initial thots on the jessem doweling jig for anyone thinking of buying one and looking for info on it. I received one yesterday. initial thots: super high quality construction of most of the package, a few things that don't seem to make sense, and some things that would have made it better IMHO. overall very pleased with the kit and first dowel holes. the following are just my opinions, others may have different experiences, yada, yada. i wish i had the money to buy both the dowelmax and jessem and compare in the shop...but since i don't have that kind of dough, had to choose one over the other.

it was an extremely tough choice, both get rave reviews and are incredibly well made products. i chose the jessem for three reasons. ranked from most to least important to me...more adjustable out of the box (more intuitive adjustment at least), lower price, less parts to lose (I always seem to lose stuff over time).

When buying it, I did think it was a bit of risk because the jessem has so few reviews (that i could find) and what seems like a far smaller devoted user base compared to the dowelmax. i know that could be a function of its being a relatively new product compared to the dowelmax...but I wonder if there are real reasons (issues, shortcomings) that explain why the jessem doesn't have a huge and devoted fan base. Not sure on that one.

didn't make sense: the use of a two bar system for the index/extension system. why 2 bars? more work to screw in and out and you have to remove the index pin block to move it to the other side of the jig...whereas you wouldn't have to do that with a one bar system. not sure why they did that.

areas for improve: the allen bolts to adjust the jig for width could benefit from thumbscrews so you don't need an allen wrench. not a deal breaker, but it doesn't appear that having knobs would get in the way of operating the jig.

the manual shows how to center the jig on certain size wood and it calls for some to be flush with the jig and some to extend out of the jig 1/8th or 3/8ths of an inch. it could have been a huge upgrade to have a little side slide piece that works as a stop you can set at those increments. I know it would have driven up the price of the jig, so it's a price/functionality trade off. i get that.

The index pins seemed like an afterthought, they were much lighter material (cheaper?) than the jig itself. again, a trade-off i can live with for a $80 savings.

I made just a few holes with it, did great, but by no means did I put it through the ringer of multiple use tests or durability over time. hope to update the info after I use it more extensively.