Which doweling jig do you prefer?

[Mike Dowell]

I'm making a custom dining table and it will have 1 leaf. I figured I would purchase a doweling jig with which to get the pins into the table and leaf properly. There are so many jigs - which do you prefer?

[John Lanciani]

My personal favorite if self-centering is not required is a vintage Stanley #59.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have 2 of them. My oldest one is likely 25-30 years old; the one with the pre-drilled holes, self-centering found in numerous tool catalogs.
The other one is from Rockler; machined metal with two 3/8" holes and a Lexan positioning plate. I believe it drill holes on 1 1/2" centers, but I can not remember right now. Rockler also sells these jigs in a 1/4" and 1/2" set-up, or you can get all 3 as a set. Quick set up also.

[Mike Ontko]

I've got a commercial Stanley jig that I'd purchased from the orange big box store sometime in the past ten years, but I've only used it once or twice. The last two or three times that I've needed to use dowel joinery, including my current project, I've just made a custom jig using available scrap hardwood and plywood. Your situation sounds similar, in that you may not want to shell out the $$ for something that's only going to get used once or twice.

[Herb Smith]

DowelMax. Built like a tank, dead solid accurate and easy to use. Not cheap, but a good value

[Edwin Santos]

Hi,

I can speak to the Jessem dowel jig as being a very well made and versatile jig. I use it all the time and would highly recommend it.

If cost is a consideration and your concern is primarily the project at hand, you might want to just make a simple doweling jig specific to the project. This is especially easy to do if you have a drill press. If you're fastidious, you can buy drill guide bushings from Lee Valley in 1/8", 1/4" and 3/8" diameter and by doing so, your jig hole(s) will not get enlarged or deformed with use. These parts should cost you less than $15 and you can drill your holes just as accurately as any commercial jig.

However if you're a tool junkie and see projects as convenient excuses to acquire more tools, then I do not think you'd be disappointed with the Jessem jig.

Dowels work very well for registration and alignment in addition to many joinery applications.
Edwin

[Jason Ost]

+1 Jessem dowel jig

[Al Launier]

+2 Jessem.

[mreza Salav]

+3 on Jessem. Made here in Canada. I have both types and have used with thousands of dowels (from 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" too).

[George Bokros]

#4 on the Jessem. Built like a tank and the self registration for the second piece is awesome.

OOps only for people on their email list.

[richard poitras]

DowelMax. Built like a tank, dead solid accurate and easy to use. Not cheap, but a good value

I have a Dowelmax and I like it a lot and would buy again. I know the Dowelmax and Jessem are the top 2 on the market, Both are costly but both will last you a life time. You can't go wrong with either one.

[Cary Falk]

Jessem 8300 Parallign................

[Jacob Mac]

I had a dowelmax and it was a good tool. It did everything it said it would flawlessly. No experience with the jessem.

[George Bokros]

Incremental Tools (Incra( has the Jessem doweling jig and accessories on sale.

[Roger Marty]

I have this one that works well for me:

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/premium-doweling-jig