Dowel Bench

This bench is the first of a few different designs I plan on building that feature shop-made dowels as the legs. I like the aesthetic of these larger dowels and they present a unique challenge. Working with round material is difficult because there isn’t a flat surface to reference from.

I made these dowels using a shop-made jig. The jig holds the blank and is spun with a drill. A plunge router runs along the jig and is lowered to reach the correct diameter. In this case, the legs have a diameter of 2.5”. Once the legs are turned, they can be attached to the benchtop which has 4 recesses with a 2.5” diameter. I created these recesses using a template and flush trim bit.

The legs are reinforced with glue and two 3.5” screws. The bench is surprisingly sturdy which is promising for my future builds using this technique. I’ll continue to refine these techniques and hope to share more pieces like this.