Doweling Jig -- Looking for a recommendation

[George Bokros]

I need a doweling for a project I am working on but do not want to spend a fortune on it since it will likely not see a lot of use, maybe no use after this project. I would like to spend sub $40 but will spend more if it takes more to get a reliable one (reliable = holds accuracy between pieces).

What are your recommendations? Woodcraft in my area is having a 10% - 25% off sale this coming weekend so it may be an opportunity to pick up one on sale. Are the ones Woodcraft sells good quality?

Thanks

[lowell holmes]

http://www.harborfreight.com/self-centering-doweling-jig-41345.html

Look at this one.

[Bill White]

What capacity will you need? Some won't work if ya wanna use it for table legs.
Bill

[George Bokros]

What capacity will you need? Some won't work if ya wanna use it for table legs.
Bill

Current need would be 1 inch but do not want to spend for that small of a capacity then regret later. So that being said 2- 2 1/2" is probably the best way for me to go.

[George Bokros]

http://www.harborfreight.com/self-centering-doweling-jig-41345.html

Look at this one.


Read some reviews and it did not fair well as for repeat ability and accuracy of centering.

[Matt Day]

Sub $40 is not going to get you much, but I have the simple rockler jig and it works quite well. Not like my Jessem, but can't beat the price.
http://www.rockler.com/rockler-3-8-dowel-drilling-jig-kit

[George Bokros]

Guess I will have to move to the $60 neighborhood.

[Keith Pleas]

Guess I will have to move to the $60 neighborhood.
If only one size, isn't that the $20 neighborhood? That's what I get on my phone for that link.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Plunge router and shop made guide. Drilling into end grain is what a up spiral router bit excells at.

[Prashun Patel]

I'd get the Jessem Doweling jig. I had one and it was wonderful.

You can resell it if you don't find you need it. I did just that and I think I was net-net out about $30.

[lowell holmes]

There are other similar doweling jigs that do quite well. Amazon has several. IIRC, mine came from Lowes. It is repeatable, I have not found any issues with it.

[Cary Falk]

I found dowels an exercise in frustration until I got the JessEm 8300. That includes a version of the HF one shown, The General that you dial the drill size, and the
Rockler. I love the Jessem.

[Mark R Webster]

I used this type for years, It worked well for me. You do have to drill one hole at a time, so it is definately not a production tool. I liked this version even though it is made of aluminum. The older versions were heavier and made of iron, I didn't really find it as an advantage. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Stanley-Doweling-Jig-04-059-New-In-The-Box-/121903400080?hash=item1c62024490:g:AEAAAOSwQYZWzHZ n

[George Bokros]

Anyone know anything about this doweling jig? Would it be a accurate jig? There are many on the market that look like this one including the HF and Grizzly but I think I would trust Woodcraft or Rockler more than the other two mentioned. The Rockler is made my Dowl It.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/124315/premium-doweling-jig.aspx

[glenn bradley]

In your price range and your predicted amount of use I would consider bushings (http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=40089&cat=1,180,42311) and a simple shop made (or set of shop made) fixtures. Dowels are not always centered as some designs imply. A shop made version would only require that you use the same reference surface for each component. Spacers can be used for matching up differing stock thicknesses. Just an alternative.

[michael langman]

H.F. Wilson Engineering Company, part # 07200TK, doweling jig. Looks like good quality to me. They also have some others to look at if you search.

[George Bokros]

H.F. Wilson Engineering Company, part # 07200TK, doweling jig. Looks like good quality to me. They also have some others to look at if you search.


Woodcraft sells the same jig and one one model up. My local Woodcraft is having a sale this weekend with 10% - 25% off many items. I plan to go pick up the doweling jig.

[Ben Silver]

Every single one of the 'Self-centering doweling jigs' are based on the same design, it appears. Only difference may be materials. Just bought one of the Harbor Freight jigs on Saturday, haven't even gotten it out of the package yet (determined I didn't have quite enough wood on hand for that project). The Jessem looks like a great jig . . . but I haven't even used dowels for joinery just yet, so I am not certain that something that spendy is worth it.

[William Adams]

Materials are the same, as well as the design.

The difference is in the fit, finish, and how accurately they are machined and adjusted.

If you’re lucky, you may get one from Harbor Freight which once disassembled, cleaned up, re-assembled and adjusted will work reasonably well — or, if you’re patient, you can exchange until you get a good one. The bushings need to be checked as wel, one of mine was not concentric and was visibly off-center at one end — bought a replacement set of bushings from Woodcraft which was a huge improvement.

If the U.S. Version had been in stock at woodcraft, I’d’ve gotten it. If I could’ve waited, and could have used register along one edge holes, I’d’ve gotten the Rockler.

[Art Mann]

I have used dowels for many years. I almost gave up on them when I was trying to use one of those self centering jigs. I tried a Dowelmax jig and that is all I use these days for that kind of joinery. I think it is a great alternative to a Festool Domino if you can't afford or won't spend the money for that tool.

[Von Bickley]

This jig is over your budget, but if you could swing it, I think this jig would take care of all your needs and future needs.

Good video with this link.

http://www.jessemdirect.com/JessEm_Dowelling_Jig_p/08350.htm

[Art Mann]

I just watched the Jessem video and the jig works similarly to the Dowelmax but it is cheaper and I like the design a lot.

[Mike Schuch]

I have been using one of these jigs for 40 years... my first job helping my father in the garage was drilling dowel holes with one of these jigs. If I need a hole in an odd place I still use this jig. For most dowel holes I use a horizontal boring machine these days.

You can pick one of these jigs up on ebay for about $10. I have tried other jigs but haven't really found anything in the high priced fancy jigs that really works any better.

[Don Morris]

I just got through doing several doweling projects (Mission style clocks from Klockit). I bought the HF and got the Stanley #59 jig off of Ebay. The HF is a copy of the Woodcraft, and others, but may be a cheaper version. It can be adjusted, or rather should be adjusted after some testing and with some patience and can give decent results. I sort of liked the Stanley a little better because you can see the drill guide bushing and it's placement on the spot where the hole for the dowel was to be placed and could judge if it was centered over that spot or not. If you lifted the guide bushing a little and dropped the drill onto the surface, you could see exactly where the drill would hit. Also, on the Stanley it was easy to center the piece in one direction (L x W) because the metal had a line that was easy to see and set the piece to it. In the other direction (W), is where a sliding gauge was used that controlled the drill guide bushing. I felt you could evaluate that placement a little more closely. Both gave good results after practice on scrap wood. And yes, an Up Cut Spiral is the way to go.

[Cary Falk]

I have been using one of these jigs for 40 years... my first job helping my father in the garage was drilling dowel holes with one of these jigs. If I need a hole in an odd place I still use this jig. For most dowel holes I use a horizontal boring machine these days. You can pick one of these jigs up on ebay for about $10. I have tried other jigs but haven't really found anything in the high priced fancy jigs that really works any better. I had one of these and it was by far the worst experience with dowels I have ever had. Maybe I had a bad one. I have the Jessem now and it is a pleasure to use.

[George Bokros]

Thanks for all the input. I have the Jessem doweling jig on the way to me now.

[George Bokros]

The jig arrived and I did my first series of joints. They came out with great alignment. The jig only indexes in 1/8" increments so to center the dowel in stock 7/8" thick you need to use a shim, between the fence on the jig and the stock. Not issue though worked flawlessly.

Thanks to all for the recommendation of the Jessem jig. I really like the doweling jig it gives excellent alignment.

[Al Launier]

I've also used the Craftsman jig similar to that shown above by Mike. The Jessem Doweling jig noted by Prashun has a lot of utility, but was more epensive than I cared to spend. So I settled for the Eagle jig http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009K0GD1Q?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage. It's a one hole at a time jig, but accurate. If I was to get more into doweling I would seriously consider the Jessem.

[Gary Thinglum]

I have used the Stanley #59 Dowling jig for 40 years or more. I also purchase two used ones at a sale. They are a good jig. It is nice with three, you can leave them set up for different thickness of wood. You have to check out the ones on you tube with "Jer's Wood Shop". It's under: "Make a simple dowling jig". He shows how to make them from scrap wood. When I get back into the shop I'm going to make several of them for different width cabinet facings. They are really easy to make and are very low cost to make.
I found the bushing you need at Lowes in their Hardware dept. They are 1/4" inside, 3/8" outside and 3/4" in length. They are $1.26 each. The ones I purchased were steel bushings. On Jer's video I belive he was using brass, or bronze ones. On the reviews one person commented he had drilled 800 dowel holes with it. The steel should last much longer. Our Lowes also had different sizes than the 1/4" ones.

[Ben Rivel]

Good choice OP, you wont regret going with the Jessem!

[Michael Sloop]

Does the Jessem have regulating grooves when setting the distance? My concern is that adjusting by hand leaves room for error, unless the grooves ensure you hit the exact distance every time.

[George Bokros]

It does have grooves but they are on 1/8" increments. If you need finer like 7/16" from center you will need to make yourself a shim like I did. I needed center on a 7/8" stock so center is 7/16" I used a 1/16 shim and set the jig for 1/2". Worked like a champ.

[Michael Sloop]

The Dowelmax really looks great, but it looks like it only comes with four spacers, 1,16", 3/8", 3/4", and 1-5/8". Am I wrong in understanding that you can only use some combination of those distances unless you buy additional spacers?

[Prashun Patel]

You have to make your own shims which you can easily do with 3/8washers. Often having centered dowels,does not matter if you can teach yourself to work with offsets referencing a face and not relying on two pieces being perfectly centered.

[Michael Sloop]

Makes sense Patel. Do you have an opinion on the Dowelmax versus Jessem? I've been wanting a doweling jig for a while