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I added the cross dowel section and did some ascii art to show the concept.
If you can do up a picture to donate, look at this website for what is meant.
http://www.younturn.com.tw/jancrossdowels.htmStrider22 (talk) 02:20, 17 January 2009 (UTC)strider22[reply]
Yes, a photo is really needed here. Specifically, two photos would be useful: cross dowel component parts, and an installed cross dowel (ideally with exposed cross-sectional view). BTW, please be sure to add new comments at the bottom of the talk page. Lambtron (talk) 03:32, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I think the ASCII art is more confusing than helpful, because I know was a cross dowel is, but I can't figure out what the ASCII art for the life of me. Can we please remove it? If need be I'll draw something up in Solidworks and post it. Wizard191 (talk) 15:51, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Image removed pending a photo or cad dwg. Lambtron (talk) 17:05, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
I've added two images. Let me know what you think. Wizard191 (talk) 17:52, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
They look great! Thanks, Wizard191. Lambtron (talk) 18:55, 19 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]
There are some uncited claims here for very early use of dowels. I don't dispute the age, but I do dispute that these are dowels (i.e. the primary locating and strength member in joinery) vs. treenails that are locking pins through a main tenon. Andy Dingley (talk) 00:41, 22 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that these claims are dubious. Citations have been requested for quite awhile, but never provided. I would support removal of the entire History section as it stands now. Lambtron (talk) 15:52, 22 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The photo on the right of a 'steel dowel'(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anker-Spreitzd%C3%BCbel_M10_Fabrikat_SPIT.jpg) appears to be an expansion anchor for use in masonry. In american english usage, this would certainly not be considered a dowel. Can anyone who uses another flavor of english weigh in? Is the image definitely incorrect, or does dowel have a different meaning where you are?
Thank you. 48v (talk) 03:26, 2 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
The image does not match the definition of a dowel. Also, since the claim that metal dowels are used in stonemasonry seems to be based on expansion anchors, it's unlikely that actual metal dowels are used. I've removed both, pending citation of supporting RS. Lambtron (talk) 13:10, 2 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
High-volume dowel manufacturing is done on a wood shaper, which simultaneously forms multiple dowels from a single piece of rectangular stock (i.e., wood). These machines employ two wide, rotating cutting heads, one above the stock and one below it. The heads have nearly identical cutting profiles so that each will form an array of adjoined, side-by-side "half dowels". The heads are aligned to each other and one head is shaped to make deeper cuts along the dowel edges so as to part the stock into individual dowel rods, resulting in a group of dowel rods emerging in parallel at the machine's output.[citation needed]
The wooden dowel rod used in woodworking applications is commonly cut into dowel pins, which are used to reinforce joints and support shelves and other components in cabinet making. Some woodworkers make their own dowel pins, while others purchase dowel pins precut to the required length and diameter.[citation needed]
Some dowel pins are fluted with multiple parallel grooves along their length to serve the same purpose.[citation needed]
Dowel centers are simple and inexpensive tools for aligning opposing blind holes. Various commercial systems, such as Dowelmax, have been devised to solve this problem.[citation needed]
Wooden dowels have been used in manufacturing and woodworking for many centuries. One of the earliest documented uses of wooden dowels was in Japanese shrines in AD 690,[citation needed] which were constructed using only wood, wooden dowels and pegs, and interlocking joints. Around AD 1000, Leif Erikson sailed across the North Atlantic in a ship that was largely constructed of overlapping planks held together by wooden dowels[citation needed] and iron nails. The wooden dowels did not rust and thus were more reliable than iron for long expeditions[citation needed].
Metal dowels or dowel pins are often used as precise locating devices in machinery. Steel dowel pins are machined to tight tolerances, as are the corresponding holes, which are typically reamed. A dowel pin may have a smaller diameter than its hole so that it freely slips in, or a larger diameter so that it must be pressed into its hole (an interference fit).[citation needed]
When designing mechanical components, mechanical engineers typically use dowel holes as reference points to control positioning variations and attain repeatable assembly quality. If no dowels are used for alignment (e.g., components are mated by bolts only), there can be significant variation, or "play", in component alignment.[citation needed]
Typical drilling and milling operations, as well as manufacturing practices for bolt threads, introduce mechanical play proportional to the size of the fasteners. For example, bolts up to 10 mm (0.394 in) in diameter typically have play on the order of 0.2 mm (0.008 inches).[citation needed] When dowels are used in addition to bolts, however, the tighter dimensional tolerances of dowels and their mating holes—typically 0.01 mm (0.0004 inches)—result in significantly less play, on the order of 0.02 mm (0.0008 inches).[citation needed] Manufacturing costs are inversely proportional to mechanical tolerances and, as a result, engineers must balance the need for mechanical precision against cost as well as other factors such as manufacturability and serviceability.[citation needed]
There are a variety of specifications, military, ISO, DIN, ASME that pins may be made to. And size can even vary by dowel pin material. Metric dowel pins are often found in two sizes. In DIN 6325 standard the dowel pins are slightly larger than the nominal value. For example a 3 mm dowel pin will range from 3.002 to 3.008 mm (0.1182 to 0.1184 inches). In the ISO 2338 standard the dowel pins are slightly smaller - 3 mm nominal range is 2.986 to 3.000 mm (0.1176 to 0.1181 inches). The terminology (e.g. "oversized", "standard") is not entirely consistent across suppliers. In inch pins "oversized" refers to pins that are more significantly oversized for worn-out dowel pinholes. The most common inch-sized pins are slightly oversized, and "undersized" versions are also available.[citation needed]
In automobiles, dowels are used when precise mating alignment is required, such as in differential gear casings, engines, and transmissions.[citation needed]
Bolts in a bolted joint often have an important function as a dowel, resisting shear forces. For this reason, many bolts have a plain unthreaded section to their shank. This gives a closer fit to the hole and also avoids some problems with fretting wear when a screw thread bears against an unthreaded component.[citation needed]
Cross dowelA cutaway view of a cross dowel in use. For illustrative purposes the dowel's slot is shown perpendicular to the bolt, but in practice the slot is usually parallel to the bolt's axis.
A cross dowel is a cylindrically shaped metal nut (i.e., a metal dowel) that is used to join two pieces of wood. Like other metal nuts, it has an inside threaded hole, although the hole is unusual in that it passes through the sides of the dowel. One or both ends of the dowel are slotted, with the slots oriented parallel to the threaded hole through which the bolt will pass.[citation needed]
In a cross dowel application, the two pieces of wood are aligned and a bolt hole is drilled through one piece of wood and into the other. A dowel hole is drilled laterally across the bolt hole and the cross dowel is inserted into it. A screwdriver is inserted into the slot at the end of the cross dowel and the dowel is rotated so that its threaded hole aligns with the bolt hole. The bolt is then inserted into the bolt hole and screwed into the cross dowel until the wood pieces are held tightly together.[citation needed]
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