Best Woodworking Joinery Tool? Jessem versus DowelMax?

Who makes the best top of the line dowel jig for woodworking? I wanted to find out for myself so I am comparing the Jessem dowel jig to the DowelMax dowel jig to see who wins.

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This video is not sponsored. Some product links are Amazon and other affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission. This helps support my channel so I can continue to make content like this. The DowelMax was given to me by DowelMax over a year ago during my workbench build. The Jessem, I purchased myself.

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0:00 Best Dowel Jig for Woodworking
0:27 What Comes with the DowelMax
0:54 What Comes with a Jessem Dowel Jig
2:14 How to use the DowelMax
4:24 How to Use a Jessem Dowel Jig
7:30 Jessem vs Dowelmax joinery
11:47 Doweling Miters with the DowelMax
13:00 Doweling Miters with Jessem Doweling Jig
13:50 Doweling Large Timber
18:16 Build Quality Comparison Jessem vs Dowelmax
20:00 Accessories for Dowel Jigs
21:17 Final Fist Bump Score

#woodworking #joinery #tools

[Woodworks]

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[BronkBuilt]

I know both are outstanding dowel jigs, but I love my Jessem. I do wish it had a 45 attachment as you stated. I can't speak for DowelMax but I called Jessem as I needed mine in a big rush. Just happened to be a Canadian holiday so they were closed. Someone just happened to be in the office picking something up they left the day before, heard the phone ringing and picked it up. Got to chatting a bit and not only did he pick up the phone he got my order out that day and included free next day shipping. Certainly not saying everyone will get that, but but we had a very cool chat and he was in the holiday spirit and threw in the shipping. That is what you call awesome customer service.

[chrislane]

As a novice, it appears that Dowel Max is the way to go. I like that it comes with clamps and spacer guides. Great video. Love your shirt!

[roynielsen]

I have both the earlier JessEm Paralign (model 08300) design, similar to the DowelMax with clamps, as well as the new JessEm (08350) model. At the time I bought the first jig, I had a tough time deciding between it and the DowelMax, can't remember what feature(s) eventually led me to the JessEm. The new JessEm, with the alignment slot was a no-brainer for me as this allows me to easily align, for example holes for shelves in the middle of a piece. A side benefit is that the 3/8" holes align perfectly between the two jigs; I haven't tried aligning the center and outside holes with the 1/4" configurations.

As far as clamping, on a bookcase, where I used a lot of dowels with the original only, I got to the point that I didn't bother clamping. I'd carefully align the first hole of a set, hold the jig by hand, drill it, put the indexing pin into that hole and drill any other holes I wanted. I had zero issues with alignment.

Here's a trick for either style if you're starting from the end of your boards. Rather than trying to align the jig by feel, put the alignment pin in the outside hole, align that to the edge of your board, and start drilling with the second (or third/fourth in the case of a miter cut) hole. This is far faster and more accurate and also makes holding without clamping even easier.

[lexboegen]

I have both of these jigs and I like them both. I prefer the Jessem for T-joints and the Dowelmax for miter joints. And both of them together still cost hundreds less than a Festool Domino.

[Chief]

I have used both jigs for years. Each one has its place which is why I have both systems. I actually have a few of both and have them preset for certain material thicknesses to save time. I always use the Dowel Max for miter joints, so much easier with the built in clamps. One criticism I have of the Dowel Max is that I find on occasion the brass knobs loosen and if you aren't paying attention, you can get some slop or a misaligned joints. I use a non marring plastic slip pliers to tighten them and it works well and solved that issue. All in all, they are amazing tools and make for very strong joints if done correctly. Great video! Cheers!

[markbarrington]

I got very lucky and got my dowel max complete set in box with all accessories for 20 bucks at a garage sale. Second best score I've ever found. Don't use it often but love it when I use it.

[StrokeRoll]

I've got the Dowelmax and every accessory that they make for it. I absolutely LOVE IT. I don't own a pocket hole jig, biscuit joiner, or Domino. No plans at the moment to get any of these- the Dowelmax is so flexible and effective I don't feel like I need those other tools.

[carololivie]

I like the dowel max for the clamping mechanism. It seems more precise. Thanks for your great video!

[paulrenaud]

Quick QoL piece of advice: drop a pin in one of the first holes and then just use that to align the jig instead of feeling for flush. The jig is identically spaced on both sides, so you can easily align both sides in the same way. For the center pieces, you can use the groove on the front, or the line as you said.

[alrightythen]

I have the Jessem and love it! I actually like not having the built-in clamp once I figured out how to best use the jig. I first position the jig with a spring clamp, which takes only a second to do. Then I add the face clamp, which secures it. Once you get used to doing it this way, I think it's actually faster than turning the thumbscrews.

But here's where the Jessem really shines. When doing production work, I build a jig that uses toggle clamps that hold both the workpiece and the Jessem in place with one quick motion. I did this when I had to build a bunch of frames for glass shelves on a big cabinet build. It ended up being a slick operation.

Oh, one other thing I've used the Jessem for - the jig is machined perfectly square. So, in a pinch, I've used it to square up my table saw blade when it was the closest accurate thing at hand, lol.

[NBGTFO]

I have them both. I bought the JessEm first and it's a nice jig, but after seeing the DowelMax, it just seemed like a much easier to use jig. So I bought the DowelMax and I was right. It is easier and I have used it several times with great results. My vote goes to the DowelMax for being the better of the two.

[common-sense-is-dead]

I've been using the Dowel Max for a while now, and I have to say I'm completely impressed with the ease and quality of it. I've never had any issues. As a matter of fact, I used to avoid miter joints at all costs until I started using the Dowel Max not anymore.

[SteveP]

I picked up the Jessem earlier this week because Woodcraft has it on sale. If you only need the 3/8 then its a heck of a deal. Glad i made the right choice.

[Don-csfe]

Dowelmax has 1/2” & 5/16” options in addition to 3/8 & 1/4 which I have plus 45 degree bracket. They also have metric sizes. The 3/8 set comes with a 9.6mm drill for perfect clearance for quality 3/8 dowels. The 1/4” set also uses a slightly larger metric drill. The Dowelmax is a work of art & extremely accurate. Especially handy for large assemblies.

[robboberts]

Love my DowelMax. It was a hard decision to drop that kind of money, but I do not regret it. Every panel glue up is perfect! The machining quality is top notch.

[Alan_Edwards]

Interesting video. I don't do much wood working anymore but have done my share of joinery work for sure. I have watched many of your reviews and respect your opinion of the two products, but from what I saw the DowelMax looked like the clear winner overall. Sure the JesseM might offer a tad more versatility and a few more options that come with the base model and for less money too, but the DowelMax seemed to be much easier to use and a better made/machined tool overall - which probably accounts a lot for the price. Plus it has the integrated clamping system, which IMO is a huge advantage and well worth the additional cost.

You could even see in this video it made the system so much easier to use - and that is with an experienced hand doing the work too. I can only imagine how a beginner could benefit more from the ease of using the DowelMax over the JessM. I have also seen many YT videos of each tool being used and people who use the DowelMax seem to really like it. But hey what do I know - I have never used either one. But based on what I have seen and even in this video, I would buy the DowelMax hands down over the JessM. Mainly due to the clamping system and the build quality. Great video either way sir !!

[dad]

Anyone tried the new dowel jig workstation from Jessem ? Looks like a good addition for the dowel jig.

[greggordon]

Great comparison! Now I'm even happier that I bought the Dowelmax. Clear winner to me. Just the clamping feature alone makes it superior (again, to me). The Dowelmax can fit over and clamp against a 4x4. That's quite big enough and can be taken apart and clamped on bigger items if needed. You also don't have to use the pin. You can draw a line (like you did for the Jessem) and use your check marks on the line and treat it like an end piece. The check marks make them line up exactly. Like you say though, both are awesome!

[robertpacheco]

I’ve had the Jessem for years and I love it. Extremely accurate and versatile.