Dowel

A dowel is a small circular peg or fastener, often made from timber with a ribbed circumference. It is used in the construction of dowel joints, where holes are drilled within the two sections of timber being joined, dowels are inserted into one side, often with glue, then the second side is connected. The term is also used to described the connection of other materials such as metals, plastic and concrete (see also Dowelled joint).

In carpentry they are similar to biscuit joints as a way to connect two sections of timber, hiding the fixings, without using screws and increasing the surface area that is glued. The ribbed circumference of the dowels ensure a tight fit, holding the joint in place whilst the glue dries and increasing the strength of the joint over time. Dowels can be used to connect many different types of joints, such as edge joints, L joints, T joints, mitre joints, carcass joints and so on.

The word dowel seems to stem from middle English in the 1300's, describing parts of a wheel, most probably resembling wooden pins of some some kind with once side chamfered. The word dowel today tends to refer to timber connectors that are hidden within the joint, which differs from peg or tree nails (sometimes also mistakenly referred to as dowels).

In traditional green wood or oak framing tree nails or pegs were made of dried seasoned wood, often beech and were a key part of the morticle and tennon joint. In this method the joint would be set together and holes drilled from the outside of the wet or green wood through the two joining timber sections, the dry peg would then be driven in from the outside, connecting the timbers. The dry dowels absorb the moisture of the green wood and expand ensuring a tight connection, over time both the timber sections and the pegs dry out to form a permanent rigid connection.

The different in general between pegs and dowels being that the ends of the pegs are exposed, often cut flush to the wood surface, where as dowels are hidden and within the joint, being installed before the joint is placed in position and most often using glue. The word dowel can also refer to other materials such as plastic, metal and even stone, the principle being that they are cylindical connectors, hidden within a joint.

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