# One was a solution to the other



## jdh122 (Sep 8, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed review.
I have that dowel jig and hate it, haven't used it in years after extreme frustration with it. I now make a custom dowel jig for each dowellng job (basically a piece of scrap with a couple holes, sometimes a fence glued on).


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## jamsomito (Mar 26, 2017)

Sure. I looked for a review here before I bought it and didn't see any, so I figured at worst it would be terrible and I could help other "budget"-seekers seek alternatives.

I thought about making my own jig, but I don't have a drill press to make reliably perpendicular holes. I almost cut a rabbet in a piece on the table saw and used that as a guide for my handheld drill to make a drilling jig for dowels, but I just didn't trust it to be good enough. Turns out, it would have probably worked the same or better. Oh well, live and learn!


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## jamsomito (Mar 26, 2017)

The thing that really gets me on this jig is they put a big ol' handle on the thing, making you think you can hand hold it. It really needs to be clamped, and the handle gets in the way of that. The fence is kind of small to get a clamp on too.


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