How to Use a Dowel Hole Jig

How to Use a Dowel Hole Jig | Tips and Tricks

One of the major keys to being successful when using a dowel jig is to clamp the first piece of wood that you used to the second piece where you previously drilled the holes. This prevents any moving/shifting of the wood which is really important because if the wood moves and your holes are off, you are screwed. I can tell you this from personal experience!

Another uncommon, but genius, use for dowels is for joints. It creates a nice flush joint without having to have exposed screw heads or the ability to do more advanced joinery. I actually had someone suggest doing dowel joints when they saw that I did a lot of pocket holes in quite a few of my social media posts. There are places where pocket holes are appropriate and there are places where dowel holes and dowel joints are more appropriate so its super beneficial for me to have both in my arsenal of tools.

How to Use a Dowel Hole Jig | Using the Jig

The dowel hole jig I have actually comes in a set that has everything you need to use it, including all of the dowels. There are a couple of different ways to use a dowel hole jig as well as different angles that you use with a dowel hole jig. I typically like an L shaped joint and make sure that I pick the hole in the dowel jig based on the size of the wood that I'm using.

First, you're going to start drilling the dowel holes that are going to be on the raw edge of your L joint. You'll need to take the jig and put it on the raw edge of the wood and angle it so that it is between two diagonal pegs. Then, using the drill bit and the stopper on the drill bit, drill through and make sure you don't go deeper than the measured depth of the dowel that you're using. Once you get the hang of this dowel jig, it's so easy to use, especially when you're using it a lot.

I use this in a lot of different situations, but I used it the most when I created the wall of closets for my grandparents. I used it to repeatedly make the holes for all of the closet shelving. All in all, the dowel hole jig is a simple tool that makes a big difference once you know how to use it. I suggest anyone wanting to get more into DIY learn how to use a jig, it’ll make your life so much easier! You can shop my dowel hole jig as well as similar tools below.

How to Use a Dowel Hole Jig | Shop

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