# Jessem Doweling Jig. Is it some joke ?



## typing (Jul 15, 2019)

Whenever I needed to drill some holes for dowels I would make a template usually from oak, usually L shape thing with two holes and cut the width to what my application needed. It worked exceptionally good. The results were repeatable and accurate and oak was hard enough to withstand several hundred drillings, i.e. enough for any project.
It takes 15 minutes to make ( plus gluing time) but very inflexible, One needs to make a new one if the hole pattern is different.
So I decided to buy a factory made jig to save those 15 minutes. Following the rule "greedy pays twice" I skipped cheap jigs and bought more expensive Jessem Doweling jig.
So far my experience was awful. I wish I bought some cheaper self centering jig, or stick with shop made as before.
First of all no matter how hard I try the holes are about 1mm off to where they should be. I align the center line of the jig to the center line of the board as careful as I can, Use caliper to make sure my center line is in the center and use two clamps to ensure the jig does not move. It is repeatably 1 mm off.
But that's not all. You can only adjust to the thickness of the board in some pretty large detents. It is impossible in most cases to have holes exactly at the center of the board. So if you need to have dowels on both sides of the board ( such as bed slats) you need to position the board on the same side without turning it over. But doing so your 1 mm error ( see above ) is doubled now.
What an incredibly bad design ! 
If you need one time dowel it might work for you, provided you manage to align it correctly ( I could not ) but if you need repeatable results forget it.


----------



## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Too bad you're having trouble with a fancy jig. I have a self centering jig from the 60's or 70's and it works perfectly every time. The basic design seems unchanged for decades. It's the Jeep of doweling jigs I guess.

Good luck finding a jig that isn't so frustrating.


----------



## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

I have two 'General' dowelling jigs. The older one is made of metal and cast, I like this jig. So I went and bought a second one. Was mostly plastic, but works as well as the older one. If you put this in the reviews section, you can also give it a star rating you feel it deserves.


----------



## DrTebi (Jun 16, 2009)

Hopefully you can still return the Jessem jig? I can recommend the Dowelmax Jig, which is in a similar price range. I have had it for years, and it never failed. It doesn't rely on a marked center line, but it instead references to the edge of the board. It also comes with a few spacers to be able to use it on thicker pieces. Further you can also configure it to drill holes away from an edge, e.g. to use dowels for a center book shelve.

With the extension rod you can spread dowel holes along any length of wood. I have recently used it to join 6 foot tall plywood panels-they were 22" deep, I added 3". It worked surprisingly well.

They also have an optional set of 1/4" drill guides (standard is 3/8").

Overall I think it's a very well thought out jig. The only reason why I don't use it all that often is because my drill is too loud, and there is no dust collection of any kind… which is annoying if you need to do a lot of joints.


----------



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Much as I am averse to the overpriced "red stuff" the Woodpeckers jig looks pretty good.


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

I've had my JessEm 08350 for several years and find it to be versatile and accurate. For starters, you don't necessarily want the holes centered in the board. The beauty of the JessEm is that it indexes on the face of the board, so when doing a panel glue up you're assured of having the surface perfectly flush. You also don't have to mess with dowel centers to drill matching holes for panels since the JessEm can position the holes using the opposing pins.

It's also the only jig I know of that can be adjusted for offset without unclamping the jig. That allows you to do arrays of pins for extra strength.

I'd suggest taking some time to learn how to properly use the jig, since it's clear you haven't yet.


----------



## PBWilson1970 (Jan 23, 2020)

I'm sorry that you're having frustration with your jig. It's maddening when you buy something to supposedly add precision to your work but it makes for different struggles.

I can say that the self-centering jig I received fro my Grandfather works very well and adds the accuracy I want for clean and level glue-ups. I've added a spacer when clamping it if I need an off-center hole and it works well. Dowels aren't the rage they used to be but I like the way I can get long edge joints positioned as close to perfect as I need it to be. Not so much for strength, but for alignment.


----------



## typing (Jul 15, 2019)

> I ve had my JessEm 08350 for several years and find it to be versatile and accurate. For starters, you don t necessarily want the holes centered in the board. The beauty of the JessEm is that it indexes on the face of the board, so when doing a panel glue up you re assured of having the surface perfectly flush. You also don t have to mess with dowel centers to drill matching holes for panels since the JessEm can position the holes using the opposing pins.
> 
> It s also the only jig I know of that can be adjusted for offset without unclamping the jig. That allows you to do arrays of pins for extra strength.
> 
> ...


Why would I want to do panel glue up with dowels ? there are much better ways of doing it.
Since you learned the jig thoroughly here is a quiz for you: How to make something like this with Jessem?


----------



## Desert_Woodworker (Jan 28, 2015)

> Hopefully you can still return the Jessem jig? I can recommend the Dowelmax Jig, which is in a similar price range. I have had it for years, and it never failed. It doesn t rely on a marked center line, but it instead references to the edge of the board. It also comes with a few spacers to be able to use it on thicker pieces. Further you can also configure it to drill holes away from an edge, e.g. to use dowels for a center book shelve.
> 
> With the extension rod you can spread dowel holes along any length of wood. I have recently used it to join 6 foot tall plywood panels-they were 22" deep, I added 3". It worked surprisingly well.
> 
> ...


+1 on the Dowel Max


----------



## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Typing: Never used the jig you mention, but if it were me I'd either put them both centered or use a shim to offset the jig without changing its setting.

Biscuit cutters do the same thing. It's why you put witness marks on your work to keep everything oriented.

The doubling of the error is because you're changing references (measuring from the other side). This is a common error.

Are you sure it's the tool and not some undersized plywood throwing off your measurements?

Centering is harder than edge referencing. Ultra precise centering really isn't required as long as the distance is repeatable.

A 1mm offset doubled is 2mm. That's almost 3/32" (0.080"). Surely that was a large enough error that you didn't glue it wrong? As long as the final pieces line up properly who cares if there is a small offset hidden in the joint?


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> Why would I want to do panel glue up with dowels ? there are much better ways of doing it.
> Since you learned the jig thoroughly here is a quiz for you: How to make something like this with Jessem?
> 
> - typing


This is some sort of joke, right? What is that? What are the dimensions? Which way does the grain run?

How would I make that with any dowel jig, regardless of brand? I wouldn't…lol. As you said, why would I use dowels when there are much better ways of doing it?

My problem with your original post was that you were trashing a quality tool because you don't know how to use it. I'm not trying to say one jig is better than another, I'm simply saying that the JessEm is a great jig-if you know how to use it.


----------



## htl (Mar 24, 2015)

Mine is a Dowel Crafter can be found on eBay for $25 or less and have used it for 40 years for my few face frame work.


----------



## Desert_Woodworker (Jan 28, 2015)

*Dowell Max has an optional 45 degree add on- DowelMax or Jessem similar to Ford or Chevy then comes Ram
Whatever works for your dowelling successful outcome… and for gluing up a panel from dowels, biscuits to just glue and clamp properly I've tried all and all methods work.*


----------



## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

This isn't about what dowel jig is best, it's about trashing a quality product because you have no idea how to use it.


----------



## Desert_Woodworker (Jan 28, 2015)

> This isn't about what dowel jig is best, it's about trashing a quality product because you have no idea how to use it.
> 
> - Rich


+1 it is about knowing your product… I stand by my Dowel Max and appreciate their customer support. It is about knowing your product…


----------



## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

here we all are again ripping a good product or tool apart because someone doesn't understand or know how a tool works properly.if you dont know how to use something the way it was intended dont come on and trash it.you do no one a service of any kind.sad…......ignorance!!!


----------

