80 - Heirloom Tool Cabinet, страница 12

Finally! A versatile doweling jig -that's quick, accurate, and best of all, easy to use. /,'

Angle bracket is used to create T joints

Jig can be ' repositioned quickly with indexing pin

Distance gauge allows accurate positioning of jig

Spacers increase capacity and are used to make offset joints

In the past, my experiences with dowel joinery were usually pretty frustrating. No matter how carefully I worked, producing joints that fit together accurately and easily was always a struggle. And like a lot of Cutaway of ' other woodworkers, I had pretty much given up on

using dowel joinery in my projects. That's why it was such a welcome surprise when I recently had a chance to try out the new Dowelmax Doweling System. What makes the Dowelmax jig different? Well, it can be summed up pretty easily. First, it's quick and easy to use. Second, the joiner}' it produces is

next to perfect. And, to top it off, ifs versatile enough to handle just about any joinery chore you throw at it.

The Jig. When the box came in the mail and I opened it up, 1 found quite an assortment of parts and pieces. But what quickly drew my attention was the heavy, anodized aluminum jig itself. As I looked it over, my first thought was that it had a fit and finish more like an aircraft part than a woodworking jig.

A Basic Joint. Eager to give the jig a try, I rounded up a couple pieces of stock, got out my hand drill, and took a quick look at the instructions. Out of the box, tine jig is set up to center the %"-dia. holes across the width of %^M stock. So it's a natural for joining simple * frames — like you'd make for the face frame of a cabinet (left photo). The basic step-by-step process is shown in the box at the bottom of the opposite page.

12 ShopNotes No. 80