Dowel center jig

Ken Schweim

Member
Messages
38
Location
Madison Lake, Mn
I need to find a way to find the exact center of the end of a dowel rod. I have a metal lathe but the spindle hole often is not big enough. I really don't want to buy another tool that I so seldom use. Does anybody know any tricks for finding the center of the end of a wood dowel?
 
I need to find a way to find the exact center of the end of a dowel rod. I have a metal lathe but the spindle hole often is not big enough. I really don't want to buy another tool that I so seldom use. Does anybody know any tricks for finding the center of the end of a wood dowel?
Hi Ken; Here's a slick little item I use for finding the centre of pen blanks. No reason that I'm aware of that it won't work on dowels!http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=61910
 
I need to find a way to find the exact center of the end of a dowel rod. I have a metal lathe but the spindle hole often is not big enough. I really don't want to buy another tool that I so seldom use. Does anybody know any tricks for finding the center of the end of a wood dowel?

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One problem I've found with attempting to locate the center of dowels (especially purchased) is they are all out of round.

I thought all machinists had a combination set that contained a center head for locating the center of round stock.:rofl:

When accuracy is important I've used a single edge razor for marking.
 
Here's a little different take on it.

You could drill a hole the size of the dowel in a block of wood and then use a transfer punch to mark the center on the dowel...

I've got a set of transfer punches from HF I use mainly as pen disassembly tools when things go wrong...

transfer punch set
 
dowel center jig

I can't believe Grizzly is $12 cheaper than Amazon! Brent - your idea really hit home....good thinking. I think however after much thought and discussion with my accountant (wife) that we are going to our secret vault and withdraw the funds to buy the Grizzly version. For that price it just ain't worth screwing around with my eyeballs trying to find center....at my age and eyesight I have all I can do to find the end of the dowel. Thanks for all the replies....this forum is awesome!
 
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One problem I've found with attempting to locate the center of dowels (especially purchased) is they are all out of round.

I thought all machinists had a combination set that contained a center head for locating the center of round stock.:rofl:

When accuracy is important I've used a single edge razor for marking.

You know it is funny how silly some of this stuff gets. After my posting with my humble recomendations, I went searching via Google to see what others used. The same question had been posted on another site with generally the same answers. However one guy basically said that the only right way to do the was buy a Starret brand set like that for 200+ dollars and if you went any other way basically you were cheap, would be unsatisfied for life and never get close enough to the center of anything.

A 200+ plus tool specifically for finding the center of a wood Dowel that is unlikely to be that close to a real circle in the first place. Makes the 70.00 dollar screwdriver look reasonable.....:rofl:
 
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One problem I've found with attempting to locate the center of dowels (especially purchased) is they are all out of round.

I thought all machinists had a combination set that contained a center head for locating the center of round stock.:rofl:

When accuracy is important I've used a single edge razor for marking.

Out of round no problem, just make about four stops around the edge with the center finder, the center will be inside a small outlined area.
 
Out of round no problem, just make about four stops around the edge with the center finder, the center will be inside a small outlined area.
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Three is for a round steel shaft and several is for wood dowels. Then cut that off, do it again and claim the first was just for practice. Then repeat.:rofl:
 
I use the Starrett version of this, just because I have one I inherited from my granddad. I use it without the square head, of course....

cntrhead.jpg



On a bigger circle with a less-than-perfect edge, I'll make a lot of lines, and eyeball the average...

Center Finding Marks Full 800.jpg Center Finding Marks 800.jpg
 
Drill a hole the size of the dowel for which you want to find the center in a piece of stock with either a Forstner or Brad Point Bit. But don't drill all of the way through. Using the centering hole left by the bit, drill the remainder of the way through with a smaller bit. Thread a screw from the bottom using the hole you just drilled through, leaving 1/8" or so protruding into the large hole. Place dowel in the original hole and press down on the screw point. You have just marked the center.

Jim
 
Drill a hole the size of the dowel for which you want to find the center in a piece of stock with either a Forstner or Brad Point Bit. But don't drill all of the way through. Using the centering hole left by the bit, drill the remainder of the way through with a smaller bit. Thread a screw from the bottom using the hole you just drilled through, leaving 1/8" or so protruding into the large hole. Place dowel in the original hole and press down on the screw point. You have just marked the center.

Jim

Simple but elegant solution...:clap:
 
Center

Jim - I just knew someone would come with a "don't need to buy anything" solution and yours has got to be one of the best. I did end up ordering a centering square only because it comes with the combination square I needed. It won't be here for a while so your solution will get me back into my project immediately.
 
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