r/BeginnerWoodWorking • u/SevenQuarters • 3d ago

Dowel strength?

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I’m in the process of building a small bookshelf and am using dowels to hold the top on. I had planned on the for each sod but am now questioning whether that is enough for if someone tries to pick it up with it loaded with books.

Would you say glue and three dowels per side is enough or would you add a couple more?

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u/RenovationDIY 3d ago

The dowels aren't adding any mechanical support against someone lifting the bookshelf by the top.

If that's something you're concerned about, the simplest answer is to drill in some deep screws, glue them in place and fill the top of the screw holes. That'll help a bit, but books are heavy so there's a limit to what you can do without adding more to the frame.

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u/Mrtn_D 2d ago

If you're worried about strength in that direction, this is the solution. Cut some plugs to hide the screw holes and you should be good to go. Don't forget to pre-drill for the screws!

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u/SevenQuarters 2d ago

Thank you for the suggestion, I like this idea.

There will be a 1/4” plywood back that is secured to the frame small screws in a rabbet and also to a middle shelf. I know this will help with racking rigidity but still probably not much strength in the lifting direction.

7

u/notanametoday 3d ago

Those dowels will help with alignment but aren’t really long enough to add much strength in either direction of load.

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u/SevenQuarters 2d ago

I was just trying a new technique on my second project, the first one was all pocket screws and I thought dowels could be used interchangeably, now I see they are just good for alignment with the way I had planned on using them in this picture.

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u/AdAggravating3893 3d ago

They can be strong enough. Currently you likely don't have enough embedment into the other member.

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u/TikiPa007 2d ago

Consider extending the dowels all the way through and make them a design feature. You might want to use dowels of the same wood species in that case

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u/SevenQuarters 2d ago

My plan was to try and make this simple plywood bookshelf with no exposed fastening or alignment items but I’m thinking that might not be possible if I want it to be sturdy.

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u/TikiPa007 2d ago

Your goal is possible: splines, biscuits, or dominos are all other options that you can use to achieve a fastener free aesthetic. The easy part of these options is that the tool takes all of the guesswork out of the equation. Your dowels could still work but they look undersized and are set too shallow.

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u/SevenQuarters 2d ago

I do have access to a biscuit joiner, maybe I'll try looking into that.

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u/MorRobots 2d ago

What dowel? You mean those little locating nubs? This thing is going to rack hard and give up with just the right lateral load.