Pro-Level Wood Joinery: This Tool Changes Everything!

The dry fit dowels are genius

Thank you for showing us all the great things the DM can accomplish. Great video. No offense to the inventor, but I understand your speech so much better.

I need to get one of them

Is there a metric version available in Europe (for not silly money)?

Wonderful video for a wonderful tool!

Those sanded down dowels for dry fits are ingenious - thx for tip!

Thank you 😊

I use non maring pliers to tighten everything up

Very nice, but more than the amateur woodworker can afford for a few home projects… I’ll be sticking with my ole biscuit joiner. Works well and is stronger than many think.

Thank you for the video! What is the bit you placed in the hole after drilling to measure the distance for the next hole called?

Where do you get This at?

I too have been using the dowelmax for years and love it. Your blue tape tip is great and I have now adapted it. Even though I’ve been using it for years when making many holes on several boards, you can become complacent and I believe the blue tape indicator will eliminate dumb mistakes. Thanks for sharing. Take care and stay healthy and safe.

Hi Colin just looking at your presentation of the dowel jig . Absolutely spot on , You put it over so well . Its a Great little jig and of course the tool is only as good as the wood worker using it . And boy you can use it . fantastic video easy to follow and you stop to show the proper way to align the face edges . Thank you for such a great video.
Gerald south wales UK

This video was amazing and very informative! Thanks for making such a priceless content ❤

where do I get this tool

Kind of overkill using the tool for larger spacing. Just drill the extra holes using the dowel hole guide tool, insert a dowel to reference the one end for the guide and drill the next hole on down the way. Dowels are cheap, and if you don't have enough, simply leave the holes "too closely spaced" EMPTY with no dowel, no one will ever know.

Also, these dowel jigs are really unnecessary, all you need is a drill guide to drill straight down, and some dowel pins to mark the other sides hole location. Under $3 from Temu shipped to your doorstep.

Just drill the first set of holes on the first board with any spacing you like, just using a drill guide for a true hole. The trick no one understands, is that for the dowel pins to align correctly you have to mark the other piece properly, so you need a GOOD REGISTRATION for BOTH pieces of wood to LIE AGAINST. That means, placing the two sides against an EDGE or SQUARE so that they PERFECTLY ALIGN since by definition the dowel pins will HOLD THEM APART. With perfect registration you get a accurately marked dent for the hole in the 2nd piece. Now just use your drill guide, insert the bit THROUGH IT so that you can SEE when the bit fits perfectly into the INDENT, then slide the drill guide down to the surface to drill square and true to the surface and drill.

I've made small shelving units simply by buying the precoated melamine shelf pieces (wood grain, white, tan, etc. finish on them) and using dowels to assemble them into a custom number and width of shelves to fit a particular space for some extra shelving on a desk or countertop or in the shop. Put your cut surface down with felt pads and you get a great looking few shelves of any size needed. Dirt simple.

Rebate, Rebated...

Can’t find anyone selling this in the UK.

I'll stick with my DOMINO 500 from FESTOOL! The amount of time I would be fumbling around to change the settings on that thing, it would make me send it at WARP FACTOR 10 across the room. 🤣🤣🤣

I saw on another video that there is no need for tape on the spacing rod. There is a notch or groove on one side to indicate the side you're always using.

i have the jessem jig, sure it has its differences vs the dowelmax but man i agree it is incredible how well these top quality dowel jigs work

Drillpro is by far a much better doweling jig. It supports variable stock thickness, edge to edge, edge to corner, edge to surface doweling, position offset rod, includes three complate 6, 8, 10 mm hole guide sets plus one 15mm vertical hole guide, 6, 8, 10, 15 drills and corresponding drill stops.

Looks like a better jig than I have now.

Two tips: put your two peg ends on the measuring rod but don’t have them on the same plane; either have them 90 degrees or 180 degrees orientation from one another. No tape needed. You will either be marking across an extra nub or not.
Second tip is to use the index pin in slot one instead of your finger to align the jig. Skip to hole 3 to drill so you don’t damage the index pin.

If the jig centers the dowel holes on the centre of the side of the wood, I don't understand why the thicker plank was aligned with the thiner wood. Shouldn't it be misaligned on both sides? For instance, if one board is 1 in thick the other one 1,2in. The holes on the first would be at 0.5 in and the second board at 0,6 in. Unless there is a way to set the jig to a way that it is not centered and makes a hole at 0.5 in of one side and 0.7 to the other side... please explain.

Have you used a jessem?

Thanks homeslice

There are way better alternatives that are less than 50% of the cost.

Hi, thanks for the video. My question is I am doing a piano bench, may I use this joinery or I will be better with pocket holes. Thanks

My god you sound exactly like Jordan Peterson... Great video BTW.

Colin where can I buy a dowelmax in Ontario

The Dowelmax is sensational. It really is an engineering marvel. It's soo satisfying to use - absolute precision.

T😊his is a fabulous product idea!!! This makes any table saw safer than a Saw Stop table saw! Please get this into the market ASAP.

Colin, this is a great video~! I first saw this jig on John Parilla's website/channel, Parilla Works. After seeing him using it on several projects, I knew that I had to have one. I also have the 3/8" & 1/4" guides. My first dowling jig was the one most people get that has the hand-screw that self-centers the jig on the workpiece. It served me well, but it obviously doesn't have the versatility of the DowelMax. Love this jig~!

Hey there wood work web I am right handed which end on the face of the work bench is the vice to be mounted -? waiting for you to tell me !

What is it with you Canadians? For some reason you guys arguably make the best doweling jigs in the World. For those of us who can't afford or don't really need a Festool Domino, an investment in a great doweling jig is the way to go. I love my Dowelmax but also love my Jessum. Both have their pros and cons. Excellent tools that will last a lifetime.

Awesome video sir!

I purchased my Dowelmax in 2022. It is a quality tool, made well. I have used it on several projects and have found the joints to be equally as strong as traditional joinery. However, this is my experience. 1. Very slow compared to other machine made joints. 2. It uses A LOT of dowels. 3. Assembly is/can be cumbersome. I still own it but frankly it soen't get much use any longer.

Great video. Have you tried the Jessem dowel jig? Unfortunately, it is the one that I purchased before seeing this. I wish I could watch you do this same video using that jig. :) I was wondering if you had an opinion how how it compares to the dowelmax.

I love your videos.I have had a dowelmax for a couple of years and use it frequently I thought I knew all it functions but decided to watch your video to the end and low and behold I learned something new!
I had no idea that you could use the mitre plate along the long edge of a board I have made boxes with it doweling the short edge( if you see what I mean?) but it is interesting that you can slide the jig along edge
Thank you fir another great video

Just curious. Instead of buying dowel jigs, why not buy a palm router (which probably costs the same as one of these jigs or a good drill) which is great at mortising, and just use the good old mortise and tenon joinery?

How about using the jig on a mitered and beveled joint, as on external crown moulding?

Great explanation!

Awesome video. Learnt a lot in just a few amazing minutes!

Is dowel joinery suitable for joining on two pieces of pine wood which are both 1.5 inches thick and 2.5 inches in breadth?
I am considering this joint for a bench with the vertical legs being attached to each other with a long horizontal piece. So on one end of the joint, the End of one piece will be connected to edge of the other piece with the face of the piece facing outwards for both pieces.
Instead of using just one row of dowels, on each end/edge of the wood piece, will 2 rows of 4 holes each (8 holes), of 8 mm dia work? Will it provide sufficient strength?

Well this pushed me over the edge, just purchased the 3/8th classic + the 1/4 drill guide and a few accessories. Been eyeing this for years and after a few bad experiences with the sub par dowel jigs, it's time to try something that seems to work with the precision i've been requiring. I have a few shaker style cabinet doors coming up and some larger picture frames so i'm really looking forward to putting this to good use! Thanks for taking the time and energy to make this video. I'll be using it as a reference I imagine for a while. I really appreciate you and all your content.

I picked up a DowelMax on Craiglist a few years ago, used it a couple of times and sort of forgot about it. Having watched your video, I’m on my way out to my shop to dig it out from wherever I stashed it.

Thanks for sharing your experience and video. Have never used dowels in my projects this jig and your methods will greatly improve my work. Appreciate your advice 👍

Awesome video Great work !

The spacer comes with the jig ?

Colin, you always have another level of explanation and details - thank you for the great video, again!