Jessem doweling jig, flat work adapter

[Bill Huber]

As most of you know I am a dowel freak, that is I use dowels for everything.

I had the DowelMax and really loved it and then Jessem came out with their doweling jig and I found I like it better then the DowelMax. I sold the DowelMax and bought the Jessem.

There was one area that the DowelMax worked a little better and that was on flat work, like a 12 inch board where you are going to place dowel holes in the middle of the board, like for a shelf.

With the DowelMax you just used the main block clamped to a board and clamped to the work board. The Jessem jig is much bigger and it is harder to clamp it to the board in the middle.

So here is the flat work adapter for the Jessem doweling jig.

This one in the pictures is 14 1/2" long and will work on a board up to 12", you could make the rail any length you needed. You could also use a T slot bit in the router table to make the slot. I didn't have a T slot bit but I did have some T slot so that is what I used.

The main adapter just screws on to the end of the jig and with a T bolt and knob it tightens to the rail. This one is made out of scrap 3/4" oak I had in the scrap bucket.

To use it:
Mark the center line of where you are going to drill the holes. Attached the adapter to the jig, attach the rail to the adapter and bias it against the rail board and lock it down. Now set the jig on the board to be drilled, line up the center marks on the board with the center marks on the jig (see note below) and clamp it down. Now you can drill your holes, unlock the jig from the rail and move it to the next position. very quick and easy.

PA254756.jpg PA254759.jpg

PA254760.jpg PA254761.jpg

Note:
If your jig does not have a center line on each side it is very easy to make them. Set the back plate of the jig to the 3/8" settings and then with a 3/8 brass gauge block clamped to the back plate use a good square to scribe a line on each side of the main block.

[John Petsche]

great idea, great pics/instructions too.

[rob Trimarchi]

Hi Bill, just to clarify when using the jig in this configuration, ie finding your center line and drilling holes. With your joining boards (end grain butt joint boards) they will also need to be perfectly drilled center? Not an issue with the usually jig set up as the off set is always matched providing you use the same reference side when drilling. Maybe I'm over thinking and missing something but that's the only way I can see it working when laying out shelves along a long board.

Cheers!

Oh and great jig, building one this weekend...pending available time.

[Bill Huber]

Hi Bill, just to clarify when using the jig in this configuration, ie finding your center line and drilling holes. With your joining boards (end grain butt joint boards) they will also need to be perfectly drilled center? Not an issue with the usually jig set up as the off set is always matched providing you use the same reference side when drilling. Maybe I'm over thinking and missing something but that's the only way I can see it working when laying out shelves along a long board.

Cheers!

Oh and great jig, building one this weekend...pending available time.

No they don't really need to be centered.

Lets say you want the first shelf 16" from the top, so measure down 16 3/8" (for 3/4" stock) and make a center line to use the jig on.
If your stock was 7/8" I would still use the same setup, 16 3/8" down for the center line.
For the next one 16" down from the first you would measure down from the bottom of that shelf or 33 1/4", I think. 16 + 7/8 + 16 + 3/8

What I have found using both the DowelMax and the Jessem jig is you don't have to worry about the center most of the time, the jig lines things up its self.

[Rich Riddle]

Bill,

Thanks for your input. Your posts always prove very informative and helpful. Recently Woodpeckers started showing a doweling jig at shows but this one looks superior to it. Both companies have great products but in this instance the tip of the hat to Jessem.

[rob Trimarchi]

Thanks for clearing that up Bill. Obviously putting to much thought into it, as usual.

Cheers

[Paulh Tremblay]

To add to what Bill Huber (the chief expert on doweling!) said. Say you measure down 16 7/16 by mistake. Your dowel pins would still match perfectly. Your shelf might be a bit lower than you wanted, but more importantly, you don't have to worry about misalignment during glue up. With Jessem, you don't have to rely on measurement to get perfect joints; the jig does that for you.

[Brian Brightwell]

Gee, I sure wish I could see the pictures. I have the Jessem 08300 and would like to use it on flat work.

[Jay Knobbe]

OMG, this is just in time. I'm going to need something like this in about three weeks and ws just beginning to think about how I would accomplish it. Thanks!

[Dan Barber]

Just in time from 10 years ago

[Robert Hayward]

Gee, I sure wish I could see the pictures. I have the Jessem 08300 and would like to use it on flat work.

For a few dollars a year you can see the pictures.