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Its the minimum I'd go for if you can't afford or justify a [the] really expensive one. Only the 3 smaller sizes can be drilled in pairs.assuming the jig's hole spacing is OK for you. Use shims or light clamping pressure. If drilling the end of a narrow piece of stock, definitely use a scrap piece to keep jaws as parallel as possible.For occasional hobbyist use, you'll definitely get by with this jig. I'd say its due to the fact that the jaws don't stay in the same plane. But its slight and consistent. When jaws are tightened, the end of the jaws deflect out from the workpiece. Note that some others brands which have similar designs have fewer hole options.For pro woodworker w/ absolute precision or repeatability a requirement: look elsewhere.
I bet better guide rods, true bushings, better tolerances and fine-tune capability would make this a perfect jig. The resulting drilled holes in the wood are not perfectly perpendicular to face of the wood. This is a so-so doweling jig. I think the alignment rods are relatively poor. Meaning the jaws are closer at the side w/ the screw and wider at the base (where the workpiece is).
Its not horrible; its a better design than a few others out there and I don't hate it. So this is still somewhat OK for face frames and such since you orient jig on the appropriate side of the 2 pieces you're joining.Replaceable bushings are used for the 3 smaller hole sizes; the larger 2 (1/2" and 7/16") do not have replaceable bushings. 3-stars.The reviewer Algren ("You get what you pay for") is pretty much dead-on w/ review. This allows the wood to not sit perfectly perpendicular against the boring/jig face. Aka: The DowelMax.
And yes, jaws do not 100% center the workpiece.
I'm not a big woodworker, but from my general uses.this jig was very strongly built and worked well. I'd recommend removing "tailing" every couple holes and not going right down a board as they will pack and build up under the jig.but this is probably common with all of them.
I was going to return the tool but the company, Grizzly Tools, has a very rigorous return policy requiring the tool to be returned in the same condition it was received, impossible if the tool is used. This tool was a real disappointment, the first thing I noticed were two screws holding the twist mechanism in place which was an obvious after thought. I could easily live with that but as I began to drill dowel holes I discovered that the white marks on the tool that were needed to line the tool with the project did not extend all the way to the bottom of the jig thus requiring a certain amount of guessing. Moral of the story, I will never buy from Grizzly again. Still, something I could probably live with but when I drilled the holes and the self centering jig did not center the holes but was anywhere from a 32nd to a 64th of an inch off, (requiring the jig to be rotated to the other side and a second hole drilled in the same position but on the opposite side) I became disappointed.
I would expect to use this for a very long time and experience excellent service from it. that makes 3 good experiences in a row for me with Grizzley. This is a well made, clean, simple, easy to use tool fo high quality materials.Thanks Grizzley for a good tool. I just received my jig and was immediately impressed with the simplicity and quality of this unit. For the price, you can always ask for more, but this is of the highest quality you can find any more and is well made. I look forward to buying more with the Grizzley tool name on it in the future. For the price this is a very good tool.
However, there are a few things to watch out for. I've made a bunch of joints with this jig and they almost always turn out very well. The manufacturer recommends using brad-point bits, but I've had no trouble with regular bits. It's sometimes a little difficult for me to line up the jig's marks with my own marks on the piece, but again, with sufficient care, it works fine. The title says it all. The piece you're doweling really needs to be clamped. In short, the jig is very helpful and can be used to make great joints, but you need to take your time and use some care. When you tighten the jig around the wood, the clockwise rotation of the clamp will sometimes turn the jig slightly on the wood (clamped or not), giving you a slightly non-perpendicular hole; double-check this before you drill.
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