I came up with this simple way to dowel a rail in place between two fixed posts. Drill and dowel one end of the rail as you normally would. On the other end, drill the hole deeper and insert a spring before the dowel. Make the depth of the hole equal to the length of the dowel plus the length of the compressed spring.
Once it’s aligned with the hole in the post, the spring-loaded dowel will push its way home. I butter the dowel with hide glue before inserting it in the rail. I also drill a small vent hole in the bottom of the rail to prevent suction problems. Beveling the ends of the dowel allows the parts to go together easily.
—Thomas Ehlers, Austin, TX
Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #11
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Nice technique.
How would you do this if you wanted to make the rail removable at some future time?
That is really good!
I think I'll have a crack at this using loose tenons or dominos. The technique should work very well for difficult cabinet making jobs, especially repairs to chairs and other furniture with broken rails. Thanks for the tip.
Nice. I like the loose tenon idea, too.
I wonder if one could, instead of using the spring, have a similar small hole about mid-point below the un-deployed dowel such that you reach up with a very slender sharp-pointed object and work the dowel along into the post. More positive action than a spring.