Buy Dowelmax Kit Precision Engineered Joining SystemDowelmax Kit Precision Engineered Joining System Product Description:
- 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.
Product Description
The Dowelmax Kit creates strong, accurate joints of virtually any configuration from 3/4"x3/4" to 4"x4" of any length, that are engineer's test proven to be equal in strength to mortise and tenon joints. The Dowelmax Kit is equipped with 5 hardened steel drill guides for use with 3/8 dowels. Optional 1/4 inch drill guides for using 1/4 inch dowels for 1/2" and 5/8" stock are available. Dowelmax joint configurations and sizes can be single, double and triple row, flush, offset, mitre, face and "T" joints. The Dowelmax is a reversible jig meaning that it locates the dowel positions on both workpieces from the same joint face. This design coupled with rigorously maintained manufacturing tolerances of +/-.001 inches for the 36 aluminum, brass and steel components making up the kit ensures that the Dowelmax is accurate and repeatable from workpiece to workpiece and through any adjustment. The Dowelmax Kit is a professional quality, precision engineered joining system that is intended to last a lifetime.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful.
A must-have tool, well worth the cost
By John W. Wendt
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".
60 of 65 people found the following review helpful.So far so good...no so far, excellent
By Bob Feeser
I just received the Dowelmax today. I watch the included 45 minute video and that made the concept easy. Then I went into the shop and tried to create my first dowel joint. I marked both outer surfaces with a check mark and put an X on the face where the two pieces meet. What I had a hard time accepting is that I had to reference the one piece off of one side of the jig, then reference the mating piece off of the other end of the jig. I couldn't believe that both ends could be engineered and made so perfectly that both ends would have the same exact registration, but it does. This tool is made on a CNC machine to an accuracy to within 1/1000th of an inch. At first I used the same end on both pieces but that creates an off center fit, then when I finally accepted that both ends are EXACTLY made the same, I did the proper method and reversed the other piece to the other end, it came out perfect. There is something in the mechanics of creating dowel joints that forces the use of opposite ends. Something to do with making dowel holes on two different planes of the wood. One on the tip and the other along the side.I popped for the extra money for the Dowelmax because I am into precision. I calibrate my Incra table saw fence with a dial caliper and the fence maintains the one thousandth of an inch accuracy along the entire length. I use a Bosch digital protractor to measure angles and that is accurate to a tenth of a degree on the digital readout. Why am I telling you all of this? Because the Dowelmax is one super accurate piece of equipment. At first I was hesitant to spend the money, considering the cheap alternatives. Now I think the Dowelmax is worth twice what they charge for it. It is perfectly accurate. The joined pieces come together 100% accurately. When you run your fingers over the seam, you think you are feeling one piece of wood along every plane and surface. There is not even one thousandth of an inch misalignment. The crazy thing is that it takes less than the three minutes the manufacturer states to make a joint. I spend at least 15 minutes to make mortise and tenon joints, and every step of the way, which is about ten steps, requires 100 percent accuracy or the pieces won't align perfectly. The Dowelmax does it in a flash.Because the Dowelmax has multiple dowel guides and so close together, you can place quite a few of these in a small area and in whatever configuration or spacing you choose, you can create an incredibly powerful joint.Something noteworthy is that wood expands and contracts across its width, and hardly changes at all along its length. This is a problem when making real wide tenons. So much so that a tenon of 5 or 6 inches should be segmented into several smaller tenons to prevent joint failure. That is a lot of work to make both the tenons and the mortises. The Dowelmax handles this problem beautifully. The dowels are only 3/8" apiece, and the drill guides are closely spaced. With the totally accurate spacer guide that drops into one of the already drilled dowel holes, then references off of the side of the Dowelmax, gives you the ability to create an unlimited number of dowels, in whatever configuration or size work piece you may need. Another great method built into the Dowelmax system that achieves the same thing is the included reference pin. You can drill several holes, remove the jig, move it over, and use the full size (3/8") pin by sliding it down through the jig and into the freshly drilled hole, and that creates prefect spacing once again for any additional holes you want to drill through the jig. This tool is really well thought out and engineered. It's a shame you can't get a hold of the video that comes with it, if you saw how this system works, you would beg, borrow, and steal to get one. I highly recommend the Dowelmax. I know I will be using this frequently, even though I have a Freud biscuit joiner, Delta tenoning jigs, Kregs complete pocket hole system, and a Powermatic hollow chisel mortiser. You can't beat this Dowelmax system for ease of use, speed, strength, accuracy, and totally precise joints. Combine this system with urethane glues and you have a joint that is so strong that under pressure the wood would probably fail before the joint. Buy it you won't be sorry.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful.rlpowley
By R. L. Powley
I just received my Dowelmax a few weeks ago, and cannot recommend it highly enough. I have undertaken a large project, which comprises making a built-in cabinet and bookshelf system in one room of our home.I am not an experienced woodworker, so I have learned and experimented with different methods of joinery, including using biscuits, during this project. Even though I had inconsistent results with the biscuit, it did work pretty well. However, the Dowelmax has been much, much easier and quicker to use and significantly more accurate. The resulting joints are dead-on accurate, strong and almost seamless.The product came with a very helpful "how to/instructional" video, and the product is absolutely engineer to the highest standards. Nevertheless, it is also very, very easy to set-up and use, and can be quickly mastered. The system can also be used in many different configurations, and includes helpful accessories, like a indexing pin and distance gauge, that both work very well in the system.I would also recommend that you purchase the 1/4" conversion kit to allow the system to install the 1/4" inch dowels for smaller applications.I really cannot say enough about this product. It is a jig that is actually very helpful, saves tons of time, and operates perfectly. I know it is more expensive than other options on the market, but I feel that the quality and accuracy quickly justifies the price.
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