I just finished making one with fusa's specs and it turned out great. It took forever though, because I don't have a drill press or a guide, but I was bored and wanted to see how close I could get by doing it free hand. The first two pieces went smooth (the main shaft and one of the side pieces) everything was at a close enough angle and everything that they lined up and went together fine, but that third piece just would not work out. I ended up drilling four different 8 inch lengths trying to get the holes to line up as well as the first two did. Finally got one close enough on the last 8 inch section I had before I would have had to buy another dowel. It actually worked out well with them being a bit off-centered because it's not a perfect fit, so it should hold itself together without glue or pins (I had to pound it together). All and all, I would not suggest doing it free hand with the round dowels unless you're ready to spend a few hours on a 20 min project.
Its inaugural brew day should be next week, anything I need to do with it in the mean time to prep it? (sand it, soak it in water for a while, ETC)