How to Build Drying Rack Dowels

Drying rack dowels are used to hold wet clothes on drying racks. They should be made out of a hardwood and sanded smooth to prevent snagging your clothes. Dowel racks can be made quickly using a router. Unlike lathes, a router will cut the wood against the grain offering a smooth process of cutting. Lathes are however used for making dowels, however the process involves cutting the wood against the grain. Using a router to make a dowel requires less skill than using a lathe.

Safety glasses
Tape measure
Router w/table
Router bit, 1/4-round, 1/2-inch
Oak board, 1/2-by-1/2-by-36-inches
Miter saw
Wood glue

Instructions

- 1
  Raise the router bit on the table saw so the bottom tangent on the bit is flush with the table.
- 2
  Run the board across the bit so you have a 1/4-inch round cut in the bit. Leave an inch of non-routered wood at both ends. Rotate the board 90-degrees and make another cut. Repeat this process to more times so the board becomes round.
- 3
  Wrap the sandpaper around the board and sand it from end to end so your sanding direction is parallel with the grain of the wood.
- 4
  Measure the width of your drying rack plus the depths of the holes. Add these measurements together and cut the dowel at this length.
- 5
  Use larger or smaller bits depending on the size dowel you need. The diameter of the dowel you need should be the thickness of your square stock wood. The router bit will be half the thickness of your stock.

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