Dowelmax Kit Precision Engineered Joining System

• Included accessories are 3 CNC machined aluminum 1/16, 3/8, 3/4 and 1-5/8 inch spacers,
• a CNC machined aluminum angle bracket for T-type joints,
• a CNC machined aluminum index pin and distance gauge for long workpieces.
• a top quality Dowelmax drill bit, stop and 45 min. instruction DVD.
• equipped with 5 hardened steel drill guides for 3/8 dowels.

A must-have tool, well worth the cost:
I had previously purchased a Dowl-it jig, and was dis-satisfied due to its imprecision. The Dowl-it jig is a self-centering jig, meaning that it is supposed to put the dowel hole exactly in the middle of your workpiece. Regrettably, it doesn't quite do this, with the result being that your joined pieces never quite line up, and you are stuck with a lot of sanding to hide your imperfections. It also cannot handle with any precision operations which require many dowel holes, such as joining two long pieces together. The Dowelmax is not a self-centering jig. It takes a completely different, and more useful, approach--it spaces the dowel holes at an exact distance from any given wood face. Its precision is derived from the fact that due to the way it is constructed, it always allows you to drill the hole from the same face. So the pieces always line up perfectly. Even if the planks you are joining are not the same thickness, you can always get them to line up perfectly on one face. The spacers included in the kit allow you to put in your dowels at different distances from the face or make multiple, precise rows. So, if you want the faces to offset, you can do that too. In fact, using washers (2 1/16" are provided, and you can add more) you can make this thing offset at ANY distance. So far, every application I have imagined, I've been able to implement with the DowelMax. That includes putting in dowels at slight angles, so I could make a chair with a narrower back than front. (You won't find that application in the manual, but Email me if you want to know how it's done). This tool is incredibly accurate. I put it to a tough test immediately. I made the back of a sofa that consisted of a rectangle, with the 4 corners consisting of pieces cut and dowelled at 45 degrees, and 12 slats between the top and the bottom. Everything had to be perfect to pull this off. To top things off, I was working with a wood that had become slightly twisted, so I was depending on the doweling and clamp-up to pull the twist out. WHAT a job it did--first time I used it. The corners all perfectly matched, the slats all perfectly spaced--so much in fact that had I joined the pieces directly together without the slats, the 12 slat holes were in perfect alignment to one another. And everything was so fast, thanks to the spacer accessory which allows one to set the distance between dowel holes with perfection. I look at my finished product--an entire sofa with over 100 dowels, each having to be exactly in the right place, all of the twists in the wood pulled out. Not a screw in the whole thing. Before, I would have made this using screws and plugs, which would not have been as aesthetically appealing, and would have taken longer. The Dowelmax is really fast using the dowel spacer accessory: you set it once and no need to mark each individual location. I recently used the tool to attach legs to a coffee table. The Dowel-it cannot even attempt this task. With the Dowelmax, 4 legs were glued in place, perfectly, in about 40 minutes. I can't imagine doing this any faster with any other tool. I've used it to make picture and mirror frames, creating perfect 45-degree hidden joints. There's another feature of this tool, seldom mentioned in the literature or in other reviews, that sets it apart. The tool accomodates a 9.7 mm drill bit, which comes with the tool. A 3/8" dowel is 9.52 mm. So, your dowel hole is ever so slightly larger than the dowel. That extra 0.2 mm makes all of the difference. If you have ever used a dowel tool, you will know what I am talking about. When the fit is exact, as with other tools, your glue has no place to go. As you tap in your dowel, the glue gets tapped in, too, filling up the bottom of your dowel hole and ultimately obstructing dowel entry. With the Dowelmax, that extra glue slides up the sides of your dowel, giving complete coverage and a perfect seal. The Dowelmax comes with fluted dowels, meaning the dowels have grooves that run the length of the dowel. The glue squeezes out through these flutes. These dowels are much superior to spiral dowels, where the glue has to navigate a spiral around the dowel--and hardly ever does it very well. Bottom line: dowels go in easy, and you are not stuck tapping madly with a mallet, trying to get your dowel to a sufficient depth while your glue is drying. This speeds up the whole operation, and is a really necessary feature when you are dealing with a long row of dowels and don't have time to mess around. You can get replacement 9.7 mm bits through OMS tool company (maker of Dowelmax), or you can buy them off of (...) in a 3-pack. The tool does require some learning, but either the manual or the CD are perfectly adequate for learning how to use it. Once you grasp the principle, the tool seems almost intuitive. I haven't used the manual now in over a year. The Dowelmax comes with a host of accessories that allow you to put dowels in places that are unimaginable with a self-centering jig. Incredibly flexible tool. BIG question: is it worth the money? I can only tell you my opinion, based on my experience. It is one of the most-used tools I have. Absolutely essential for chairs, and have used it for numerous applications, including putting legs on tables and joining complicated pattern pieces on tabletops. It easily replaces a pocket joiner and a biscuit joiner, and simply cannot be beat for speed or precision. If you have been mortizing and tennoning, chances are you can get an equally secure joint much faster using this tool and multiple rows of dowels, in a lot less time. You may be looking at the piece and thinking why you should pay so much for what seems to be a tiny, non-motorized tool. The answer of me is simply in what it does. It may not have a motor, but functionally, it does things that could only be done by a multiplicity of motorized tools, results in better finished pieces, and saves a lot of time. I suggest also that you buy the expansible fluted dowels that come with the jig, which are also available on (...) through OMS Tool company (the maker of the jig) or through other outlets like Woodworker's Supply or Rocklers. They go in snugly but without force, and expand into the dowel hole, locking in quickly. After one minute, there's no removing them--though with good clamps, you can still squeeze your pieces together. A cheap glue bottle with an application tip for dowels is also a real time-saver. Together with the expansible dowels, you can achieve secure joints by applying glue only to the hole; no need for additional application to the expansible dowel. To sum up: Doweling is a precision operation, very intolerant of error. The Dowelmax is the only tool up to the job, in my opinion, and its flexibility to handle many doweling operations is unsurpassed. If you are like me, you will find yourself using this tool all of the time. It will greatly expand your woodworking capabilities, creates more aesthetically pleasing pieces, and saves a bundle of time. I wouldn't do woodworking without it now. It's definitely a "must-have".

The add doesn't lie:
I have tried many doweling jigs and by far the Dowelmax is the easiest and most precise to use. I build cabinets everyday and now I know, when I'm doweling a facing the joints are perfect when glued up. Tom Marguccio

Has to be seen/held in person to be fully appreciated:
I have a feeling lots of folks go through what I went through. Seeing all these great reviews creates a conflict inside us. We WANT to forget it because it is so expensive. But the quality is so good and everyone who tries it immediately loves it. I'm no exception. Every detail has been thought of. The finger nuts glide seemingly without friction on the threaded studs. The stamped or molded-in check-marks make it hard to screw up a joint, unless you're totally not paying attention. The drill bits are razor sharp, so do not try to clean the flutes of wood chips with your fingers, you'll slice yourself up. (don't ask how I know) Use a spare dowel to do it instead. The stop collar is a perfect fit, the included dowels are the perfect size too. I know this is tough, seeing as how it costs so much already, but do consider buying another drill bit & stop collar. If the dowel isn't going to go the same depth into each workpiece, it is ever so much easier to have two bits, each one with its own stop collar setting. Also, if you're going to join anything thinner than 3/4", spring for the 1/4" kit too. This is a great jig and can easily replace M & T joinery in almost all cases. I found a little plastic toolbox for $5 at a local home improvement store that is a perfect fit for this kit and some dowels. They have been hiking up the price to account for the weak dollar, so you're better off buying sooner rather than later.

Common Sense Design - Well Thought Out:
I have been using it for a few months now and I am very impressed with the design and usability of the Dowelmax. I have been able to use to do more way more joints than even the manual shows just using a little common sense approach. Because the tool is so well thought out in its design it is very easy to do any dowel joint with ease. Price keeps going up but it is well worth the money, it has given me the accuracy of doweling that I couldn't get before using other methods Oh. Best Jig in my shop.

An Old Joinery Technique Re-Invented:
I discovered the Dowelmax Doweling jig for a few years ago when searching for a jig to repair and rebuild some shutters that were given to me. But for some reason or another I kept putting off the purchase and the daunting shutter project. A couple of years passed and despite the excellent reviews and reputation, I just never could spend the money for the Dowelmax. Something did however keep drawing me back to this product. I have tried just about every joinery method that is known to the woodworking world. I used everything from mortise and tenon, pocket screws, air naliers, screws and glue and jut about everything except dowels. Pocket screws became my favorite and most frequented method, but there were times when having those unsightly pocket holes exposed took away from the aesthetics of the project. When I started drafting the plans for my wife's kitchen island, I knew that I finally had an excuse to purchase the Dowelmax. I received the unit in less than 5 days after placing my order online. I also ordered the 1/4" guides and some dowels which all arrived in one small and very well packed box. When I saw and held the jig for the first time, I was very impressed with the well machined and precision look. This thing is not mass produced and it is obvious that is a big part of what you pay for. I was also very impressed with the hand written invoice that accompanied my order. That may sound stupid to some people, but to me this gives a nice little intimate and human touch to the hand made quality of the product. The unit is shipped with an instructional DVD that is very straight forward and does a really nice job of demonstrating the various ways that the jig can be used. As soon as I finished up the video, I headed to the shop and put the Dowelmax to work on the kitchen island. I was so confident in the product that I did not even bother to practice on some scraps. This was a brave move on my part because the legs and face frame were offset and were not standard sizes. I wish that I had ordered the 1/8" spacer that is sold separately, but I was able to fabricate one of my own using some 1/8" steel that I had on hand. The jig worked like a champ and after a couple hours, I had the entire face frame, legs and cabinet base drilled and fitting like a glove. All of the pieces and parts that came with the jig worked extremely well including the hole spacer bar. It is totally unbelievable how precise and accurate the Dowelmax jig is. It is so nice to be able to dry fit a project together without using clamps or fasteners. It may be a funny analogy but the assembly was like playing with Tinker Toys! No review would be complete without stating any drawbacks or dings, but fortunately mine are minor. I did have some issues with the drill bit binding up in the drill guide that was caused by the wood chips sticking to the flutes of the bit. I experienced some heavy friction which caused the bit to burn the inside of the hole. This problem can be reduced and eliminated by drilling slowly and backing in and out with the bit. This gives the waste material a chance to exit the hole. My first use of the tool was on white oak so harder woods may have a tendency to do this. My last issue is not really a problem but moreover a suggestion. Since the Dowelmax comes with so many pieces, parts, etc. it would be nice if the unit was shipped with some kind of a case. I like all of my tools to be to be contained and protected so I took the liberty of fabricating a case of my own. I purchased an aluminum case from Harbor Freight for about $10 and added some oak dividers to keep everything organized. To put it simply, this product is a keeper and is worth every penny. The possibilities and uses are endless. It is really nice to be able to make accurate and sturdy joints without showing any screw holes, nails, etc. I have not been this excited about a new tool in a long time. My pocket screw jig may now get some well needed rest and my chisel mortiser may get retired altogether.