There I was, perplexed with a customers problem. He wanted a way to transfer dowel positions from one piece to another so he could create a blind doweling. I suggested the Dowel-it Jig, then jumped over to the Kreg pocket jig to eliminate dowling and back and forth a couple of times. After about 15 minutes of dancing around the possibilites out of the corner of my eye I see the solution. Dog gone it, I had forgotten the basics… A simple dowel center was all this guy needed. I reached over got the assorted pack and handed it to him. He slapped his forehead and said “of course”. We both looked at each other and realized at the same time we had simply forgotten the basics because we were so caught up with the thought that there had to be some miracle tool out there.
We both laughed at each other and he said he already had some but would pay another 1.99 for these just so he could remember to think next time. I told him I might just buy a pack and put them in my back pocket so I could do the same everytime I sit down.
Sincerely;
The Tool Guy
Replies
Tool Guy,
An old neighbor showed me how he aligned dowel holes, and I've always thought his way was both easier and less likely to fubar.
He took small finishing nails, and being careful to keep them vertical, drove them in a half inch or so deep, where he wanted the dowels. With a pair of diagonal wire cutters he snipped the nails off 1/8" or so from the wood. He aligned the two parts and then tapped them together. When he pulled the nails, voila, he had marks--little nail-size holes--exactly where to drill to get perfectly aligned dowels.
I don't own a set of dowel centers.
Alan
My question is why use dowels in the first place?
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
LOL, good point... Bravo... Simple answer.... Time... Not a good one I admit but usually the correct one.Sincerely;
The Tool Guy
Biscuits are faster and work better... although I admit a biscuit joiner costs more than $1.99! :-D "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
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