Doweling Jig Help

[Jebediah Eckert]

I was wondering if anyone can simplify this for me?

I have a bunch of picture frames to make (gifts) with a butt joint. The stock is anywhere from 1 1/2" to 2" wide and 3/4" to 5/4" thick. Initially I was going to use two pocket holes but that didn't go too well. Between the wood splitting, twisting, and not grabbing flush I gave up with that.

Searching on SMC it seems dowels or dominos would be the best. I really don't want to buy a Domino because of cost. Also it seems there is a learning curve and harder to use on smaller stock. Whatever I get I'm sure I will start using in future products but it is a huge price difference for the two.

Researching doweling jigs on SMC it seems the Jessem (others as well) rates well and is easy to use. You can get the current Jessem doweling jig for $149 for the basic kit. This only allows for 3/8" dowels but I think that would be fine for now. I started getting confused on the older SMC threads. People start referring to the "old" one, the "new", the one with the clamp, don't buy this on buy this version etc. etc. After all this I'm not sure when models and versions changed and which is available now.

I guess I'm looking for two things-

1 - Is doweling a good option for what my immediate needs are (the frames)?

2 - What doweling jig is the right one to get for this project?

thanks for looking.

[Lee Schierer]

Have you considered lap joints. They are pretty easy to do on a TS and are stronger than a doweled butt joint.

[Prashun Patel]

The 'old' one is also called the Paralign. It's the Deluxe model. The clamp is integrated, and it comes with an indexing bar, and other bells and whistles.

The 'new' one is just called the Jessem Dowel Jig. It's about $130-$150 on-line. This is the one I own. You have to use your own clamps on it. While it does not contain the indexing bar, it does contain bench-dog-looking dowel pin that you can use to drill a long row of parallel holes. This jig works entirely as advertised. I think it's wonderful

[Jebediah Eckert]

Thanks

I have tried a lap joint. That is how I originally made one but found it time consuming to dial it in. Also I wasn't happy with that "batwings" visible in the joint from the side when using the dado stack or even a tenoning jig. I can live with that but it's a lot of extra setup. I could buy a flat ground blade but haven't as of yet. There is a decorative piece in the corner which adds to the setup.

Prashun- have you used it on narrow pieces like I described?

I would think a dowel would be plenty strong for a picture frame? Especially based on other applications I have seen others use dowels on. I'm sure a lap joint is stronger no doubt, but for a picture frame (maybe 2' x 3') a dowel I think would suffice?

[Prashun Patel]

The Jessem jig comes with 3/8" dowel bushings. They are well-suited for 3/4-5/4 stock. I have used it on 3/4" plywood - which is actually thinner than 3/4".

[Matt Day]

Have you looked at the very simple sub $20 dowel jigs from Rockler?
http://www.rockler.com/rockler-3-8-d...illing-jig-kit
I have a paralign and love it but it's an investment.

[Cary Falk]

Have you looked at the very simple sub $20 dowel jigs from Rockler?
http://www.rockler.com/rockler-3-8-d...illing-jig-kit
I have a paralign and love it but it's an investment.

I have that dowel jig in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. It would always move when I tried to clamp it down. The plastic broke and off to the junk drawer it went. I also have the Paralign and love it.

[Al Launier]

I have this one & it has served me well. There are more of these available at lesser cost, i.e. eBay.

[Jebediah Eckert]

Thanks for the input.

Al - which one do you have the $20 or the jessem?

Is the consensus doweling should be plenty strong for a regular 3'x2' frame?

[Cary Falk]

I use biscuits on miter corners for frames that size. I have never had an issue. Dowels should be plenty strong.

[Mark Blatter]

I use biscuits on miter corners for frames that size. I have never had an issue. Dowels should be plenty strong.

+1

As I was reading through the posts, this is just what I was thinking. Miter the corners, then use biscuits. Should be plenty strong and pretty easy to do, provided you have a chop saw.

[Charles Lent]

I would go with either small biscuits or splines. They are both well suited for making picture frames.

Charley

[Jebediah Eckert]

I guess I could somehow spline the butt joint but I'm not sure how? The design of the frame does not lend itself to a mitered corner. For me I would have better luck staying square with butt joints then a miter. With the design of the frame the butt joint won't really show anyhow. That's why I figured the dowel would strengthen it enough and be easy to make. I do have a biscuit joiner but it never lines up quite right and using it on narrow stock is even more of a challenge.

Some other picture frames I have done for gifts have been miter corners with splines. That definitely works well, is easy to do, and plenty strong.

Thanks for for all the input.

[Art Mann]

I will offer an alternative to the Jessem products. The device is called a Dowelmax and here is the web page: http://www.dowelmax.com/ I haven't used either Jessem jig so I can't say how they compare. I have used the Dowelmax for many years. It is expensive but it is a truly precision made jig and is very versatile and easy to use. Prior to owning the Dowelmax, I used quite a few cheaper jigs and found all of them to be unsatisfactory. I had abandoned dowel joinery because it was just not precise enough so that everything always fit perfectly. I took a chance on the Dowelmax as an alternative to the Festool Domino and now I use it for most of my joinery where pocket screws are not appropriate. It is worth watching the videos from the website. That will give you a good idea as to whether it might suit your needs.

[Von Bickley]

The 'new' one is just called the Jessem Dowel Jig. It's about $130-$150 on-line. This is the one I own. You have to use your own clamps on it. While it does not contain the indexing bar, it does contain bench-dog-looking dowel pin that you can use to drill a long row of parallel holes. This jig works entirely as advertised. I think it's wonderful

This is the one that I have and I would buy it again. It should work fine for your project and you get a new tool.