dowels
#41
Cooler? so all said and done do you like the Joint Genie and would you buy again?
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#42
(05-22-2018, 06:32 PM)fall Wrote: Cooler? so all said and done do you like the Joint Genie and would you buy again?

Yes.  It is faster than a center finding jig (much, much faster) and very accurate.  Considering the quality of the piece I think it is a fair price.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#43
what's the poor man's dowelling fixture that actually works?

Cooler, do the borgs sell a version of those screws you like?
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#44
(05-24-2018, 06:44 AM)EricU Wrote: what's the poor man's dowelling fixture that actually works?

Cooler, do the borgs sell a version of those screws you like?
For a self centering jig, Rockler sells one for $45.00.  Dowel-it is about $60.00.

Harbor Freight has a knock off that looks pretty good for $15.00.  https://www.harborfreight.com/self-cente...41345.html

I've seen Confirmat screws at Home Depot.  You need either a special step drill bit or you need to drill with three different bits.  These are the screws:

You need 7mm x 2" for 3/4" stock.
[Image: 20101023020853000744062.jpg]
Dowel centers are very useful for accurately transferring drill locations.  I only use 3/8" dowels for 3/4" stock so I bought a 10-pack of 3/8" centers from Amazon.com

[Image: 42374-01-1000.jpg]

The centering jigs work well for things like face frames.  But for shelves, they are good only for the edge of the shelf.  For the uprights you will need to transfer the locations with the center finders, which can get a bit awkward unless you have a clamp that will hold the shelf upright.  

Drilling into the uprights is simple.  Just spread the centering jig to its widest setting and use a brad point bit to locate the drill onto the mark that the center finder has indicated.  I hammer in a deeper indent with a prick punch to make locating easier.  The wide-set centering jig will keep the drill vertical and allow enough light and a clear view for drilling.  Make sure you use collars to set the depth.  

Harbor freight sells a kit with a drill bit and collars and some dowels for $4.00.
[Image: image_8465.jpg]

All the jigs seem to work.  The Joint Genie seems the fastest for multiple holes for case work.  

CMT sells an even nicer one but I could not find a source in the USA.

IGM makes a boring spindle that would allow home made dowel jigs, but again I could not find a domestic supplier for these.

Most of the inexpensive dowel jigs work fine but are slow to use.  For occasional use they are all probably accurate enough.

Mc:Feelys sells a Confirmat kit with a drill bit, 100 screws and 100 hiding caps. The confirmat screws can be removed and replaced several times with no loss of strength.

https://www.mcfeelys.com/screw-fastener-...r-kit.html
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#45
(05-24-2018, 06:44 AM)EricU Wrote: what's the poor man's dowelling fixture that actually works?

Cooler, do the borgs sell a version of those screws you like?

Well DIY, of course!

https://www.forums.woodnet.net/showthrea...id=7328382
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#46
(05-24-2018, 07:45 AM)Phil Thien Wrote: Well DIY, of course!

https://www.forums.woodnet.net/showthrea...id=7328382

The steel spacers should last a fairly long time.  They are not hardened so they will wear.  But they are so cheap that it probably pays.  The cheapest hardened bushing I've found is about $3.50 each.  And these are $6.00 for 5 pieces at Home Depot.  Not bad.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#47
(05-24-2018, 10:06 AM)Cooler Wrote: The steel spacers should last a fairly long time.  They are not hardened so they will wear.  But they are so cheap that it probably pays.  The cheapest hardened bushing I've found is about $3.50 each.  And these are $6.00 for 5 pieces at Home Depot.  Not bad.

They are hardened, just not to the same degree as the purpose-made bushings.

They seem about as hard (and look identical to) the bushings you find in a Kreg jig.

Now obviously the Kreg units don't require the same degree of precision that a doweling jig does.

OTOH, they don't wear that fast, either.

I find that during initial use, you get some flakes of mostly plating out of the inside.

That seems to stop in fairly short order and you aren't getting anything but wood chips after the first 1-2 dozen holes.
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#48
I like that idea a lot.  

one thing I'm not getting is flipping the template.  Seems like you would want to use one face of the template on one side and the other side of the template on the other side.  Flipping it means you hope you got the holes centered in the template.  Which would be good, no doubt, but off-center seems like the most likely error.
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#49
(05-25-2018, 07:46 AM)EricU Wrote: I like that idea a lot.  

one thing I'm not getting is flipping the template.  Seems like you would want to use one face of the template on one side and the other side of the template on the other side.  Flipping it means you hope you got the holes centered in the template.  Which would be good, no doubt, but off-center seems like the most likely error.

If the template is perfectly machined then flipping becomes optional.  In the real world, flipping guarantees alignment and makes perfect sense.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#50
(05-25-2018, 07:46 AM)EricU Wrote: I like that idea a lot.  

one thing I'm not getting is flipping the template.  Seems like you would want to use one face of the template on one side and the other side of the template on the other side.  Flipping it means you hope you got the holes centered in the template.  Which would be good, no doubt, but off-center seems like the most likely error.

(05-25-2018, 07:59 AM)Cooler Wrote: If the template is perfectly machined then flipping becomes optional.  In the real world, flipping guarantees alignment and makes perfect sense.

Cooler is correct, if you can flip your jig, the pattern won't matter, your dowels will always be perfectly aligned.

Imagine sandwiching the template between the two pieces you're joining, the pieces you're joining are the bread and the template is the bologna.

Now remove one slice of bread, and drill your holes into the other slice of bread.  Swap the two slices of bread, and drill your holes into the 2nd slice.

That is how flipping the template works.  No matter where you drilled your holes in the template, the holes will align.

Of course, we still make our templates with hole patterns that seem pleasant to us, we take pride in the details that don't show, as well as the ones that do.

But the flipping template guarantees that it will all align perfectly when we're done.
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