November 28th, 2018
Yesterday I received the parcel from Dowelmax which is including the metric version of the jig plus all the extra accessories.
I ve read lots of reviews before make up my mind going this route.
The other option that I had was Festool’s Domino. You might think that the price range of Dowelmax is not comparable with Festool’s Domino.
Well, actually in my case it is. You see I live in Greece so my parcel had some custom fees and the total amount I ve paid(buy+shipping+custom fees) is $680.00!
Im an amateur & not a professional woodworker. I dont do woodworking for living. The actual word for “amateur” in my language means “lover of art” and thats exactly how I feel about woodworking.
Because of that and because I didnt want one more power tool in my arsenal I preferred going Dowelmax.
As far as I ve used it, that tool is fantastic! Is rock solid and dead acurate. Theres no words to describe it. A pleasure to work with. When I was joining the pieces having that snug and accurate fit I caught my self smiling like a rookie.
Is it expesive? You get what you pay for.
Does it worth the money? Hell, yeah…worths any penny.
Thanks a lot Dowelmax for a great product.
Nikolaos S.
November 24th, 2018
Just want to let you know that this is one really nice tool. The quality is just outstanding. I have bought to many tools that don't work as advertised. This is not one of them. This is going to bring the quality of my work up to where I want it. Thank you for building such a nice tool that works as it is supposed to. I will tell all of my woodworking friends about it. Thanks, Scott M.
July 11, 2018
July 6, 2018
Jim,
It was nice talking with you this afternoon about my new dowelmax.
I want to thank you for your speedy response to my order, and let you know that I believe it is one of the best values of any purchase I have ever made for my shop.
It is incredibly well made, very complete, and perfectly accurate. I made a little hall table for my wife this afternoon as a learning exercise. It is a simple table, but the idea is that what would have been 24 mortise and tenon joints requiring a day or so to cut was finished in about 5 hours from wood pile to table including sanding, sizing, cutting and joining. I did some things in the construction that I would not ordinarily do in order to check the jig for accuracy and precision; I re-drilled three of the members for longer dowels after I had removed them from the jig and moved on with the project. The 18 holes that were re-drilled to double their original depth were in no way sloppy or misaligned.
I made this table after reading the general guidelines for using the jig and only one page of instructions. The use of the jig is straightforward and intuitive so that even an offset situation like the table skirt is simple.
I have seen some discussions lately regarding the price of the jig to which I can only reply, "Give the man the money!" I thought that I would not discover a new essential woodworking tool now that I am in my 70's, but if one has doweling applications, this is an essential purchase.
Thanks again for an exceptionally well engineered product, and for your courteous and friendly help with my purchase.
Larry S. Cadle
Hillsboro, OH
July 5, 2018
December 7, 2017
Good Day,
I just wanted to share with you the box I made to store my Dowelmax jig and accessories. The box and dividers are soft maple while the dowels and lid are black walnut. I used 3/8 dowels on the miters and 1/4 dowels for joining the dividers. I ended up using nearly every accessory in the making of the box. I believe such a classy tool deserves a classy box to keep it in. Please feel free to share if you would like.
Dave C.
Sitka, AK
November 4, 2016
Jim, All I can say about the build quality is WOW! It's obvious one gets what one pays for with the Dowelmax, and that's precision and quality. On my first test, after reading the enclosed information, everything came out perfect. Frankly, I'm not very good at woodworking, but I do so enjoy it, the Dowelmax has made joinery a process now vs an obstacle for me to overcome. In fact, I plan to use dowel joinery for most every project so I have ordered the 1/4 inch setup and a few other accessories, I would highly recommend the Dowelmax to any woodworker. Thanks for making such a high quality precision product.
April 25, 2016
Sir,
April 19, 2016
Hi Jim,
I have just made up three test joints, as I mentioned in my email yesterday, all in 4” x 2” CLS – a face T joint, a mitre joint and a normal corner joint, all with 5No. 10mm dowels. This exercise was also a training exercise for me in the use of the system. It worked absolutely brilliantly, if anything it showed up the inadequacy of my mitre saw to cut squarely.
May I compliment you and your team for the production of a system which is not only accurate, precise and very well made, it is a complete joy to use – very tactile!
Thanks and best wishes.
David George, United Kingdom
April 5, 2016
Just wanted to let you'll know, I purchased the DowelMax and used it for the first time on the following table. I did quit a bit of research on what would be the best joint for all the curved connections and I decided to go with the DowelMax. I was Very nice pleased with the Jig and would recommend it to anybody that want a quick dead on joint. Below are some pictures of the Mesquite Dining Table and a video on YouTube of the table being made.
January 11, 2015
Greetings Mr. Jim Lindsay,
Just this past Friday, Jan. 2, I received my order of several bags of dowels and two new drill bits. I was really anxious to try the drill bits because you had told me that they were better than the original bits that I got with the Dowelmax jig which was purchased about three years ago.
It isn't often that I write a review or contact a company about their product, but because of your exceedingly superior quality tool, the Dowelmax Jig and your personal customer service I feel compelled to write this letter to you.
I have been a cabinet and furniture maker for about 45 years now. As you can imagine, in that period of time I have owned and tried many different tools. In choosing my tools I have always insisted on top quality being the first consideration, then price. Your Dowelmax Jig exceeds all of my expectations relative to quality and the price is more than fair for what we get. The Dowelmax Jig has made it possible for me to build a better quality piece of furniture, such as tables and sets of chairs as opposed to using the mortise and tenon joint. The way you have designed the five pin jig, offers a more accurate and stronger joint while taking much less time.
Just this weekend I used the new drill bit and drilled about 100 holes. This bit is absolutely the best I have ever used. Drilling into the end grain of Red Oak most of the time offers a lot of resistance, but with this bit, it was almost like drilling into a soft piece of pine. Thank you for informing me about this tool. Another great feature is that the flute of the bit does an excellent job of lifting the drill shavings and expelling them from the hole. I found that the bit doesn't get extremely hot like my previous bits have done and even after drilling about 100 holes the bit isn't showing any signs of dulling. I never thought I could ever get so excited over a drill bit.
As a business man who has owned and managed four businesses over the past 45 years I have a great appreciation for quality customer service. I have always believed the business owner should have direct contact with their customer, because this is what most consumers are more comfortable with and the business person should be getting direct input from their clientele, because after all, they are the life blood of any business. My preference is to deal with family run small businesses such as yours. I couldn't be more pleased with your product and your follow up customer service.
Another reason that a quality product and excellent customer service is very important to me, you may find quite surprising, I am totally blind. Many people find it hard to believe that I do what I do without seeing, but I do my work and it isn't really that hard especially when I have top quality tools to work with. I'm sending along a few pictures of some of the jobs that I have done thanks to the assistance of the Dowelmax Jig.
Once again, thanks to you and your family members that I have talked with who have made my work easier by offering to me good advice about getting the most out of the use of your Dowelmax Jig. It has been a great pleasure doing business with you.
Sincerely, John, The Old Blind Cabinetmaker
