Dan Rude
04-24-2013, 12:40 AM
Well the new thread on the lower priced Jessem Dowel Jig made me dust mine off and actually use it. (I snuck it in my stocking at X-Mas) I had a need for some cord reels since I'm hard wiring my house with CAT 5E and RG-6 Coax Cable. I may do another thread on that.
Well, I had a small learning curve in using the Jig, since I didn't read the directions. This was a scrap project and I figured I would use some of my 2x4 shorts and the 1/2" dowel jig. The jig is very accurate; but I had to figure out how to use it. The directions have you reference with the pins; I decided to just eyeball it at first. (Remember I didn’t read the directions.) This was my first mistake, since I was using old and new 2x4's that were of different standards (old ones were 3 3/4” and not 3 1/2”) that were not the same the errors magnified. So it was a bit off when the 2 sizes did not mate up. So I redid it again making all the bases from the same stock. Then I just had to remember to reference one side all the time. This proved to be the key, instead of indexing with a pin, I just used my mini square and set the reference from the side to the edge of the stock. The big dowel I used was from a closet pole I had around. At least I had the fostner bit to match. I made the lower one that holds the reel slightly over size so I could easily pull it out to change reels. Well here's a pic of the 2 finished reels, assembled with 1/2 inch dowels. The only glue is on the uprights.260774
Dan
Well, I had a small learning curve in using the Jig, since I didn't read the directions. This was a scrap project and I figured I would use some of my 2x4 shorts and the 1/2" dowel jig. The jig is very accurate; but I had to figure out how to use it. The directions have you reference with the pins; I decided to just eyeball it at first. (Remember I didn’t read the directions.) This was my first mistake, since I was using old and new 2x4's that were of different standards (old ones were 3 3/4” and not 3 1/2”) that were not the same the errors magnified. So it was a bit off when the 2 sizes did not mate up. So I redid it again making all the bases from the same stock. Then I just had to remember to reference one side all the time. This proved to be the key, instead of indexing with a pin, I just used my mini square and set the reference from the side to the edge of the stock. The big dowel I used was from a closet pole I had around. At least I had the fostner bit to match. I made the lower one that holds the reel slightly over size so I could easily pull it out to change reels. Well here's a pic of the 2 finished reels, assembled with 1/2 inch dowels. The only glue is on the uprights.260774
Dan