Dowel Driver

[Mandy Geise]

TheDotul AT-400 Dowel Driver is a free-standing single dowel insertion machine. The operator pre-glues the dowel hole, places the piece in front of the driver and presses on a foot pedal to insert the dowel. Dotul also offers machines that will make dowels. Ask your dealer for more information on these machines.

Dowel screws have no head, so it makes it difficult to drive in. Drivers are specially made for driving these screws, so put away your Vice-grips and chuck a dowel screw driver into your drill instead.

These drivers are designed for reversible power drills. Special internal threads and a ball bearing end stop are designed to easily release the bolt or screw when the rotation of the driver is reversed.

WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Titanium Dioxide which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

WARNING: Drilling sawing sanding or machining wood products can expose you to wood dust a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/wood.

A bearing driver is inserted into a handheld pneumatic percussive tool and then the power tool is engaged to install a bearing into an assembly which requires a bearing. This process is used to eliminate the potential for injury to the operator and provide quick and accurate assembly.

A pin driver is inserted into a handheld pneumatic percussive tool and then the power tool is engaged to install a pin or roll pin or dowel pin into an assembly or locating hole which requires a pin. This process is used to eliminate the potential for injury to the operator and provide quick and accurate assembly.

Bushing drivers are used in combination with handheld pneumatic percussive tools to install various bushings used in machinery assemblies which require them.

A bushing driver is inserted into a handheld pneumatic percussive tool and then the power tool is engaged to install the bushing into an assembly or locating hole which requires a bushing. This process is used to eliminate the potential for injury to the operator and provide quick and accurate assembly.

Action: While staying tall, take the knee outside of the dowel and drive it forward. The heel of the front foot should maintain contact with the floor. Find the end range of motion and cycle through a breath.

Wood to metal dowels are an ingenious fixing that is used widely in the furniture industry. Wood to metal dowels, also known as hanger bolts, are a threaded stud with a wood screw thread at one end and a machine thread at the other. We also supply a range of threaded inserts and t-nuts to suit. Our sizes of wood to metal dowel from M6 upwards have a torx drive, and from M8 upwards have a torx drive as well as flats in the centre for tightening with a spanner.

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Adding legs to an existing cabinet or bookcase can completely change the look and feel of a piece of furniture. But how do you attach those legs to the bottom? I'll show you two different hanger bolt installation methods, so you can turn anything into a furniture leg!

Since you're reading this, I'm assuming your new furniture legs didn't come with the hanger bolts installed already. It's commonly considered an add-on with an extra fee with the higher end pieces, but they're not difficult to do yourself!

But hanger bolts aren't just for furniture legs! They're handy for attaching wooden dowels to pegboard vertically (like in this DIY drawer organizer) or horizontally to make a coat rack (or this DIY ski rack).

Glad you asked! It's a bolt with two different ends. Typically one end is pointy like a screw so it can go into wood, and the other has a flat end that is inserted into a metal plate or threaded insert.

The bolts come in different sizes, so make sure you have one that matches your hardware (this one is too small for the hole, but it's what I had laying around the shop!) You can find all the different diameters and lengths here.

The tricky part about installing hanger bolts is that there's nothing to grip! Both sides are threaded, so using pliers will just strip or bend the little grooves. But there are two easy methods that you may not have thought of!

On a circular piece like this dowel, I use a compass set to half the diameter to mark the center at multiple points. Where they all meet is the middle! For a square leg, use a ruler to mark an X from corner to corner.

Choose a drill bit that is a slightly smaller diameter than the bolt (preferably the same size as the center shaft). This will leave enough wood for the threads to grip onto, while clearing the way for the rest of the hanger bolt.

Thread both of the nuts onto the flat end of the hanger bolt. Then loosen the bottom one and tighten the top one so they run into each other and can't go any further. Keep them towards the end of the bolt.

The other end of the bit is inserted into your drill chuck, then you just screw it into the predrilled hole in the furniture leg! You could install hanger bolts in all four legs in minutes with this method.

Regardless of what method you use to install the hanger bolt, you'll need a metal plate of some sort to attach to the underside of your furniture. Some types have an angle built into it, so your furniture has that mid-century modern look.

I've been thinking of adding feet to the bottom of the entryway bench I built last year, since it sits a little too low to the ground. Now that I know how to install hanger bolts, it should be a piece of cake!

My life has also been changed by using your advice of just drawing a line between opposite corners for a square dowel. It sounds incredibly no-brainer once I read it, but honestly, I never thought of that until now!

Thorlabs' PD1 Series ORIC Piezoelectric Inertia Drive Stages (U.S. Patent 11,606,045) provide fast and stable piezo-controlled linear motion in compact packages with no backlash. The PD1(/M) and PD1D(/M) stages provide open-loop operation in single- and dual-axis packages, respectively, while the PDX1(/M) stage with an optical encoder supports open- and closed-loop operation in a single-axis package. All stages have a horizontal load capacity of 3 kg. The piezo inertia drive is self-locking when the stage is at rest and no power is supplied to the piezo, making these stages ideal for set-and-hold applications that require nanometer resolution and long-term alignment stability. The PD1V(/M) vacuum-compatible, single-axis stage with flying leads is also available; this stage has the same form factor, tapped hole pattern, and performance specifications as the PD1(/M), but with additional vacuum compatibility down to 10-6 Torr.

Stage Mounting Options

The mounting counterbores are accessible when the moving plate is translated to the ends of the travel range. There are two mounting options: two 2-56 (M2) screws on the corners with 0.35 Nm recommended torque or 8-32 (M4) screws on the ends with 0.55 Nm recommended torque. We offer the TD75 torque driver for tightening to a specific torque value.

The PD1Z(/M) right-angle bracket adapter allows one single-axis stage to be mounted vertically on top of another stage for an XZ or XYZ configuration. Alternatively, the bracket and single-axis stage can be used with a PD1B(/M), PD1B2(/M) or PD3B(/M) adapter for a Z-configuration that can be directly mounted to an optical table or breadboard. Note that when the stage is mounted vertically, the load capacity is greatly reduced.

Compatibility with Other ORIC Stages

These stages can be combined with an ORIC rotation stage for applications that require XY translation and rotation, an example of which is shown to the lower right. An XZ or XYZ configuration can be created by mounting a PD1 series stage onto the top platform of a PDXZ1(/M) piezo inertia stage with 4.5 mm of vertical motion. PD1 series 20 mm linear stages can also be mounted on our ORIC 50 mm linear stage where greater travel range is necessary.

Required Controller

One of our piezo inertia controllers is required to operate these stages. Note that the piezo inertia drives cannot be driven using a standard piezo controller. Please see below on more information on which controllers are compatible with each stage.

The piezo inertia motor consists of three main parts: a flexure-coupled piezo actuator, a friction element, and a slider (the moving platform). During the "stick" part of a cycle, the piezo slowly expands under the ramp voltage, pushing the friction element and the slider forward in unison. During the "slip" part, the drive voltage drops rapidly and the piezo element returns to its starting length, with the friction element "slipping" backward. The slider does not move due to its inertia and the low coefficient of kinetic friction between the friction element and the bottom surface of the slider. The graph to the right shows the piezo drive voltage during one "stick-slip" cycle.

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