Traditionally, the joint most woodworkers learn in high school is the mortise and tenon joint. Mortise and tenon joints are the woodworkers joinery method of choice because it’s a strong joint that also hides its construction well. A fine quality piece of furniture usually has mortise and tenon joints in its construction. But for the furniture maker, hobbyist or professional, making mortise and tenon joints involves a lot of preparation and setup time. From figuring out how much stock is required for each piece to setting up your table saw. It can be labor intensive.
For every piece that has a tenon or two you have to add the length of the tenons. It’s very easy to make mistakes here because if you forget this step and cut the piece to the finished length you’ll have nothing left over to make the tenons with. If the piece that you need to make 2 tenons for is 24 inches then you must cut it at least 3 or 4 inches longer to account for the tenons. Also with your table saw, you have to sneak up to the thickness when cutting the tenons so they fit snugly into their mortises. Mortises can also take a lot of time to make. If you’re lucky and inherited a mortising machine then the job is much quicker, but, if you don’t have the money to buy a machine you will have to cut them by hand.
Dowelmax is easy to use, accurate and takes less preparation time than the mortise and tenon joint.
Fast – With clear instructions on the included instructional DVD you’ll be making strong dowel joints that are just as strong as the mortise and tenon joints that you would have traditionally made before. In less time!
Easy – Check marks are used to reference faces of your material and matched to the check marks on the jig. There’s no fuss about how long your piece should be. If the side skirt of your table is 36 inches then the piece you make it from is 36 inches. No adding extra wood. No sneaking up to dimensions with your table saw.
Accurate – The jig itself is machined to +/- .001″ tolerances for precise joinery. A distance gauge is included to accurately drill matching dowel pin holes over longer distances. Ideal for making wide panels for table tops or kitchen cabinet doors.
Strong – Included with your Dowelmax is a booklet with some destructive tests comparing different types of joints. Dowelmax is compared in strength tests to mortise and tenon joints, biscuit joints, double loose tenon joints and pocket hole screw joints. Videos on the strength tests can be seen on their web site. Clearly, the Dowelmax joint beats them all.