JessEm Paralign Dowelling System

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:22 am

Looks like they reverse engineered the Dowelmax and dropped the price $100. It would be interesting to see a head to head review.

http://www.jessemdirect.com/Paralign_Do ... =223476454

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:31 am

tomsalwasser wrote:Looks like they reverse engineered the Dowelmax and dropped the price $100. It would be interesting to see a head to head review.

http://www.jessemdirect.com/Paralign_Dowelling_System_p/08300.htm?et_mid=524263&rid=223476454

I have never used the Dowelmax but this video clip sure makes the Jessem look like it would be a nice fixture to have if one does a lot of dowelling.

For the little bit of dowelling that I do, I find the Shopsmith works great.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:57 pm

Hey Dusty,

I agree, the Shopsmith is an excellent dowelling machine. The Dowelmax is even better due to it's accuracy, flexibility and ease of use. The only problem is the price, around $300. Dowelmax had no competition until the JessEm. Both Dowelmax and the JessEm are very different animals compared to the standard dowelling jigs we all know and love.

Best,
Tom

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 3:35 pm

Heck, when I got a set of dowel centers many years ago I thought I was getting high-tech.

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I too will probably just stick with the Shopsmith...
I am a little surprised at how little I use my biscuit joiner. Just the nature of the type of work I do I guess (or of how little of actual woodworking time I am getting in I guess).
I am also surprised at how often I "do" use my little single pocket hole set. I love the clamps. I do expect to expand to one of the bigger sets (Maybe a good Santa Claus hint item).

.

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:10 pm

Don't throw those dowel centers out Francis, even if you do get a dowel system. They're still useful and necessary.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:35 pm

The Jessum Dowel Rig looks great. As a Dowlmax frequent user I plan to stick with it. Incidentally I paid no more for the Dowlmax than the Jessum is selling for. Fjimp

tomsalwasser · Post by **tomsalwasser** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 6:45 am

Same here Jim, but I'm not as good a shopper as you! I have never seen the Dowelmax on sale. Even so I feel it's worth $300. But if I didn't have a Dowelmax already I would seriously consider the JessEm for $200 instead. It's too new to know for sure, no reviews are out yet, but at first glance it looks good.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:02 pm

I agree with how promising it looks. Jim