You could cut a dowel to length with a razor saw but it's easier to cut thin dowels by rolling your knife blade over it.
Sometimes, you end up with a cut line that travels, a spiral cut line down the dowel.
For a straight cut, try this:
Draw your knife blade down a straight line.
Follow a line on your cutting mat or draw a vertical line with a straightedge.
I extend the blade out of my break off blade knife and line it up over the line. Keep your blade on the line as you roll over the perpendicular dowel.
Cut about halfway through and you can crack the dowel in two on the cut.
The end will be rough, sand off the end with 220 on a block.
This works every time!
ReplyDeleteHi Lonnie,
ReplyDeleteIt does work every time. I cut a lot of dowels and had to figure out a way to stop the knife from "traveling".
I cut dowels more or less this way, but I've never had a problem with spiraling. My favorite method is to use a Craftsman Handi-Cut; I make a partial cut, turn the dowel, and repeat until I've cut all the way around, then make a final cut all the way through. This isn't much different than using a hobby knife, but I can cut much thicker dowels cleanly this way.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris,
DeleteI'll have to check out (and probably buy) the craftsman Handi-Cut.
My knife wants to travel and drawing a line to follow helps keep it straight. You are right, this method would work best on smaller dowels, maybe up to 3/16" diameter.