Dowel
Overview
Rod (geometry)
In geometry, a rod is a three-dimensional, solid cylinder....
, usually made of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
or metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
. In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod.
Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
s in toys, as detent
Detent
Detent is the term for a method, as well as the actual device, used to mechanically resist or arrest the rotation of a wheel, axle or spindle....
s on gymnastics grips
Grip (gymnastics)
Grips are devices that are worn on the hands of artistic gymnasts when performing on various gymnastics apparatus. They are worn by female gymnasts on the uneven bars, and by male gymnasts on the high bar, still rings and parallel bars...
, as knitting needles, as structural reinforcement in cabinet making
Cabinet making
Cabinet making is the practice of using various woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture.Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative...
and support for tiered wedding cakes. Dowel rod is often cut into short lengths called dowel pins, which are used in various ways:
- As shelf supports in furniture.
- As moveable pieces (i.e., pegs) in games.
- As supports for hanging items such as key rings, tools, toilet roll dispensers and picture frames.
- To secure two objects together with precise alignment in a dowel joint: a hole is bored in both objects and the dowel pin is inserted into the aligned holes.
- To wind textiles around
- To bear the weight of tiers on stacked cakes.
For modest manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
volumes, wood dowels are typically manufactured on industrial dowel machine
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
s.
