If you are working on furniture and do not desire to have exposed fasteners, you should opt to go for dowels instead of screws. Woodworking dowels are small pieces of wooden pegs that are inserted into flat-bottomed holes of the same size.
One of my friends explained why Dowels are better than screws:
Miller dowels do a pretty good job of pulling stock together. They are so nicely fitted that they will grab immediately and the force of the hammer driving them in will squeeze the parts up tight. I believe that they have an advantage over screws in this regard… certainly so in side grain to end grain applications as the screws get but a marginal hold in end grain while the miller dowels are at their best in such situations. I made a bunch of drawer boxes last spring with the miller dowels for corner joining and also used the miller dowels for joining the plywood boxes. I was very happy with the results. I will use them again. I found that the dowels tightened my joints more than my clamps could do.
The width of the dowels is usually more significant than the holes that they are supposed to be inserted into, thus making it easier to fit on the holes fully. Additionally, you could use wood glue to strengthen the bond and make it stick harder.
Some of the woodworking furniture that could be quickly joined using dowels include pieces of furniture such as walnut dining tables as they can be soon joined using dowels.
For conventional post and beam creation, round and big wooden pegs are inserted into the mortise and tenon joints. However, if you seek to use long-lasting dowels, you should opt for the ones from oak and maple woods due to their durable features.
If you want to fasten floor planking, you could opt to use pegs to be more efficient and convenient.
Why You Could Use Dowels Instead of Screws
- The Dowling process takes less time and hassle.
- Finishes made by Dowling are clean and neat and help in making outstanding finishes.
- There is no need for nails, screws, and other types of joineries.
- Dowel joints are considered one of the sturdiest joinery materials used in woodworking, mainly when you use several rows of dowels.
- Dowels are ideal joining materials that you could use at home instead of screws as they can be easily accessed.
- The bond made using dowels is much stronger and can last for a long.
- It’s much easier to join pieces of wood using dowels.
- Dowels and pegs are versatile as they can be used on a wide array of woodworking projects.
Why you should not use Dowels instead of screws
- Joints made of tenon and mortise usually take a more extended amount of time to build
- Getting the alignment could be challenging for the starters as it needs dwelling.
- With time, dowels tend to shear, and thus you will be required to replace them with a new one
