How can I use dowel rods to make kitchen cabinet handles?

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Well, you could screw some screws through the door from the inside. Before you get all the way through, start screwing them into the dowel rod, if it's a long handle. Do the same further down so there'll be 2 going into the rod. You want them even so it might take a little back and forth. Or you could use a smaller dowel with a hole drilled through it, like a bead, for the screw to go through that would go between the dowel rod and the door. There are "screw receptacles" (I don't know what else to call them) where you would drill a hole into the dowel rod and thread a "receptacle" into it. Then from the inside of the door you'd insert a long machine screw that would thread right into the insert. Again, a spacer would be the way to go to really be able to tighten everything up properly. With a regular wood screw screwed through the door, instead of a machine screw passed through the door, you wouldn't necessarily need the spacers, but would look better with them. What could be better than a beautifully finished dowel handle, sturdy, smooth and cheap.

larger dowels might help too - they tend to split if you try to drill/screw through the thinner ones