Make Dowels with a Nut - Fast & Easy
How to make a dowel cutter for making wooden dowels using only a nut and a drill. No need for fancy chisels or complicated jigs. I will show you how to modify a basic hardware store nut so you can make your own dowels in seconds.
This is by far the easiest and fastest way to make wooden dowels or round sticks. Great for different types of wood joinery (Dowel Joinery) and making your own wood plugs to cover wood screws.
It took me three days to figure out the best configuration to file into this nut but once I did, I was able to easily make wooden dowels from home and you can to. It only takes 15 minutes to modify a nut and can be reused many times in the future without having to mess around with setting up chisels or complicated jigs.
This style of Dowel Maker / Dowel cutter is a new concept I want to share with you to use as well as expand on the design. See if you can make it better and let me know :).
Thanks for watching!
The stock I start with is square not round. Some people are having trouble seeing this... or maybe they are skipping the first 20 seconds. lol Cheers everyone, thanks for watching!
is the through-cut slot even necessary? I don't think that the shavings are going through there, and I think you can easily cut the spiral step on the face of the nut without the slot. ultimately you have a nut that tolerates vice pressure much better. if somehow a looser fit shouldbe required to get the nut off of the dowel, which I don't think is the case, I would rather bend the cutting edge inward a little bit.
@@Ass_of_Amalek I'm not sure...yet. I'm gonna make a few more tweaks and make another vid with my findings.
i been wasting all my nut making kids.. i could of been making dowels this hole time ...damn
It is?? Now that you say it is square stock looking closely when you mount it in your drill I can see that, but that's not at the beginning of the video. Yet the most difficult task has already been performed before the video. Creating the square stock is more difficult than what you show here.
@@peterburkey3740 It's in the first 30 seconds. I consider that "the beginning". This isn't a how to video, it's more of a concept video.
Well, you just transformed all my wood scraps into dowels! No more need to go to the hardware store for these anymore!
That's the best part! Unlimited stock.
You're still going to the store, but now it's for nuts lol
This is how to save money, we just make our own tools and share the ideas with others. This is what humanity could be, instead of depending on greedy corporations and big businesses.
@@Tubeytimeexcept I have a bunch of random unknown nuts lying around that can become tooling, instead of scrap for the bin
@@squa_81 ok
Nice! Adding another plain nut right ahead will help keep the final dowel straight.
i make arrows as a hobby and let me just say this is so helpful ...thank you
Has it worked for you?
That was the first thing that came to mind.
I'd expect a bit more precision is needed for arrow making? Looking at the video, it seems a bit vobly in the drill, which I'm guessing vould effect balance of the finished arrow? That's why he is only suggesting this for dowels, and not for any precision building applications. But then again, if your arrows, is just so that your kids, have something to play with in the yard. It would be fine?
@@soul0360 Nah, straightness is mainly set by the wood. A curved piece will come out curved, etc. If the finish is rough you can sand or plane it down. I'm interested to see how this handles conifers like fir or pine -- their grain is prone to breaking *but* since this method is more of a cutter than a scraper I think it'd work better than those dowel making jigs you see on amazon/walmart.
@@soul0360Check out videos on the 'archers paradox'. Arrows will bend in crazy ways when fired from a bow. l
Kind of an open ended pencil sharpener. Very clever. Thanks.
Perfect analogy 👍
That was exactly my first visual thought. A pencil sharpener adjusted to a very wide diameter rather than a point.
I will most likely never need this information, but I very much appreciate this video! Very informative no BS and no sales pitch just an honest solution good job!
Thanks!
The science of dowelology marches onward through the annals of time! 🥁
Let's put this dowel in the anal of time haha :D
Huh huh, he said annal
Genius! I laughed with joy. Finally a solution to pricey dowel rods from the store. What a clever man you are! Now to get me a vise. Long overdue.
A half inch dowel 48 inches long is a dollar. I guess we define pricey differently...
@@billymacktexasdetective5827 have you ever tried to buy cocobolo dowel? How about purple heart or epay?
@@billymacktexasdetective5827He doesn’t own a vice. So $100 for the vice, a tool to cut the nut, and the nut. That’s a hundred dowels to break even, not including his time. That’s a lot of dowels.
@@billymacktexasdetective5827 I think it is sarcasm. BUT.. There are a few occasions when this is usefull. Lets say you have an expensive wood, like black wood or something else you won't find matching dowels for. Cut of a piece of that wood and make a dowel, colour fits perfectly.
C'mon you really think you'll save time and money vs a good oak dowel? Will you be selling better cheaper than home Depot?! I sure hope so man!!!
Wow...the first attempts were, of course, part of the learning curve--but it must have driven you nuts... [ SORRY, couldn't resist. ;D Brilliant idea! 👍 ]
😂 The whole process was a little nutty lol
This is a super cool idea. Finally something cool that I can actually make quickly and would benefit from. I would LOVE to have some fancy bloodwood dowels and now I can make my own.
Thanks, I agree! Making custom dowels from exotic woods that you can't buy anywhere else...Priceless!
Very nice indeed! Thanks for sharing! Probably a second nut or two, with the threads drilled out, placed on the other end of the vice would guarantee a straight rod. Not really necessary when making dowels but could be useful if one needed to make a rod.
My scoutmaster had a woodworking shop and one of the machines he had made dowels from pieces of wood like you had. I guess the cutting mechanism was similar, but what you've created is a lot more compact. Like a thousand times more compact. Thanks for the demo!
Just when I thought the hole-in-sheet-metal was a neat dowel-making tool, along you come with this! Excellent design and finally a use for the tin of miscellaneous nuts I have!
Thank you very much!
You should make a video on how to make a woodworking video short, clear, and to the point. Veeery Nice.
Man. You’re great at explaining things using basic terms. That is such a lost art. Happy to have you on my radar. Cheers
Glad to help!!! Cheers
Thanks for your persistence.
Some things simplier works better 😊. Creativity has no bounds and sharing is blessing. Thanks.
Great tip, and perfect timing. Just destroyed the canvas on my boat towing it home without it properly braced. Broke one of the tubes holding it in a couple places. Now I can make the perfectly sized dowels to place inside the tubes and mend them together. Just need a large enough nut to sit out a 3/4” dowel.
I haven't tried one that large yet...I guess it could be hard to find a big nut like that. Let me know how it goes.
Wow, that works great 👍🏻
Thank you! I was surprised too.
Best idea ever seen for making dowels 👍🏻
This is genius. Way better than the swage block method. Gonna throw this in the ol' memory bank. Thanks for sharing this technique.
Very simple yet works great. Way to go. I was looking for a way to make 1/4, 3/16 dowels. I'll give this a try.
Totally worth it! I got tired of driving an hour to the store for overpriced dowels. This has been very convenient!
Strikingly beautiful in it's simplicity. Well done sir!
Excellent!
Thanks for sharing
Thanks! This is a brilliant idea!
Thank you for sharing your work
Excellent video -- good timing, superb narration, short & sweet. Thank you for showing us the secrets to your success. Very inspiring. Yet one more reason I need to buy a vise.
Thanks! Yes vices can be handy.
What a great idea thanks pretty ingenious
pretty elegant design there boss, nice job
Thank you for sharing your idea with the world, we all need to do this if we want a better world, if we all did this, money would be obsolete and the world could flourish.
Be careful or "Big Dowel" will come after you for sharing their secrets to making dowels.
That could be fun! lol
Thanks for sharing, i will definitely use this.
Dude that is nice. Thanks!
You are Brilliant! Thank You Sir!
This is really awesome and simple! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Neat. I will have to try this.
He he. I have made one very similar to this about 3years ago. Very clever. Love it when people also use their brains.
Cheers to that!
3:50 Waow, impressive number of tries. Good job, very useful, thanks for sharing.
Thank you! It was totally worth it. Cheers!
AWESOME!!! Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant!
That was satisfying to watch.
Ingenious.
Best tool for making dolls I’ve seen yet! Thank you!
Thank you! I will try this out! I often have none when I need a dowel.
Glad it was helpful!
This is actually nutty!
Thanks for sharing ❤
No problem 😊
Brilliant 👍
Excellent idea. Well done. Cheers J
Thanks!
pretty darn cool thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Great idea. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing 👌
Excellent idea and presentation!
Thanks!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing this!!
You bet!
Very ingenious. Marvellous. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you very much!
Wow ❤ Nice video. Make more please 😊
Thank you, I will!
I need 2 doz dowels for a project I'm working on for Mother's Day this Sunday. Something told me (that soft voice) to wait to go to Lowe's... now I know why. Instead of spending $60+ I can spend @$20 and an hour or 2 to have 2 sizes of dowel making machines :) 'Spare time' so yes, the time is free. I'll probably grab 5 or 6 different sizes for future use. Thanks!!
Thank you! Good idea!
You're welcome!
Brilliant work, and well presented!
Many thanks!
Congratulations! You reinvented the peeler.
😆
That’s really neat! Great job and thanks for all the r&d!
Thanks!
That was nuts
Amazing! Nice little trick that one. Well done! Thanks for sharing 👍
Brilliant
Amazing video, works sooooooo well, thank you Savvy!
That's terrific.
This is very clever!
Brilliant sir! I have had issues sourcing specialty woods in dowels - this will save me in the future.
Me too! I sometimes like to make cedar dowels to contrast the pine when plugging holes. But I can imagine it would be even more difficult to find walnut or other exotic wood dowels.
outstanding, what a clever idea. You are truly a craftsman. Thank you for the video
No prob, thanks!
Well done thanks for sharing
No problem 👍
Great idea.
That thing is nuts
Excellent, thanks very much!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you very much.
You are welcome!
very naiiis. high 5!
This is nuts
Good work!
Thanks!
Really cool 👍
Very cool! This is crazy useful for me. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Very cool …! You’re a clever guy. Thanks a lot for sharing…👍👍 👋
Thank you! Cheers!
Great idea and you are officially an inventor.
HAHA Thanks! I like that :)
really good invention!!! you should patent this!
Thank you so much that's incredible
Where did you learn that??
You're so welcome!
Awesome
Smart!
I wonder if you could achieve the same result with a lock washer with minimal or no modification?
Great video, very well explained. Video shots and sound are excellent. 👍 .
Thanks!
Call it a "tooth"
That's the ticket! "A tooth"
Using the terminology of cutting tool geometry, it's the "rake face".
Lol I was going to say cutting tooth
I love it! Thank you!
Agreed
Sweet video bro!
Super idea!
Right! Now I need to make different sizes.
@@savvybuilds Good luck! But smaller & bigger sizes than the one you have created successfully are going to be problematic, if the wood is not soft. Holding the square rod horizontally in the early stages, with proper pressure is another challenge. FYI, I have zero experience with wood working, other than simple garden variety projects! 😊
Thank you for this. I made 3 sizes all worked perfectly. Using eucalyptus.
Right on! That's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know. I hope more people give it a try.
What's euclyptus for? 🤷♂️
@@neilcrompton3488 making eucalyptus arrow shafts.
@@neilcrompton3488... here in Australia, if we want a strong wood, we use one of our Eucalyptus species. Ax handles were most often made from Spotted Gum ... aka... Corymbia maculata... Eucalyptus maculata(older name)
@@neilcrompton3488 The Roman God of staffs
That's just nuts.
very clever indeed. Thanks for this great tip. oak dowels incoming...
I haven't tried hard wood yet, let me know how it goes!
Good work
Thank you so much 😀
Nice! When the movement of a grand piano is removed for adjustments, if a key is depressed, the hammer head gets stuck and the "shaft" gets broken. Better replaced than glued! No piano expert service man has gotten away with out such damage. The dowl shown her looks like the same size of the piano "thing"!
Cool way to spam arrow shafts
genius
nice arrow maker.
GREAT
This is rad