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Wooden dowels for furniture repair

Updated: October 2026

The drawer front is in your hand, the instruction sheet shows a short wooden peg, and the spare bag is empty. Wooden dowels for furniture repair only help when that missing part was wood, because a cam bolt, the metal piece a cam lock turns onto, is a different spare. You should finish knowing whether you need a wooden pin, which diameter to measure, and when the panel itself has failed. The pin packs are in the [wooden dowels comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/wooden-dowels). Peter F. wrote this from amazon.co.uk listings saved on 15 October 2026, Heico’s flat-pack range and IKEA UK’s spare-parts route. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and we did not break furniture.

The drawer front is in your hand, the instruction sheet shows a short wooden peg, and the spare bag is empty.

Our top picks

XFentech XFentech 90 mixed dowel pins

Best overall

XFentech XFentech 90 mixed dowel pins
8.6/10about £4.49
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PanBeiQi PanBeiQi 90 mixed dowel pins

Rank 2

PanBeiQi PanBeiQi 90 mixed dowel pins
9.5/10about £4.49
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Gunwon Gunwon 21 mixed dowel pins

Preis-Tipp

Gunwon Gunwon 21 mixed dowel pins
6.8/10about £3.59
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Wooden pin or cam bolt
  2. 2.Measure the hole or the broken pin
  3. 3.Chairs, drawers and stripped hinge holes
  4. 4.When a new pin will not save it

Wooden pin or cam bolt

Match the original fitting before you buy, because a wooden pin replaces a wooden pin and a cam bolt does not. A cam bolt is metal, often with an M6 thread, and a cam lock turns onto it rather than onto glue. Heico Direct lists wooden multi-groove dowels, including an 8 x 30 mm pin, beside those metal parts. Eurofit’s 8 x 34 mm push-fit dowel is zinc and plastic, so a search for a missing flat-pack dowel often hands you the wrong spare. Look at the hole, not the listing title. A plain round socket and a grooved wooden stub mean you stay with wood. A thread or a metal barrel means a wooden pin gives the cam nothing to grip. If the guide prints a 6- or 8-digit code, order the IKEA spare first. A generic pin is the fallback when there is no code.

Measure the hole or the broken pin

Measure the hole, or the stub of the old pin, before you choose a pack. Wolfcraft’s maker table, a rule of thumb, pairs a 6 mm pin with board about 12–14 mm thick, 8 mm with about 15–18 mm, and 10 mm with about 19–30 mm. On these wooden pins, “M6” means about 6 mm of wood, not a screw thread. An 8 x 40 mm pin can bottom out in a shallow hole, so leave a couple of millimetres for glue. A short count is a description problem under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A trade hundred-pack is often the best value: Screwfix listed Easyfix 8 x 40 mm pins, 100 for £3.29, on 16 October 2026. The wider choice is on the wooden dowels buying guide.
XFentech XFentech 90 mixed dowel pins

Testsieger

XFentech XFentech 90 mixed dowel pins
8.6/10about £4.49
View offer

Chairs, drawers and stripped hinge holes

A loose chair rung is the clearest wooden-pin job, because the hole is round and the old pin is wood. If the old pin is still tight and only the glue has failed, clean the socket and glue that pin back. If it rattles, the same diameter will rattle too, and a larger pin driven into an undrilled hole splits the leg. A stripped hinge screw is a smaller repair. Reviewers have plugged a chewed hole and driven a new screw into the plug, which may hold a cupboard door. Do not hang a heavy mirror from that plug. Depth, flutes and wood glue are on how to joint with wooden dowels.

When a new pin will not save it

A new pin cannot repair a panel that has already burst. Swollen, split or oval chipboard leaves glue and a fresh pin sitting in dust. Call a joiner for a staircase, a load-bearing bed rail or antique work. A loft ladder, or a bunk a child sleeps on, belongs with the joiner. Stop if you cannot tell wood from metal. Filling a cam-bolt hole with a wooden pin leaves the lock loose. If you still have an IKEA code, order that spare first. A 300 mm craft rod will not seat in a 30 mm drawer hole.

Common questions

My drawer is missing a dowel. Which diameter?
Measure the empty hole, or a pin from the other side of the same drawer. A rule of thumb pairs 6 mm with board about 12–14 mm thick, 8 mm with about 15–18 mm, and 10 mm with about 19–30 mm, though the factory may have drilled a thinner pin. Test a snug size from a mixed pack, and stop if it needs force.
Is a cam dowel the same as a wooden dowel?
No. A cam bolt is metal, and a cam lock turns onto it, often on an M6 thread. A wooden dowel is a short grooved pin glued into a round hole. Eurofit’s 8 x 34 mm push-fit dowel is zinc and plastic, so the same search mixes the two parts. Match whatever you removed from the board.
Can I glue a loose chair with the old pin?
You can, if the old pin is the right diameter and the wood is sound. Scrape out the old glue, then glue the pin back. A rattling pin means the hole has worn, and a larger pin works only after you drill a clean hole. Chair comments on these listings are buyer reports, not a strength test.
Will an 8 mm pin fit every flat-pack?
No. Eight millimetres suits board about 15–18 mm thick, and Heico’s wooden spare is often 8 x 30 mm, but other carcasses use 6 mm or 10 mm. An 8 x 40 mm pin can be too long for a shallow hole, so the joint stays open. Measure both dimensions before you buy.
Should I order the IKEA spare first?
Yes, when the guide shows a 6- or 8-digit code. IKEA UK will post the part or let you collect it, whether that part is wood or a cam. A generic pin is for when there is no code, or the furniture is not IKEA and you have confirmed the missing piece is wood.
What if the screw hole in a hinge is stripped?
A wooden pin can plug a chewed screw hole so a new screw bites after the glue dries. Buyers on these packs mention that repair. It may hold a cupboard door, and it is not a structural fix of the carcass. If the chipboard is crumbling, the plug has no sound wood to grip.

Related pages

Best wooden dowels

Wooden dowels

Wooden dowels buying guide for the hole you measured

How to use wooden dowels with a matching drill bit

Dowel pins or dowel rods: hidden peg or visible stick

Sources

The Health and Safety Executive, legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, BSI, Screwfix and Wolfcraft, plus the amazon.co.uk listings read on 15 October 2026. Prices move. Nothing was strength-tested in a lab.

  1. HSE, wood dust (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. General Product Safety Regulations 2005, Great Britain (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, timber regulations and FLEGT licences (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. BS EN 14592:2022, scope (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Screwfix, wooden dowels (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Wolfcraft, wood joinery dowel dimensions (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison, example PanBeiQi B0B97KR4N2 (retrieved 15 October 2026)