Why use Star Dowels? That’s an easy question. Star dowels are fixings suitable for applications involving wood and are incredibly popular in window frames and gates.
They are made from die cast Zamak, otherwise known as Zamac, which is a family of alloys with a zinc base and alloying elements including aluminium, magnesium and copper. Zamak is often used for door knobs and cupboard handles in the place of Brass.
Compared with Brass, Zamak is far cheaper, meaning that it has a lower manufacturing cost. As well as this, it has a lower weight.
However, Brass trumps Zamak in the fact that it is far less prone to corrosion and is around 300% more durable when hosting a plated finish. This means that solid Brass items can be used outdoors, whilst Zamak based products placed outdoors will deteriorate in a matter of weeks or months.
What are Star Dowels?
Star Dowels, otherwise referred to as brudaw dowels, zamak dowels or arrow head dowels, are a star-headed, cross-shank dowel that is generally used in the joinery and fencing industries.
Often hammered into woodwork to secure mortise-and-tenon joints, and butt joints, to offer a more secure and efficient solution than other wooden dowels.
A mortise-and-tenon joint is one of the strongest joints in woodworking and generally are used in frame construction when the frame is required to be strong, in, for example, chairs and tables. The most common mortise-and-tenon joints are ‘stopped’, ‘through’ and ‘angled’.
A butt joint, when reinforced with a dowel is often referred to as a dowel joint – and they have been relatively common in the reinforcing of furniture for a long time. It is a relatively simple joint due to the method of construction, which only involves cutting the wood to a required length and then butting the pieces together.
Why use Star Dowels?
Star Dowels use an arrow-head feature to allow the fixing to be hammered straight into wood without requiring pre-drilled holes, which saves time in situations that may hold time-sensitivities. An example of this is during the assembly of window frames, where the star dowels are driven through joints whilst the adhesive sets on the main frame.
They are a successful alternative to wooden dowels as they offer additional strength and pull out resistance, as well as providing faster installation as they are easily hammered in.
Contact Fastenright for Star Dowels for Wood Applications
Star Dowels are manufactured in zamak and are available in a range of lengths from 19mm to 77mm with custom sizes to order and stock holding facilities available for regular requirements.
Give us a call for more information.
