Brass Dowel Rods – Viewer Question
Our question this time comes from Joel. He writes:
Garret Hack’s article on breadboard ends from issue #110 of Fine Woodworking is guiding my construction of a cedar vanity top with oak ends. The drawboring is next in my process and I’m thinking of using brass rod. Should I be mindful of any special considerations using it? Please share advice RE sanding and finishing when brass is in the mix. Since I haven’t yet bored the holes I would also appreciate rules of thumb regarding which diameter rod to use; my tongues are approximately 1.5 inches square.
Hey Joel. Great idea going with brass. I often use metal dowel rods instead of wood just for the fun of using a different material. Kudos!
As far as the size of the rod, I would let the aesthetics be your guide on this one. Brass dowels are going to make a strong statement, so depending on the number of them and the overall size of the table, you might want the rods to be small or large. I would say 1/8″ to 1/4″ would be a safe range.
As for special treatment, you do need to take care with this process. Make sure you cut the dowels as close to the final length as possible. You don’t want much sticking out once they are installed. But you will have some leveling to do. To do this, I recommend using a single mill file. But you need to protect the table top surface as you do this, so wrap the end of the file in a little masking tape. This way if you angle it a little too much toward the table, it wont scratch. Just keep filing the rod down until its as flush as you can get it. Then using a wood block, sand the rods with a relatively fine sandpaper. At this point you are doing the final blending with the wood surface. And you need the backing material to be hard, otherwise you’ll sand the area around the rod more than the rod itself. So a block of wood works great. At this point, the rod should be flush and undetectable with your fingers. Now sand the table with your ROS and do your final finish prep. Finish the table like you would any other time. No special care is needed for the rod. Just keep in mind that given the way wood likes to swell with seasonal changes, you will likely be able to feel the dowel rods at some point. But its really no more than you would have with your average wood joint.
The only other thing I would recommend is using the right glue. Epoxy should work rather well. And use a bit of sandpaper to rough up the rod in the areas where you expect glue contact and that should help make a stronger bond.
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You can trim the rods with a router as well.
However, the OP mentions drawboring. I’ve never tried this with brass rods, and don’t think it’s possible. In every the cut-away cross section I’ve seen of a drawbored M&T, the wooden peg ends up bending slightly after being driven through the offset hole. Brass isn’t flexible enough to do that.
Although the brass isn’t flexible, I do think you’d be able to get a drawbore effect with an offset hole. That is assuming the offset isn’t excessive. The brass dowel might crush a few wood fibers on the way but the end result should still be increased pressure.
I’ve never done this either so I am just speculating. But it seems to make sense to me.
I’m gonna have to go with BarryO here. the brass “might” be flexible enough but in the event hat it’s not, it will blow out the bore holes and result in the breadboard not fitting securely. If Joel wants the aesthetics of brass, then pin the breadboard with long grain hardwood dowel pins, and use brass rod as decorative plugs on top. That way he ensures a proper fit and function of the breadboard ends while achieving the look he’s after.
I use allthread or brass screws rather than dowel for this. Screws are really easy – screw them in until all the threaded part is below the surface then cut off somewhere along the shank with a small hacksaw – usually I can get it as close as with a flush-cut saw.
And because the screw is tapered and has the thread cut in it, you will be able to use it just like a drawbore pin – just only use 1 – 2 mm of offset.