jewelry box

Easy thing is to get a plug cutter and make little short dowels. Heck, if you don't want to spend the money, tell me how many you need, and I'll make you some out of walnut. I have lots of odd little scraps laying around.

I can only make short ones because I have small, cheap plug cutters, but they make nice accents where you don't need a long dowel for structural reasons. Or buy a better plug cutter than I have, some dark wood of your choice, and go nuts. If you like using contrasting wood as much as I do, you'll probably be glad to have them, because you'll use them frequently. I plan to get a much better set soon.

Here's one place:

I hate cutting dowels, especially with a plug cutter. Lots of hassle, and you only make a tiny piece. Handy for cross-grain screw covers, not so much for dowels.

I rip square stock on the badsaw, then plane it octagonal. I chop it down to 6" lengths, then force it through a dowel plate.

The dowel plate is home made, from a snip of old power hacksaw blade. Anneal it, drill pairs or triples of holes in a range of sizes. Use a tapered reamer to put some "draw" on the backs of the holes. Use a needle file to convert one or two of each size to a star shaped hole. Heat, re-harden and temper only slightly (pale straw). Hammer the dowel through from the narrow side, using the star-hole first, then the round hole to finish.

I made this today:

Next step is to wrap it in oilcloth, which I'm making myself to a 17th century Pennsylvania recipe - linseed boiled with lead oxide and manganese dioxide driers.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods

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