Sentence:  This twenty-four-piece starter set uses twelve thirty-six-inch-long <WSD>dowels</WSD> (or nine forty-eight-inch <WSD>dowels</WSD>) cut to these rod lengths. Lay out the cuts so you use the entire length of each <WSD>dowel</WSD> without any leftover scraps. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A wooden rod, as one to make short pins from.