Tools #1: Festool Domino and Dowelmax Comparison on Simple Joints - VIDEO

Thank you! Now I want both, but I had had my eye set on a Domino, now I’m wondering if, for my purposes, the DowelMax (or, for some of these things, even something simpler cut out of a hardwood on the drill press) wouldn’t do in the interim.

And I’m looking forward to that project where you use one of everything.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

Thanks for the demonstration and the comparison.

I think this months “Wood” magazine compared and contrasted the pros and cons of dowels, biscuits and loose tenons.

Thanks, Tom, good job.

BTW you appear to work faster than the Energizer Bunny.

-- Fred Childs, Pasadena, CA - - - Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Tom,

This is an excellent presentation. Good information, good presentation. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to create it.

Quote Mot: Please note that I don’t script these, I don’t rehearse them, I don’t really even plan them very well. They are off the cuff and I may confuse myself with terminology and have some jittery camera work.

Dare I say (before watching) you can still take comfort in that you are no Ed Wood! (infamously the worst movie director ever)

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

HA! Don’t count on it!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Thanks, Tom, I enjoyed this.

I just checked out the website of DowelMax – a Vancouver based company. I might drive over to there factory tomorrow and buy one.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/

Tom -

Cool, fun, awesome! Very nice video – looking forward to more of the same.

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

David, I’m not sure which joint was harder to pull apart. I thought of you when I had to grunt to get that Domino joint apart.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Both hard to pull apart eh? can save a bundle on glue then!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Thanks for taking the time to explain the dowelmax and dimino tools. Cost of having to get the dust collector and started kit would keep me from buying the Dimino. In the Wood Magazine test the dowels held almost as well as the Dimino and better than the BeadLock, which didn’t make me too happy. I enjoyed your video and your eight year olds use of the Dowelmax.

-- Jesus is Lord!

great video. Thank you.
That Festool set-up looks really convenient (with the dust collection) and it also looks $$$$$.

Did you say that the DowelMax can be set up to use different thicknesses of wood? It sure looked easy to use.

Don, lucky you that you just happen to be in Vancouver!!! :)

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Don,

The Dowelmax is worth the money. The inventor, Jim, is a really decent cat to talk with as well. I just spent time on the phone with him, but it’s worth taking the time to talk with him.

Debbie, the Dowelmax can be used on just about any thickness of wood up to 4” anyway…It can be used on T joints, face joints, but joints and on really thick wood. It’s a nice piece to have around the shop.

The Festool stuff is expensive, but it's sooooooo nice. :)

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I just spent some time at their website and saw the 4×4 use. I also showed Rick and told him about your daughter using it.
I’m pretty sure that this will be the way to go—especially since I’m now committed to building my next table without screws.

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Bravo..another great K&T production. They both look like great tools, and it was nice to see how they actually work in the shop.

Thanks Mot.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Very nice production. I enjoyed your showing us both tools.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Great video. Thanks.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Very nice video! I enjoyed the non-professional presentation, while being professional about the use of the tools.
I think I will stick with teh Dowelmax over the Domino. Expense is teh main reason. I don’t use M&T joints enough to justify the cost. I am sure tha it IS worth the cost to somneone who consistently uses M&T joints.

Thanks for teh presentation. I thouroughly enjoyed it.
God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

I finally got the chance to sit thru this Tom…nice job. I’d love to have both but I’m definitely going to get the dowelmax…I’ll wait until after the summer challenge,...keeping my fingers crossed. I bought a cheap dowel jig that caused me big problems with the gate I made for my brother. What is the largest size dowel you can use on the dowelmax?

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

love my dowelmax!!

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Bob, you aren’t limited by length, but the biggest drill guides are 3/8”. The nice thing about dowelmax is it’s a no -brainer to put multiple rows of 3/8” dowels, so only become limited by the 4” thickness restriction. However, if you are doweling something thicker than 4” (of which I have no idea why you would…) you can still draw reference lines and use the jig to dowel 2 – 2×12’s face to face. It’s pretty bloody cool.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

yup… pretty derned cool alrightee :D

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Mind you, the Domino will do all of that too…at about 3 times the speed with 1% of the mess and WAY more noise.

The Dowelmax, like the tablesaw tenoning jig, is one of the GREAT values in woodworking. Some may think, $200 bucks??, but see how versatile it is and all the places you can use it AND then see that you’ll buy it once and your grandson will be giving it to HIS grandson…you get my point.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

yah.. and not only can Tom’s 8 year old daughter use it, but “I” can too !!!! :D

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Tom,

Thanks for the video. You’ve got me wanting that Dowelmax now. Does anybody know if Walmart sells these! ;^D

I’m definitely going to try to figure out how I can justify (in my mind) spending $240+ on a doweling jig.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Tom, consider the fact that your grandson will give it to his grandson. There is nothing that you can wear out on this baby. Powertools will be by the wayside, but the dowelmax jig will be dug up by archaeologists in 2 million years.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I’m looking through the current issue of “Canadian Woodworking” and thought I’d share this:

Furniture Project: Harvest Table … one of the tools used? DowelMax
Easy Project: Toy Box …. main tool used? DowelMax
Home Project: Step Stool… yup.. DowelMax

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Deb, and here I thought you were posting to say you got the Domino.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

LOL…Dowelmax is a popular little tool. I’m going to do a video review of the 1/4” setup when I can get to it. The boys at Dowelmax were kind enough to send me one out so they deserve some recognition for it.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

haha Wayne. I don’t need to buy one—I can just use the CTS and slip on over to Mot’s shop :D

I had to use the 1/4 in the other day because I ran out of the larger dowels (used the very last one in the very last hole on my daughter’s table that I made).
I didn’t use the little plate that goes with it.. whatever it is for. Probably something important :)

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Excuse me Wayne but I have a quick question. When I the computer first loads the page, I can see the pictuire of the DowelMax but for some reason, after I click play, the screen turns black and the arrow keeps on moving. Any idea why? This is happening on so many of your great videos!

Fixed.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

This was posted long ago … but I just watched it with interest. I’m thinking of buying the DowelMax (can’t justify the cost of Festools). I was interested to know if the joints made with the DowelMax resulted in perfectly aligned ‘faces’ and edges. Apparently, you are as impressed with the DowelMax results as you were with the Domino results.

lynxsg

-- Steve G., Kelowna, BC, Canada

Perfect joints. Very impressed. Good purchase for sure!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)