Dowel jigs

[cecil dean]

Looking at purchasing a dowel jig and was wondering what pro /cons others may have on the different brands & models offered today?

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Cecil,

It might help to know more about what dowelling equipment you are considering.

The extent of my purchased dowelling helpers are a Stanley #59 dowel jig, some dowel pins and a Stanley #49 auger bit depth stop.

The dowel pins are easier and faster to use for just a few dowels. The #59 works well for a lot of dowelling. In either case one has to make sure they are registering properly (to the fixed jaw in the case of the #59) to the face of the work to ensure a smooth alignment.

jtk

[Prashun Patel]

The 2 best jigs IMHO out there are made by Jessem and Dowelmax, respectively. These are superior to others for their ability to index eccentrically off of faces, the quality of the machining, and the ability to index along long panels. These jigs are both in the accuracy league of the Festool Domino. The issue is that they are almost half the price of the more versatile Domino, and probably 5x the price of the simpler dowl-it style jigs that have worked ok for decades.

[Edwin Santos]

The 2 best jigs IMHO out there are made by Jessem and Dowelmax, respectively. These are superior to others for their ability to index eccentrically off of faces, the quality of the machining, and the ability to index along long panels. These jigs are both in the accuracy league of the Festool Domino. The issue is that they are almost half the price of the more versatile Domino, and probably 5x the price of the simpler dowl-it style jigs that have worked ok for decades.

Prashun, I think that must be a typo. The basic stripped down Festool Domino is $1040, and the basic Jessem Doweling jig at Lee Valley Tools is $130, so more like 1/8th the price. Of course either option can become more expensive by adding accessories, especially in the case of the Domino.

I have the Jessem and it is very accurate, versatile and well made. I have never regretted buying it. Dowel joinery is remarkably strong in my opinion. Dowels can also be very useful for registration of parts in complex glue-ups. I cannot speak to the Dowelmax but all reports on it that I have seen are positive.

I don't know if cost is a factor for you, but if it is, you can make a very precise, albeit basic doweling jig as shown in this clever video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4YaHDDKbYE&t=0s

Edwin

[Jim Koepke]

My Doweling tools were photographed while out in the shop today:

402967

It was ~36º in the shop today. My water pond was solid.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000022419/?creativeASIN=B000022419&linkCode=w61&imprToken=LD565dKXcSn-I6dPzF1uBQ&slotNum=0&tag=handtool0c0-20

I have this jig. It is simple to use and pretty much bulletproof.

[Greg Parrish]

Thats what I use also. Think mine is one of the wider models but can’t swear to that. You can use these guys to transfer the holes to a face frame or flat surface fairly easily also. https://www.amazon.com/Milescraft-5343-Dowel-Center-8-Piece/dp/B0055HPJ22/ref=pd_bxgy_469_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0055HPJ22&pd_rd_r=85b7317c-2d36-11e9-876d-3113f2f58f1c&pd_rd_w=HXCFF&pd_rd_wg=KiBmf&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=GCX398RHT3DVGH1RYGGG&psc=1&refRID=GCX398RHT3DVGH1RYGGG



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000022419/?creativeASIN=B000022419&linkCode=w61&imprToken=LD565dKXcSn-I6dPzF1uBQ&slotNum=0&tag=handtool0c0-20

I have this jig. It is simple to use and pretty much bulletproof.

[Don Dorn]

Bought my Dowelmax before the jessem. It's very versatile and amazingly accurate. That said, I'd have to refresh because I don't use it near as much as I thought in favor of other joinery techniques.

[Art Mann]

I use a Dowelmax all the time. I have had it for at least 10 years. I used to try to use the self centering jigs. As it turns out, there are two problems with those. First, they don't center accurately. If you drill a hole and then rotate the jig 180 degrees and drill the hole again at what you think is the same place, the two holes don't match up. Secondly, I don't want to center the holes in the first place. I want the hole referenced to the surface that shows. In most cases, if the thickness of the two pieces differ, you want the difference to all be on the side of the project that doesn't show.

The Dowelmax provides a precision means of spacing holes all along a long piece. There is no good way to do that with the cheap self centering jigs.

Overall, if a jig requires you to line it up with a pencil mark, you are going to experience a lot of frustration. Dowelmax is always referenced off of surfaces or edges and doesn't require visual alignment.

[Jim Koepke]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000022419/?creativeASIN=B000022419&linkCode=w61&imprToken=LD565dKXcSn-I6dPzF1uBQ&slotNum=0&tag=handtool0c0-20

I have this jig. It is simple to use and pretty much bulletproof.

Can that jig be used for drilling off center holes?

The Stanley #59 allows one to set exactly where the dowel mortise will be drilled. This is handy if one is making a joint with more than one row of dowels.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I like my Stanley 59.

[lowell holmes]

You can make center holes by slipping a piece of wood that is the thickness of the offset you are looking for on one side of the board.

[Rob Young]

Can that jig be used for drilling off center holes?

The Stanley #59 allows one to set exactly where the dowel mortise will be drilled. This is handy if one is making a joint with more than one row of dowels.

jtk

Yes, but you need to shim one side or the other.

[Art Mann]

It isn't quite that easy. Due to the centering mechanism, the required shim won't be the thickness of the offset you want. The shim must be twice the thickness of the offset you want. For example, if the material is 1 inch and you want to offset the hole by 1/8 inch, you can't just use a 1/8 inch shim. The mechanism will center the hole at a point that is half of the total 1-1/8 inch thickness, which is 9/16 inch. That is only a 1/6 inch offset. If the shim is 1/4 inch, the total thickness will be 1-1/4 inch. The center of the hole will be at half of that, which is 5/8 inch. That offsets the hole 1/8 inch from one side.

One problem with the self centering jigs I have used is that they are not accurate to start with. The hole won't be exactly dead center when no shim used.


You can make center holes by slipping a piece of wood that is the thickness of the offset you are looking for on one side of the board.

[Jim Koepke]

Can that jig be used for drilling off center holes?

The Stanley #59 allows one to set exactly where the dowel mortise will be drilled. This is handy if one is making a joint with more than one row of dowels.

jtk


Yes, but you need to shim one side or the other.

This could be one way of setting up for multiple rows of dowels.

Another would be to set for one row and drill all the holes. Then set for the second row and repeat.

On the #59 the part holding the drill guide can be placed wherever the user desires.

If one wanted to get serious about it they could likely come up with a way to make a double guide. Though it could be tricky with the alignment factor.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

I'm another who likes the Stanley 59; and they're not expensive on That Auction Site. Get a full set of bushings, if at all possible. Don't worry if you can't get the depth stop; not a terribly good design.

[Steven Lee, NC]

I got the Jessem for thick wood like interior doors and tables and it works great. Needed/wanted to be able to register dowels based off existing holes and the amazon one looks like it only has one hole for 1/2" and one for 7/16" so lining up more than one hole felt kind of dicey to me. And the two inch thick limitation was a turn off. As far as I'm concerned the holes don't need to be centered in the stock.

fellow creekers helped me find a pretty good source for fluted dowels so the dowels arent starved of glue.

https://woodpeckerscrafts.com/wooden-dowels-furniture-parts/dowel-pins/spiral-dowel-pins.html

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I have the Jessem and it works flawlessly. I use it with cordless drills, but it would work just as well with a brace.

[lowell holmes]

A piece of wood the thickness of the offset on one side of the jig should do it.