Rockler Dowl-it 1000 Self-centering Doweling Jig

For the cost, this is an excellent jig. It is solidly constructed and has heft. The clamping mechanism is strong and the drill guide block is solid and rests securely on the wood face. The guide marks for the various drill holes are reasonably easy to sight and line up - you'll need decent lighting for this. I've found that I can sight up the alignment marks either looking through the oval holes in the side of the jig or looking down from above (for thicker boards). Personally, as a hobbyist woodworker, this jig is perfect for my needs. I've used it with 1x and 2x dimensional lumber and it has worked flawlessly. I've found that as long as I take my time to carefully mark the work pieces, the joints are as close to dead on as I need. I've used this for making end-to-edge "T-shaped" joints for framing and for edge-to-edge joints for glue-up panels. Framing and panels come together quickly. I have not tried using this for end-to-face joints - the jig isn't really designed for this. I can unhesitatingly recommend this to anyone needing to make dowel-based joints.

We used to use something that looked like this in wood shop 30-some-odd years ago when I was a kid. I bought it for a project that I am building for the wife. The jig is solid, the the action of the jig is very precise and tight, and the drill guide material is a good quality steel. I say "good quality" because some things that you buy these days are indeed "steel" but smell like a dirty river and have the quality of pot metal. The jig has a multitude of sizes but this weekend, we were using 3/8". I was using both Dewalt brad point and Milwaukee titanium coated bits this weekend. Good tight fit on both bits, no wiggle whatsoever. The holes were so tight to tolerance I had to hog a couple out with a quick freehand wiggle so that I could fit my dowels and still be able to retract them. Now, where it gets interesting......I ended up using the wiggle because I had a dowel that was one of those "Eh, I'm gonna drill it deep because I can set the height when I glue them up." Low and behold, I sunk the dowel a little too deep and ripped the head of it off when I grabbed it with a set of channel-loks to remove it. No problem, I lined the jig back up on my marks and drilled the dowel out without making an oval (or worse) out of the hole. Even after doing the wiggle on the remaining holes, I had one set too deep while gluing them up and I will use the same technique to replace the dowel next weekend. It is just a really stout tool that makes drilling dowels end-wise pretty idiot-proof. Oh, and if you are wondering why I wanted to free hand the dowel depth, I am working with a receiving piece that is very shallow.

This is *the* dowel jig that you want. There are more expensive variants that do essentially the same job, and there are cheap imitation knock-offs that will make you regret buying them. This one is the real deal. It's surprisingly heavy but that's a testament to the quality materials it's built with. It's beautifully machined, easy to use, the instructions are plain and simple (a page of tips to help you avoid the one or two pitfalls that might otherwise cause problems) and it feels built to last. It's the sort of thing that makes you want to find an excuse to use it because it feels substantial and precise. If you do any sort of dowel joinery, get it - you won't regret it.

I bought this dowel jig to help me build my first ever wood project, a full and king size bed. I’ve never done any woodworking in my life. This jig was a tremendous help! It self centers and has multiple dowel sizes. I also ordered some tenon pins to help line everything up. This tool is very high quality and the materials are very robust. I’ve dropped it a couple times with no issues. The threads on the clamping system never bind or get stuck. They are always easy to clamp down and remove.

Christmas present, so having the plastic packaging arrive destroyed was a downer. It was torn right open and product was hanging out. Not the tough plastic that can be so hard to open on other products. Thankfully, no damage to the tool. Tools works fine. Contacted seller and was not offered anything unless the product was damaged. Had to gift gift as was.