How would you neatly and consistently round over the ends of dozens of 1/2" dowels?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/190570

Doing it by hand with sandpaper is a nonstarter.
Also I don't have a lathe :-/

8 points · 8 comments · view on lemmy.world

8 Comments

QuickSloth@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 3y (1 reply)

Perhaps a cup bur? Be careful!

AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y

Brilliant! I didn't know such a thing existed, and my attempts to make something like it haven't been successful.
Low speed. Yes.

Nednarb44@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 3y

If they're fairly short, you could make a v block jig and drive it with a drill, and use a chisel on the side you want to round over. There's a vid/gif I saw recently of a gentleman doing it to make the dowels themselves after knocking the corners down with a hand plane

drofenvy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Could you use a jig to hold the piece vertically and clamp to keep from rotating, with the to be rounded part pointing down and a router table with roundover bit?

AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y (1 reply)

I was thinking horizontally. I'd hesitate to do it vertically since gravity would be pulling the stock into the bit. If anything went wrong it's not exactly fail-safe.

Golfnbrew@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y

I think the roundover bit is your best bet. But you don't have to go vertical. Horizontal, perpendicular to the fence of a router table. You will need to build a jig somehow.

Ulvain@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2y (1 reply)

A 1/2" dowel might fit in the shank of a standard hand drill... If so, I'd use the dowel in the hand drill and would round off the other end against a belt or oscillating sander, basically.

MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y

This works great - I've done it by chucking the dowels in my drill and then just holding them against a stationary belt sander for like 2 seconds per end, makes perfect rounded ends everytime!