Dowelmax Instructional Videos 625 subscribers

Learn

Learn the system, then the joints

Dowelmax is one idea carried out precisely: reference every work piece from the same face and the same edge, drill multiple closely spaced holes, and the joint comes together flush whether or not the boards are the same thickness. Everything below teaches that idea and then applies it.

  • 3/8 in
  • 10 mm
  • flush within .002 in
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How it works

The checkmark referencing system

Check marks are machined into the jig to guide placement of the work pieces. Reference both halves of the joint from the same marked face and edge and the holes line up whatever the boards do.

  1. Mark the work pieces

    The wood joinery work pieces are marked with checkmarks to indicate the front and top of each work piece, and "X" to indicate the surfaces to be drilled.

  2. Set end A flush with the first work piece

    END (A) of the Dowelmax is set flush with the top of the first wood joint work piece as shown. (Note: the Dowelmax in these pictures has been labelled at either end for illustration purposes.)

  3. Set end B flush with the second work piece

    END (B) of the Dowelmax is set flush with the top of the second workpiece as shown. The Dowelmax always references accurately from the same wood joint face and edge on both work pieces and is not affected by differences or variations in workpiece thickness.

  4. Clamp and drill the first piece

    Position and clamp Dowelmax to the first wood joint work piece with check marks on work piece to check marks on Dowelmax. Drill required number of holes.

  5. Repeat on the second piece

    Position Dowelmax on second wood joint work piece with check marks on second work piece to check marks on Dowelmax. Drill an identical sequence of bores.

  6. Glue and insert the dowels

    Glue and insert fluted hard wood dowels into the closely spaced accurately aligned holes.

  7. Close the joint

    The use of multiple closely spaced dowels that go in snug ensures perfect precision wood joinery that is extremely strong.

    .002 in / 0.05 mm

The wood joint made with the Dowelmax has multiple, closely spaced dowels, and a precise and snug fit with no gaps to produce an extremely strong and well connected dry-fitted wood joint. The number of dowels used creates a large glue surface. Wood joinery surfaces can be made flush within .002 inches (0.05mm).

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Choose your path

Six guides, in the order most people need them

Start with the strength tests if you are deciding whether to buy, or with the joint configurations if you already own one and are planning a project.

6 guides

  • Strength tests

    Dowelmax against the Domino, the mortise and tenon, the biscuit and the pocket hole — in a hydraulic press, plus an independent test run by a magazine in England.

  • Dowel joint vs. tenon

    A customer questions the test. Jim answers: fifteen years of failure tests, why the glue application is usually what decides it, and why he stopped cutting mortises.

  • Joints for furniture

    The standard configurations, drawn: 1x2 flush, 2x2 offset, 2x2 double, 4x4 offset, miter, edge to edge — and which spacer each one needs.

  • Mitered joints

    Box-type mitres for drawer boxes and decorative boxes, using the 45 degree accessory or the dedicated miter system.

  • Manuals and videos

    The Classic and Junior instruction manuals as PDFs, alongside the fourteen-part instruction series on the Dowelmax Instructional Videos channel.

  • Purchasing guide

    Classic 3/8 or Classic 10 mm, which accessories add which joint, and when a drill guide package is worth it. Written by the people who machine the parts.

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Steve Morris of Canadian Woodworking Magazine tested multiple dowel joints against mortise and tenon joints in oak, and biscuit joints in sheet goods. Read the surviving independent test.

The evidence

Tested against the Domino, in a hydraulic press

In a strength test video from June 2017, Jim reviews the accuracy of Dowelmax and Domino joints, uses an identical procedure to glue and clamp both types, and then tests each of them in a hydraulic press. A second video compares pocket hole, biscuit, mortise and tenon, domino and multiple dowel.

We also sent our strength test apparatus to a prominent magazine in England for independent strength testing. We had no control over the procedures, or the outcome, and the results confirm the findings of our own tests.

See every testRead Jim on dowel vs. tenon

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Independent

Woodworkers who picked it up themselves

None of these are ours. They are channels with a combined audience of well over 1.8 million using Dowelmax on their own projects, in their own shops.

Showing 6 of 6

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Owners

What people say after the first joint

Average rating, Classic 3/8
5.00
Reviews on the Classic 3/8
51
Reviews on the Classic 10 mm
53

  • I received my Dowelmax Classic this week and just had a chance to try it out. I did exactly one test on scrap before I felt confident to try it on my furniture in progress. It worked SO fast and SO flawlessly, I am overjoyed and amazed. Almost never do you come across a product that works so perfectly for the task it is designed and so effortlessly.

    Rob LowtherApril 18, 2026Customer letter

  • Words can not describe what the Dowelmax has done for me. I am legally blind and have found a way to perform woodworking now. I could never get screws or nails straight (especially not in a safe manner). Now, I have the Dowelmax that not only helps me line up drilling for dowels, but is my clamp too. Thank you for letting this visually impaired grandfather follow his dream.

    Name withheldOctober 29, 2025Customer letter

  • I just received my DowelMax and started using it yesterday. I started with some scraps and was amazed at how accurate the results were and how easy it was to get those results! I was able to make tremendous progress on my current project that I thought was going to be a struggle to get through.

    Michael JimenezApril 22, 2026Verified owner

  • If you’re shopping dowel jigs, read the reviews here, watch the independent reviews on YouTube and BELIEVE all the good things that are said about the DowelMax. You do not get something of this level quality and functionality without having put a ton of work into it. Materials are amazing. Fit and finish are amazing.

    Robert GlassDecember 28, 2025Customer letter

  • I absolutely love the Dowelmax jig. I’ve been using it for several years now on nearly all of my woodworking projects. I can easily say it is one of my most favorite tools that I’ve purchased.

    MeggieJanuary 12, 2026Verified owner

  • I have been using Dowelmax joinery for several years now. Recently I was making an outdoor dining table that required “invisible” joinery. A little thought and some careful clamping and all four leg joints came out perfectly. I am no longer afraid of dowels as the Dowelmax makes the joinery come out perfectly every time.

    Fred FloydAugust 20, 2025Verified owner