Where to Buy Metric Wood Dowel Rods Online for Masts & Spars

[Warpipes]

Hello All,

I have three kits from Caldercraft's "Nelson's Navy" line and I've been searching the internet for metric diameter dowel rods as backups in case I make a mistake or two with the dowels that come with the kits (currently building HMS Snake). I live in the USA and my internet searches have not resulted in finding a single supplier of metric diameter dowels. Can anyone provide me with a link to a supplier? Thanks for any assistance.

[Baker]

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/Model-Boat-Timber-Wood-Dowels.html

[wefalck]

Funny thing is that often here on the continent stock sold is not exactly metric, but actually imperial, say 6 mm dowl rod is actually 6.25 mm = 1/4" ... As you have to shape it anyway, the starting dimension just needs to be bigger than the biggest diameter required.

[allanyed]

5 hours ago, wefalck said:

As you have to shape it anyway, the starting dimension just needs to be bigger than the biggest diameter required.

Very good point Eberhard. 

 

Warpipe

WELCOME to MSW.  Do post a little intro about yourself in the new members forum if you would be so kind.

 

The masts are never a straight piece like a dowel rod.  It is sometimes easier to use square stock and a plane and sand paper to get the right shape.  Regardless, if you go with dowels they would still be tapered upwards and downwards from where they pass through the upper most deck. There are many drawings of masts and spars on the RMG collections site and some very high resolution versions on the Wikicommons site that will show you what masts actually look like if realism is a criterion for you.  Most important is that this is after all a hobby for most so go with what makes you happy.  Example from Deptford, 1780,  that  has measurements for masts for 44, 36, 32 and 28 guns ships as well as the drawings can be found at    It is 99 mb so will not load here, sorry.

The high resolution version can be found at  44 GUN SHIP RMG J7802.png  Click on the 17,00 pixel version then you can flip it to see all the notes.     Lower res version is below.  For all ship sizes, including larger ships from circa 1800  there is a wealth of contemporary information that you can find in David Steel's Elements and Practice of Rigging    https://maritime.org/doc/steel/  Mast making starts on page 18 and continues with a lot of detailed drawings to go with text and scantlings.

 

Allan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by allanyed

[barkeater]

You can also try Modelers Central. Not USA but they ship here reasonably fast. Micromark has limited choice and Model Expo lists in inches.

Rich

[Warpipes]

I was given this site over on Ships of Scale:

 

Wood Dowels Building Materials | Cornwall model Boats

 

I will consider buying a few from them even though they are in the UK rather than turn my own from Imperial sized stock. Thanks for the replies.

[Warpipes]

Apologies, the link was given on this site by Baker in the first reply above.

[wefalck]

Supplyhouses for architectural model building usually also have a range of dowels and sometimes even hardwood.

[Gregory]

On 11/24/2023 at 2:09 AM, Warpipes said:

I live in the USA and my internet searches have not resulted in finding a single supplier of metric diameter dowels.

Have you taken your calipers into a place like Home Depot or Hobby Lobby lately.

 

The last 1/4" plywood I bought from Home Depot was actually 5.2 mm..  It was stamped right on the sheet, even though the label said " 1/4 inch " ..

Wouldn't surprise me if their dowels are not true standard.

 

That said,  Amazon has metric dowels like this assortment of sizes 3 - 10mm..

[georgeband]

My experience with Caldercraft dowel and plywood has not been very positive. The keel and bulkhead parts were a very loose fit and measurements showed that the ply was 3mm thick and the slots were 3.2mm wide. It suggests that someone thought that 3mm and eighth inch looked the same and could be substituted. Similarly, the dowels were too big to go into the slots in the keel though that problem was easy to solve by sanding a couple of flats on the dowel. I hope that Caldercraft has improved since then. 

I agree with comments above that the dowels will acquire various tapers (and even octagonal sections) when they become spars and a small difference in the size of the original stock is minor. If you do want to reduce a diameter then grip the dowel with sandpaper and thick gloves and either spin the dowel with an electric drill or rub the sandpaper up and down along the dowel while slowly turning it with your other hand. I don't like the noise of a drill and use the manual method. For tapering I have used a small plane to get the basic shape right. 

 

George

 

[Warpipes]

I suppose that buying dowels in inches is not really a big deal, especially since I am an amteur machinist with a small lathe and mill (I used to make functioning small steam engines from aluminum, steel, and brass, but decided I prefer building wood sailing ships). However, the suggestion from Gregory about dowels on Amazon bears looking into.

 

Thanks for all the tips and advice, and I'll be taking a caliper with me to Ace Hardware and Hobby Lobby when I go looking for dowels.

 

Sal Ateca

Tucson, AZ