Hi. I'm Matt, a hobbyist CNC'er, woodworker, and blacksmith. Here, you will find videos of stuff I make, some tool reviews, tips I learn along the way, and maybe the occasional shop tour. I appreciate any likes, shares, and subscriptions. I hope you find this content informative as well as entertaining. Thanks for visiting.
Hi Matt, Great comparison! You made the differences between the 4k and 5k clear and concise and explained why you returned the 4000. I was wondering about these things, and you made them clear as a bell in your video is most helpful. Thank you very much! 👍👍
I purchased the weekend warrior kit of the stainless steel dowel jig and the 90 degree bracket was not square. It looks like it was not bent evenly either. One side was about 0.5 degrees out of square and the other side was about 0.7-0.8 degrees out of square. This caused some misalignment issues on a project before I caught this. Two days ago I took pictures proving the bracket was not square and I submitted a warranty claim with pictures on Jessem's website. They just emailed me letting me know they're sending me a replacement bracket free of charge, and that's with international shipping. Now I really wished the first bracket arrived perfectly square, but I feel like their customer service is trying to do right by me. I haven't received the 2nd bracket yet, but I have high hopes that my first bracket just came from a bad batch.
I’ve used this to build a set of cabinets for our house. Here’s my advice. Figure out the ways to hold things. You don’t always have to drill top down. You can also set it and drill horizontally. I understand that’s common sense. But you get in a rhythm and forget. Taking the piece to the workstation is easy. It’s fast. So if you’re building octagon shelves you can set the angle. Set a stop block and zip them out. As for large things, like full on cabinets. You can use clamps and stop blocks and do just about everything. But if you are using this horizontal to drill into the fade of a piece of plywood. Just grab a friend and have them hold it while you drill. So much quicker. And really take time to mark everything. If you get all your marks corrected you just pull a piece through. Drill down. Pull over. Drill down. Repeat repeat repeat. And you can put floating tenons on all the edge pieces of a cabinet in an hour. In terms of, bringing the small piece to the workstation. This is fast. Better than Festool. Better than anything. But when it comes to taking this to the piece. That’s where it falls apart and you really have to understand holds and angles and where to clamp and so on.
Great video, but I'm going to disagree on the pricing. On the JessEm website the old Master Kit is listed at 237.99 the new Seasoned Pro Kit is 269.99 although its currently on sale for 229.99. That's just the MSRP from JessEm. I'm know you can find better prices out there but that's the straight apples to apples price comparison.
Old jig has holes on the frame that can allow for rails etc. to be attached (like a router). And get some 1/16th shim material to decrease the old jig's adjustment. Starting out now, I would prefer the new Master kit. You make very useful videos, great job!
I’ve been watching a lot of videos in preparation for my first in-lay attempt. You have explained the process well. And I think I’ve learned more from your mistakes than other more experienced CNCers. Thank you for sharing. But I’m also ready for disaster. In a word….E P O X Y
Sorry, i accidently hit send before i was done typing my comment. I was on the fence about whether to get the JessEm doweling jig or the DowelMax. After watching this video, i ordered the JessEm kit. Can you please tell me which dowels work best with this jig? I am also curious if you have remmendations about what dowel lengths work best with the different diameter dowels. Thanks again for the great content. I am just starting to get into woodworking, and i think your videos are really informative.
You mention the one joint the new jig has trouble doing because of the plate thickness being so thin. I believe you are referring to a 90 degree in the middle of a panel like for a fixed shelf. Do you have a solution for this?
@@fubar1984 Good suggestion. I will keep that in mind. Key will be to able to precisely find the matching shelf dowel (by elevating jig to or past the center height of the shelf dowel), while still keeping the alignment along the shelf line.
I would have wanted you to use both jigs to display how the new version was far easier. You spent too much time explaining things at the beginning instead of a practical set up
Thanks for your time and effort Matt, I'll be using this method on my machine. I also picked up on your recommended spoil board thickness and that nifty PVC vacuum hose support ! I didn't catch a spoil board leveling feed rate, spindle rpm and cut depth, that would be useful. Any thoughts on a hold down method ? T rail seems to be common but I wonder if there's another option ? Thanks again for your time.
I saw your video using the old jig and although i didnt comment I must say you do an excellent job of explaining what youre doing. I'll certainly be picking up this jig. Only question is where, because the 45° attachment is a must for me. Thanks for an excellent review.👍🏾 You "earned" this sub.
Just watched this video for the first time. I have now subscribed to your channel and love the project ideas. Will be giving them a go. I don't have the same cnc as yourself, as my new one is a Blacktoe 2x6. I am looking forward to following your channel. 🇬🇧
That’s a lot of pvc contraptions.. 3 points makes an even plane or 90. We use this theory in welding. Three points of angle iron on a shop floor and you can weld a totally flat gate without a table. It’s the same with spoilboards.
I’ve been on the fence about this jig. After watching your demonstration, I’m sold! Your tutorial is the simplest yet most understandable and easiest to follow. Great job and thank you. Btw, JessEm should sponsor you 👊🏽
Your result is so much better than the first try, not just in number placement, but the light/dark contrasts along with the center compass design is great.
Love old fence boards. I've made some really fun stuff with them over the years. Most significant challenge is finding the good wood in the boards. Nice project Matt.
Great video Matt. Mistakes can happen to all of our woodworking projects, but moving forward from them and finding a way to still make it work is so important, and what makes a good woodworker. Great job! BTW, love your CNC machine, I'm in the market to get one at some point also 😁
So properly laying out a clock face is more difficult than I thought. My first attempt didn't go well, but I figured it out. I had to change up my design but, in the end, this project turned out great. BTW- Half of this video was filmed with my old mic and half with the new. The new mic was a bit of an investment so I hope you can hear the difference. I appreciate your questions and comments. Thanks for watching.
I have this same setup. I heard in your video you said you might be building a stand for this workstation. I am planning on doing the same. While I was working this weekend on building some flip tops for my other tools, I quick tested this Jessem workstation to see if it would fit on a flip top. It fit perfectly, just barely, on the flip tops I built. Since I have two different types of Kreg pocket hole jigs, the K5 and a newer K720, I was toying with the idea of making a third flip top. I even have a 2nd brand new K5 kit that Kreg sent me. I was thinking one side of flip top install the Jessem workstation and K5 for 3/4 inch pocket holes. Then on the other side of the flip top installed the new K5 with the 1/2 inch pocket hole block and the Kreg K720. The other things to think of are storage for the Jessem accessories for the workstation and the other accessories for the pocket hole jigs. Further is a place to store the different size dowels as I bought a few boxes of them. I do have the K5 mounted to a piece of plywood that I can take to any location and clamp it down. So my plan is to make sure that anything I install on a flip top can be removed and used somewhere else. I would be very interested in what you may build.
I have a few flip top cabinets in my shop. They have sanders, buffers and my planer on them. They are handy. My main problem with building a cabinet for the Workstation is I'm quickly running out of room in my garage/shop.