Can I use dowel pins in outdoor projects?

Yes, but choose weather-resistant materials like stainless steel dowel pins or treat wooden dowels with a water-resistant sealant.

How do I remove a broken dowel pin?

Drill out the center of the broken dowel, then use a screw extractor to remove the remaining pieces.

What's the difference between a dowel joint and a tenon joint?

A dowel joint uses separate dowel pins to connect pieces, while a tenon joint involves cutting one piece to fit into a mortise in the other.

Can I make my own dowel pins?

Yes, you can create custom dowels using a dowel plate or by whittling down larger stock.

Dowel Pins - Imperial

Dowel pins are small, solid steel tubes that resemble traditional wooden dowels.

They are manufactured to a very high tolerance to ensure that they are a precise fit. They are generally used for locking components in place.

Dowel pins are available in metric and imperial sizes. The diameter of a dowel pin is obviously the most important dimension but don’t forget to check the length, as unlike wooden dowels they are very awkward to cut to size.

Dowel pins are available in size increments of 1mm diameters for metric and fractions of an inch for imperial.

Imperial is a generic term used to describe threads that were in common use before the metric standard was adopted. Types of imperial threads include UNC, UNF, BSW, BSF, BA etc. Many of these thread types are still commonly used today.