Dowelmax?

[Tony Shea]

I'm currently in the market for a small dowelling jig to help keep alignment issues at bay when using a hand held drill. I have heard some amazing things about the Dowelmax version but damn isn't that thing expensive for just dowelling! Am I missing something about what this thing might be made out of (platinum encrusted with diamonds?) or missing something else that it does to justify it's price?

Is there another decent dowelling jig out there that some of you might have experience with at a more reasonable price?

[richard poitras]

Dowelmax for a doweling jig is the only way to go and worth every penny. And all the positive things you hear about it is true. Well worth it.

[Dave Lehnert]

You can hold off for 20 years or so and get a Harbor Freight knock-off for $19.99. :D

The DM does get great reviews. I guess it depends on what it is worth to you.

Here is another item that gets good reviews for under $100.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18092&filter=beadlock

http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/37801-01-200.jpg

[Matt Meiser]

There was an article in Fine Woodworking several years ago about how to make your own. That alone would probably be worth a subscription to their site. Just don't post it here unless you are friends with a lawyer. :rolleyes:

A couple years ago the owner publicly threatened a guy with a patent infringement lawsuit for making his own doweling jig. About that time, I bought a Dowelmax, then had second thoughts a week or two later when I came into enough money to buy a Domino unexpectedly. I was wavering on whether to return it or not when he pulled that and made making my decision easy.

The FWW article predates the Dowelmax by years BTW.

[Jacob Mac]

The DM is great for alignment issues. But if that is all you are using it for, I'm not sure it is worth the money.

IMO, it is a great jig.

[Myk Rian]

Dowl-it is a nice jig.
Made in Michigan too.
http://www.dowl-it.com/

[Ben Martin]

Look for a nice used Stanley #59 on eBay. I got mine (from the 20s) in the original box with all of the various size bushings for $30.

[Prashun Patel]

Consider the Freud Doweling machine. It's kind of like Domino meets Dowel jig meets biscuit joiner.

I love my Dowelmax, but it's hard to drill angles other than 90 deg - you can do it with jigs.

THe Freud's about the same price as the DM

[brian c miller]

Opps, newbie err

[Bill Gilders]

I've build a complete bedroom set using the dowelmax rather than mortis and tennon and believe it is well worth the price if you plan on using it enough. I believe there are two important considerations that the dowelmax deals with that I don't see discussed very often.

First: the unit deals with aligning the "public" faces of a joint where ideally two surfaces would be flush. Some other types of jigs attempt to center the dowels in both pieces being joined. Exact centering is not going to happen except by luck and then neither surface is flush. Dowelmax puts the public surfaces flush to the extent that no difference can be seen or felt. In cases where perhaps one piece is wider than the other and lets say a butt joint is desired, measurement and proper shims provide centering well within decernable tolerances.

Another thing that the dowelmax can do very well due to its accuracy: Lets say you want to join two face frames, a front and side and they are five feet in length . The dowelmax uses the two "public" faces and a "stepping bar" to index the dowels along the pieces at whatever spacing one would like.

I've always used the "expansionable" dowels that swell like biscuits and for large assembles a dry fit and fast assembly are of prime importance.

No question that the kit is pricey, but considering how it's machined, hardened drill guides and various components I recomend it.

[Norman Pyles]

You might also check out the Mortise Pal, and see if you could use it instead.