Dowelmax Junior 3/8 System 2018

I did my research and looked at a lot of YouTube videos, and Dowelmax seem to be the best value and one of the most versatile jigs out there. While things like the joint Genie look like they would work very well too, each different size is $120. The Jessem also looked interesting, but a number of people commented it was hard to align, and the clamping bracket interferes with your view with certain configurations of the jig.The dowelmax shipped very quickly, and arrived pretty quickly as well from Canada. I had ordered both this jig and the quarter inch insert, and neglected to order quarter inch dowels. The company must have saw this, and included free of charge a bag of quarter inch dowels! Nice! Thanks Dowelmax! The jig also comes with some 3/8" dowels to get you started. The dowels themselves are very nicely made btw.I had watched enough YouTube videos to know about checkmark to check mark, in was ingrained in my memory. I did a couple of practice joints, and wow, totally impressed. A perfectly fitting, flush surface joint, just like they advertise. The drill bit is very nicely made as well; in fact, everything about this kit is very nicely machined.The clamp is pretty cheap, but I plan on picking up one of the cam action clamps at the big box stores. Way faster and less chance for things to slide or move around. Overall a very nicely made, well designed piece of equipment.The box holds the jig well enough, but would be nice to see a case become available for such a nice tool.

The jig worked out great.Very accurate.Caution: The clamp needs to be very tight otherwise there is atendency to lift the jig also the collar on the bit needs to be tightor it may come loose on the drilling.With these points in mind the jig did better than expected.

One serious flaw keeps this from being a 5 star tool.The product is solid and makes perfect holes for a 3/8" dowel. My major complaint is that the reference block and reference bracket are not flush. Depending of the placement of the holes and the angle from which you are working, you could align the jig with either the bracket or the block. when making a 90 degree connection, you tend to use the block for reference on one board, and the bracket for reference on the other. If you do this, they will not line up. I realize there is a checkmark on the block that (in theory) tells you to use it for reference, but if you like to use homemade "jig boards" with this jig for quick spacing it can be a pain to always butt them against only the block. Even if you use pencil lines for alignment you will find yourself using the reference bracket by mistake.I can think of no earthly reason why the block and bracket are not flush. You should be able to align the jig from both angles.

Up front, this is the only doweling jig I could find that would do what I want. Fit 5 dowels in 3 1/2"(at once)and do so wherever you can find a way to clamp it down.I bought this specifically to aid in the joinery of a "Danish Modern" living room set I'm building. When I started doing the math on 1 couch, 1 love seat, 2 chairs, 3 end tables and a coffee table, with a majority of joints being angled, offset and/or in the field, I figured I'd be carving mortises till?????? Since this style was traditionally doweled and dowels are much faster and, arguably, easier it was really a no-brainer, just had to find the right jig.I've only made 32 joints(aside from a few tests)with 4 dowels each, but I'm just so damn excited about how well this jig works I had to write a review... (and it's pouring rain and I don't want to do any work on wood that's changing shape as we speak, so I'm bored and have time to).So far, everything has come out aces and the surface alignment is truly impressive, better than I've seen from any other method of joining wood that takes less than 4 hours per joint. If you think about using the jig on one piece of wood and then flipping it around the other direction to use on another piece of wood, any misalignment in the guides, block, spacers or clamp plates will be doubled when you join the 2 pieces and it will be the same on every joint. Anyone who's used a biscuit joiner knows exactly what I mean. On maybe 1/4 of my joints, using the Dowelmax Jr., I can kind of catch a fingernail. This thing will pay for itself in the sand paper I save.With the brass knobs, the milling swirl, the simple spacers and no-frills operation, the Dowelmax Jr. strikes me as something a bored and very talented machinist might whip up in his garage. Which is probably precisely what it is and why I really like it.As awesome as it is, it won't do the work for you. If you're just lookin to build some face frames, edge and end dowel or set alignment pins for edge gluing get one of those self centering units and you'll be happy. But, if you want to put dowels wherever you damn well please and don't mind putting a little thought into it then this is the jig for you. I highly recommend it.Just a word. These direct ship from the manufacturer for the same price and shipping no matter where you buy it. They/he are/is located in a little town on a lake in B.C.(Canada). It kind of bummed me out when I ordered and Amazon put it at >2 weeks out and the next day added another week, but then it showed up the 3rd day after I ordered it?(I could drive there and back in a short day) Maybe some lack of communication or potential customs hold up or maybe dude goes on fishing trips? Rockler also sells this and says to expect an additional 10 days shipping, so it's not just Amazon. Just be warned, it might actually take a couple weeks to get.

I've been using the DowelMax Jr. for about two months now. The machining is flawless and the tool works amazingly well. I find that it works best when I tighten the included "F" clamp very snuggly before drilling. It is also important to keep the speed up on the drill, clear the wood chips often and go at medium to slow speed especially when drilling cross grain. Keep the drill bit sharp. The check mark and X system is amazing in its simplicity and almost makes it impossible to make a mistake.I've used three hundred 3/8" dowels, that's six hundred holes. When I first started I dry fit everything before gluing. Now I am so confident in the accuracy of the DowelMax that I now drill and glue without dry fitting. I carefully joint and thickness plane all lumber before carefully cutting it to length. This is another advantage of dowels over mortise and tenon, I cut all my parts net, I don't need to add length for tenons. If my dowels are too tight I put them in the oven at 250 degrees for a few minutes.Yes, $99 plus shipping seems expensive. Having used the tool I think the price is more than competitive with other doweling jigs.