice, the piece is solid from that point forward. That's it from me. Too much brain drain for such a small brain............. Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1


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## GeorgeS (Jul 12, 2016)

Jerry that is a very creative way to treat those cracks! I am definitely going to try that out on the next project. I really appreciate you going through the trouble to post this for us as I was having a hard time understanding where you were going with the description. I really like how some of the dowels go straight in and others are on an angle!


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## Nubsnstubs (Jul 12, 2016)

I didn't mention it the description on drilling. I have 12" drill bits I use. Of course, it's overkill on a couple pieces, but shorter than the OD of a bowl doesn't work as well as the longer one.

George, you can also got straight in from the rim and have vertical dowels.

Thanks for the comments, Y'all............ Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 1


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