johnnydoom Huge diff between an ax handle and the dowel, as far as quality/grade of the wood.
Dowels need to be soft in order to absorb glue and expand to lock pieces together. This would be some of the 'scrap' from making the ax handles, as an example. 'Sap wood', whitish/lighter in color, than the good grade parts of a tree.
Old timey clubs were no doubt not built with the sap wood, like that dowel they used.
