When I needed to make a short post for something to hang from the only dowel of the right diameter turned out to be made of very soft wood. I was afraid if the work it was to be incorporated in would be jostled the piece could possibly break. I wanted to make it stronger so I used a piece of nail inserted into the length of the dowel with some epoxy.
The post has been fashioned so one of the ends will fit in the hole at the top of a panel. The wood of this dowel is very soft and I wanted to make it stronger so I chose to use a nail. I cut the head off the nail and drilled a hole in the end of the dowel a bit wider than the diameter of the nail so it would fit easily in the hole.
I inserted the nail into the hole with some epoxy.
Here is the post glued in place and painted and an eye screw placed in the end to which a section of cuckoo clock chain will be attached.
Mistakes will happen. This is the first post I made. I wasn't paying attention and drilled the hole for the nail in the wrong end.