<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>I've used bamboo shishkebab skewers (available at most grocery stores) for dowels in places I want nearly invisible, such as doweling ribs to soundboards when I want to fill the hole left from the long sheet-metal screw I put through the board and rib to pull them together. (When other methods are impractical.) They are extremely strong for their diameter, come "pre-fluted" (for insertion without pushing all the glue out) and are mostly all the same size as a standard drillbit. (Sorry, I forget exactly which one.) And look w-a-a-a-y better than a hammer-shank dowel! After drilling the screwhole out all the way through to the right diameter, go through the bag and find the ones that slide in just a little snug. Wipe on glue and push in. Trim to
taste.</span></div><div></div><div> </div><div>Euphonious Thumpe<br></div> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <div style="margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); height: 0px; line-height: 0; font-size: 0px;" class="hr" contentEditable="false" readonly="true"></div> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Susan Kline <skline@peak.org><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> pianotech@ptg.org <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thursday, June 21, 2012 4:12 PM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [pianotech] dowels and glue joints<br> </font> </div> <br>
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<font size="-1"><font face="Courier New, Courier, monospace">Hi, Larry <br>
<br>
If the problem is from the expansion in different directions of the
dowel and the wood, <br>
might it work to use a round rod of something which is not wood? <br>
<br>
Of course, one could use something like brass rod, but then if someone
needed to <br>
cut through the joint later, it might be troublesome. Perhaps something
like the polyethelene <br>
which Bill Spurlock uses for his cauls and other tools? Does it come in
dowels? <br>
<br>
Susan Kline<br>
<br>
<br>
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Larry Fisher RPT wrote:
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<div>I’ve always enjoyed doweling a glue joint when possible. Even
an eighth inch dowel across the break can improve the bond if only from
a mechanical aspect. Recently however, this young man I mentioned
earlier reported seeing a glue joint fail from what he considered to be
the tension created by the cross grained conflicting expansion and
contraction .......... or at least that’s the way I understood his
explanation. The object of discussion was a grand leg whose
laminations were separating. I’d welcome any additional thoughts or
comments on this.</div>
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