to within 1/8 in. of the
plate and knock it out with the next dowel.

[Illustration: Fig. 191.--Cradle for Planing Dowels.]

[Illustration: Fig. 192.--Dowel with Groove.]

[Illustration: Fig. 193.--Sawing Groove in Dowel.]

To plane off the corners a "cradle" (Fig. 191) is made and kept for the
purpose. The advantage of this cradle is obvious, preventing as it does
any tendency of the partly-formed dowel to slip or wobble. A jig, or
cradle, is easily made by bevelling the edges of two separate pieces of
wood and then glueing and screwing them together as at Fig. 191. A small
block of wood is inserted to act as a stop whilst the planing operation
is in progress. It is usual to bevel both edges of the timber from which
the cradle is formed, thus accommodating all sizes of dowels from 1/4 in.
to 5/8 in. in diameter.

[Illustration: Fig. 194.--Pricking the Centres ready for Boring. Also
showing how Brace is used in conjunction with Try Square.]

Fig. 192 shows a completed dowel with a small groove running along its
entire length. The object of this groove is to allow the air and
superfluous glue to escape and thus avoid splitting the work on hand; the
groove also secretes a certain amount of glue, which increases its hold
on the timber.

Fig. 198 illustrates the method of marking out and gauging two boards for
dowelling. The edges of the boards are first shot to a true joint; then
the face sides are placed together and the lines for the dowels are
marked across the edges with a fine pencil and the aid of a try square.
The boards are then gauged from the face side, thus giving the points
indicated in the sketch.

[Illustration: Fig. 195.--Countersink.]

[Illustration: Fig. 196.--Dowel Rounder.]

[Illustration: Fig. 197.--Twist Bit.]

To start the twist bit (Fig. 197) it is a good plan to prick the board at
the point of intersection of the marked lines with a sharp,
circular-pointed marking awl. This obviates any tendency of the boring
bit to run out of truth and thus cause unevenness on the face side of the
jointed board. (See Fig. 194.)

A safe rule for the spacing of dowels when jointing sideboard tops,
dressing table and wardrobe ends, etc., is to place the dowels 9 ins. to
10 ins. apart, and place two dowels at each end as shown at Fig. 198. The
length of the dowels should be about 7/8 in. to 1-1/4 in. long.

Fig. 199 shows the two boards prepared ready for glueing. The back one
is bored to receive the do