Attaching Brass Rod to Wood dowel

[JGS]

I need to make a few magic wands. They are to be 15" long, about 3/8" OD of maple dowel with about 1.5" of 3/8" brass rod at each end. My question is how to attach the brass end pieces to the dowel. I thought of using metal epoxy and butt joining them or drilling a small hole in each piece, inserting a metal or wood dowel and epoxy. The problem with the second method is getting both holes in exactly the centre of the pieces. Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks JG

ps- If only I had a working magic wand this would not be a problem

[Mike in Mystic]

I can't thing of any suitable method for attaching these two materials. Maybe some sort of double-sided screw (like the kind used to attach bun feet to cases, etc.).

I think a better solution would be to use thin brass sheets, and wrap the dowel with it, epoxying it in place. You could punch a disk to cover the bottom of the dowel, too, and then use a file to chamfer the intersection and take away sharp burrs. This is still probably a little bit of a tedious process, but I think it will be more likely to result in success than trying to attach the two rods end to end.

Mike

[Rob V]

Either that or how about some thin brass tubing - then just make a little relief on the dowel to let it slip on the end. Kind of like a ferell on a tool handle.

[Sweet Sawdust]

[David Chamberlain]

Go to

If the link wraps, go to , click on item search, enter FERRULE and you get a complete listing of brass ferrules from 0.312" to 1.5" in diameter. To be elegant, turn down the end of your wand so that the ferrule is flsuuh with the wood.

[Silvan]

I'd go with one of the tubing suggestions if it were me, but that would leave the end un-capped, and that might not work.

If you really insist on using rod, you could do this with a floor model drill press and a lot of care, I think. You'd probably need some extra tall vise jaw extensions.

If you're married to the rod idea, I might go try some of my thoughts. Otherwise save yourself from a lot of trouble and use tubing. If you can't get a press fit on the tubing, you can always lock it on with a screw.

Or heck, how about going a different way entirely? I'll bet that would be much easier to accomplish using some sort of metallic foil. Or even, gold paint.

[George]

Take a hardwood board about two inches wide, run a saw kerf about halfway along its length. Now clamp the board to your drillpress table with the hole through the table centered up, and bore a hole the size of your wand/rod about 3/4" into the kerf. If you don't move things, and keep the board firmly clamped, you can put a smaller bit in the press, run your wand or brass up into the hole, and cross-clamp to close the kerf and hold the wand/brass. Should give you centered holes for a piece of welding rod or similar to serve as a dowel.