Shopsmith Forums

Hey Sawdust makers,

Anybody using the Dowelmax doweling jig? It's highly rated as well as very expensive. Here is the web site. There are youtube videos out there also.

http://www.dowelmax.com/

Best,
Tom

I've never used that one. I've got a different one that I think I picked up from Lowes or the like. Cost a whole lot less and works just as well.

Honestly, the one you linked to looks like a gold plated version of the one Harborfreight sells. Theirs is something like $20.

The value of a doweling jig lies in two places how easy it is to setup and use with accuracy. The other is in the quality of the drilling sleeves. If the sleeves are made of inferior material they will quickly get distorted by the drill and all potential for accuracy will be gone.

The actual construction of a doweling jig is fairly simple. The manufacture of drilling sleeves used in the construction of the jig plays a huge role in the cost of the jig.

I would guess the harbor freight (I say guess since I don't know) is made of plain metal and will easily have their bore diameter changed by the drills used in them. I would hope the Dowelmax jig uses metal resistant to cutting gouging or an other modification of their orginal size by the drill bit.

I've only done a couple of projects with mine but I like it. It will handle a much greater range doweling applications than cheaper units. What I like best is, unlike most doweling jigs (the ones I looked at anyway) it isn't self centering. It uses a fixed reference edge. If you're a great woodworker and all you stock is perfectly milled that won't matter much. But on occasion I find that two pieces that need to fit together (like pieces of a face frame) aren't exactly the same thickness. The Dowelmax insures that the faces on the project line up exactly as they should.

I'm in the SketchUp phase of a table where the legs will be 1/4" proud of the aprons. A typical M&T situation. No problem with the Dowelmax but I'd be scratching my head with another version.

In order to do a set-back, as described above, they provide spacers. Great but I wanted a 3/8" set-back and they didn't have a spacer for that?! At $300 bucks I was disappointed. I made one easy enough, but it was a disappointment.

Once you're up to speed on how to use it, a short curve, it's much faster than M&T joinery and faster than setting up my SS to make dowels.

Is it worth the money? Beauty (value) is in the eye of the beholder.

The Dowelmax is definitely not an expensive version of the Harbor Freight doweling jig.

To see a project built with the Dowelmax check out this video: http://youtu.be/0EzamqSoZz4

I would not mind having one of theses if they were not so proud of them. $310 is a lot of money for a jig.

berry wrote:I've only done a couple of projects with mine but I like it.

Thanks berry I was hoping to hear from someone who has actually used one. I'm especially interested in it because of the edge-to-face joint capability. I don't think the standard dowel jig does that, but I may be wrong. It comes apart to reorient the guide holes to the face of the work (see the rlkeeney video). It's also very precise, fool proof and easy to use, as the great project video shows. Thanks for that rlk! Alas it is expensive. But so is the Shopsmith, and for good reason.

I don't use dowels currently, but I have used the standard inexpensive dowel jig. I make a lot of bedroom furniture. I often use pocket hole joinery to connect the stretchers to the large side pieces. Working alone it can be tricky lining up the pieces correctly and sending the screw home. I think the dowels act like another set of hands to ease assembly.

I watched all the videos and read everything I could find about this jig. Now I have the bug. It's shiny. I want one.

I'm wondering how strong these joints really are. Could I use them to build an aquarium stand? I would not want to find out this didn't work the hard way.

I did a google search on these terms "dowel joint mortise tenon strength" and came up with a number of items on the subject that I'm sure will answer you questions. One of the responses was for you-tube videos showing the relative strength of dowels, mortise and tenons, and biscuit joints. It was dowelmax informercial so the dowels won. I think Fine Woodworking did a study where the mortise and tenon was strongest. I guess some of this comes down to the details. In any event, dowel joints are plenty strong.

I'm wondering how strong these joints really are. Could I use them to build an aquarium stand? I would not want to find out this didn't work the hard way.[/QUOTE]

I built an aquarium stand several years ago. It was a 50 gal glass tank. There isn't much racking force as you'd have on a work bench for example. I just used biscuits to joint the apron to the legs. It stood up fine for 6 years before I sold the whole thing. Aquariums are soooo much work.

Wood Magazine did a joint strength study in Nov. 2006 (issue 173). Unfortunately they didn't bother much with dowel joints, except for butt joints, when doweling was compared to pocket screws and biscuits. They reported that dowel joints beat pocket screws and biscuits in both shear and pull-apart tests. But, just like they don't bother to compare SS SPT tools when they do their reviews, they didn't compare dowel joints to M&T.

pennview wrote: In any event, dowel joints are plenty strong.

That says it all. At a certain point overkill sets in. In the furniture I make for charity I use glue and staples to butt joint mdf stretchers to the sides. Never had a failure that I know of. My son has one of these dresses in daily use for 7 years now.

But I do want to use dowels when I'm using nice wood.