How I doweled my cabinet door parts together on sight for lack of a doweling kit:
1: clamp your wood exactly parallel to the edge of your work surface:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_0-1024x724.jpg)
2. Using a square, draw some perpendicular lines about where the dowels should come:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_1-1024x768.jpg)
3. Use a wood drill bit. Mark ½ of your dowel length on the drill with tape. This is how deep you should drill:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_2-997x1024.jpg)
4. Using the tabletop and the lines as visual guide, carefully drill perpendicular until the edge of the tape. Use a point light to give clear shadows:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_3-1024x920.jpg)
5. Insert doweling helper thingies into the holes you drilled:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_4-1024x732.jpg)
6. Place your parts precisely next to each other:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_5-1024x815.jpg)
7. Using a striking block, whack gently with a hammer. The thingies will mark your other part exactly where the corresponding holes should go:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_6-1024x1004.jpg)
8. Drill holes in the other part at the marks, same way as before (note square for reference shadow):
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_7-1024x768.jpg)
9. Dry-fit with dowels (suspense!):
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_8-1024x768.jpg)
10. Check if any of the holes need to be deepened:
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133087038636_9-1024x980.jpg)
11. When fit is satisfactory, fix the dowels with wood glue, clamp and let dry.
The purpose of this exercise; after IKEA discontinued their “Faktum” kitchen line and switched to different sized cabinets, I had to resort to assembling some extra doors for Faktum cabinets from leftover doors and drawer fronts to complete a kitchen in progress…
![](https://truefork.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/133086061961_1-1024x768.jpg)