If you liked the spline jig in this video, you can download free instructions over at instructables by clicking this link --> www.instructables.com/id/Dowel-Rod-Spline-Jig
Make Things, would you consider glue-coating the dowels before you drive them into the holes? It would seem that they would go in easier (lubricated?) and they would ultimately, be stronger.
@Gary Goodlund maybe but remember that a lot of that glue will come off as you put it in. I do suggest sanding the dowel (like chucked in a drill with sand paper) a bit so it fits in better.
Whoever thought that woodwork videos would be a 'thing'. Cool camera angles, mood music, nice almost philosophical explanations, engaging body language with the viewer...! Love it. Nice vid fella.
I thought the jig was very nice and easy to make. even the upgrade to make them smaller was nice. The one I really loved the the large one with 1/2 inch dowels, but especially the cute black ones in the box!! 😍🤣😁👍👌 That was the best part of the video!!
*Wonderful video. I've been using dowel splines to strengthen glued miter joints for years, but I've never thought of making a jig for this purpose; since the depths of the boxes I strengthened with dowels weren't very deep, I could eyeball the angle of the holes and drill them unguided. But this will make the entire procedure so much easier and quicker. Thanks!*
OK 1st of all this is my new favorite channel. I like that you don't have thousands invested in tooling And you're making things that the average wood worker can duplicate. With that being said in my opinion, I'm here for knowledge and education. I'm not here to be entertained or sold anything. Many of the youtube channels that I've liked to watch have turned into entertainers and promoters of products which I immediately unsubscribe from. I get that everybody's trying to make a living but I'm not here to be entertained or sold anything. This is absolutely not a criticism on your part or anything just what I personally would like to see from RU-vid content providers. Also I would like to see the finished product in action at the very beginning of the video. I find myself fast forwarding to the end to see the item work and to determine whether it's something I would be intrested in or not also I think offering up the instructables is awesome. Anyways awesome channel keep up the good work I'm subscribed And looking forward to new videos
I found out somewhere on youtube you don't have to balance things at an angle for splines on the table saw. Just place the item flat on the table surface and run it part way. With the blade at the right height and a stop block to keep from going too far, the kerf can be symmetrical.
Super little jig. I'd never thought of using dowels in this way to strengthen boxes. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I'll definitely be trying this out. Best wishes.
Check out the instructable at the top of the comments. It’s absolutely free...pretty sure you don’t even need to be a member for it. If you make one, let me know how it turned out for you...I rarely get feedback and would love to see how it worked for you.
Great jig! You really only need shims on the blank side, bringing the drill guides incrementally closer to the edge depending on how many shims you stack. Don’t have to worry about drill bit depth then. Cute dogs BTW.
You know...I think you’re right. At one point I had thought I didn’t need to shim the drill side...I didn’t think of it in the reverse. I’ll have to test it out and let you know. Thanks...and yes they’re cute. So cute we kept 2 of them.
Keep me posted! Portable jugs are so handy sometimes, and you can use it on small stuff. I saw you had to continue the hole without the jig, so I figured less shim would be better anyway. You can also get a foot long drill bit lol
Have you thought about attaching your shims with magnets? It seems like that would make it pretty easy to change back and forth to different box sizes, and you could have several sets of shims with varying thicknesses. Sort of like non-marring vise jaw liners. You might also be able to use partially protuding dowels in the shims that fit into reference holes in the jig, alone or with the magnets, to keep the shims from shifting.
Thanks Mark! Was this music better than the last video? I watched the last one a few times and have to admit I agree with you! Now I’m off to watch your video (I’m behind!)!
Make Things Hey mate, I feel guilty about having criticised that now! Yeah, I think this music is a bit better but it's only personal taste, isn't it? I think less is more a lot of the time, you know, bring it in out a bit. That retains the continuity of the 'theme music' but also leaves breathing space. Having said all that I really liked hearing this oddball little tune all the way through... I think it's best to just ignore everything I say. Very best to ya'!
Make Things just saying that is good enough. As I mentioned before you’re great at thinking op jigs and tools to solve problems. That’s something that I lack at times. I’m the type of woodworker that would rather buy a jig than make one. Part of that is time and another part is figuring it all out and how to execute my ideas. Your approach is just the opposite which is great. Again CONGRATULATIONS! 🏆👍🏻😃
The jig master! I love that you use them all. When I watch your videos, i say" I remember when he made the dowel maker and the spline jig and the angle support for the drill press." Awesome stuff Rob!
Nice jig for miter joints, I will be making one of these for myself. I do dice trays and jewelry boxes with 1/2 inch thick wood and this will give me a stronger joint. Thank you!
I have been using the Dowelmax for quite a while. I also make my own dowels and sometimes use different coloured woods to do this. They look good on ornamental boxes. The main difference between the Dowelmax and your jig is that the former costs around $400. Great video and hope it encourages more people to use dowels so many thanks.
Thank you! Totally agree. Dowels just seem so underused, something I’ll even admit to. It wasn’t until I made my 2x4 table joining each board with dowel rods that I realized how great they could be. Thanks Alan.
Awesome jig very versatile. I free hand with a hand drill at a 45 and it was bad and not to motion I poked myself. Also I want to remake a table I made with your idea of the Dow jig thank you brother for the idea my finger thanks you lol. Awesome jig
Great jig👍 I will definitely make one of those for my projects. Saw you using an awl or a punch to mark screw holes. I have been using an automatic center punch for quite some time now and love it. You can get one from HF for $4 or go really crazy and get a Starett for around $50. I have two, one from HF and the other from Home Depot. Both are adjustable for pressure requirements so as to not leave craters in soft wood. Thanks for the great video.
Definitely! I make some of my jigs a little more complicated than they need to be but always try to also show an alternative. There are literally dozens of ways to do just about anything in woodworking.
No problem! Instructable at the top of the comments if you need more information. In the future I’ll have some more dowel type additions you might want to look out for.
Rob I’m digging big time your innovative genius & watching all the jigs you’re making is going to be a great reference point for many folks on cleverly engineered jigs, great work 🍻👍👍👍👍
Great jig Rob - I eyeball these dowel splines (e.g. the storage box for my Stanley No.45) but using a jig makes them consistent enough to use in show items like furniture, and boxes of course.
I'd skip the shimming for different size boxes, I' d make 2 or 3 rows of spacers, each a different distance from the hinged corner. Cool concept, thanks for the idea.
I like the idea of the jig as. I make a lot of boxes from 3/4 inch stock and will make one for decorative alternative to traditional splines. On the downside the splines cant be visible inside the box in my case, so it would have to be specific to the stock size. I never made a table saw spline jig, but instead made a jig for a 4 1/2 inch compact saw. This type of jig could easily be modified to make splines in a good range of stock sizes. Thanks for a good idea and clear video.
I like it a lot. Thanks. I see your body language look like you are suffering feom making the videos. Enjoy! You do your work very good and the explanations also good. I want to see you more relaxed and more open smiles next time. 😊
Haha, thank you. I’m terrible in front of the camera (and microphone!) and finally had to get a TelePrompter to get it right. I appreciate your kindness!
For thin stock this is good. But for 3/4 or thicker just drill a hole 15 to 30 degrees off vertical about thickness of stock into jointing piece and glue into place. Now you only have one hole for every dowel to fill. I like to leave face frames or fronts of boxes or drawers clean and drill from each side into front. If possible I've been doing that with quick setting glue for 50 years(ouch).
Instead of hinges make a finger joint/box joint with a simple pin. This is simple enough I would make two or three for convenient sizes rather than all the rigmarole to shim it.
I admire your creativity. I am a tad bit envious of you skills and talents and attention to detail. You do good work. So much for the good parts. With only humor intended, I must add that you've made that nice,(insulation killing) cabinet for your tools but resorted to hanging more tools onto the outside of it... which kind of kills the "hidden" tool affect and collecting dust again...just like a peg-board, heh? (Also, in putting my chisels blade-up on the magnetic strip and cutting my hands a few times, I went back and re-hung them blade down.) Over-all, a great little video. Thanks much. PS. I kinda hate that music a little....(sorry)
The dust didn’t bother me on the pegboard, although it does suck having a layer of it to constantly blow off. And yeah, definitely an insulation killer! Thanks for all the nice words Mitsuko, really means a lot to me.
You might be able to, although the kreg jig might need some work to make it happen. Are their pocket holes at 45 degrees? That’d be another thing you’d have to figure out. As far as the spacers, they’re pretty cheap. Check out the instructable pinned to the top for more information...it’s free! Thanks for your interest!
great idea, im going to be making one of these. my thoughts, however, the smaller box spacers seemed very complicated. i think just having another set of drill guides in the other side that is blank would be much easier. just spn the jig, no turning screws and no parts to lose.
I'm thinking maybe a toolbox that holds a lot of weight with a handle with spline joints to hold it together? Maybe metal conduit instead of wood dowels? I gotta jot down some sketches...good video dude...and any puppies left?
I’m all about using conduit in the shop...it’s so cheap and strong. We had 2 left but they’ve become part of the family 😂. You might see my girl Blue in the background some time. She’s become the shop mascot.
Clever as ever Rob. My dowelling of miter joints is just as if it were a butt joint. Your idea give a nice visual easthetic on both corners...nice man. BTW....I see you got the money turned on... I watched 4 ads......that should put 4 cents in the kitty.👍
This was a government hammer, so that wouldn’t be a surprise! I like using it because it has little weight and is good when I don’t want to hit steel against something.
You could use a biscuit jointer to cut splines with a handheld tool safely. Not very deep, but better than nothing.... (Well, you could use biscuits then directly 😅)
StuffUCanMake honestly, I get irritated when I can’t do something and think of ways to fix it. It’s funny though, I’ll get half way though something and realize I was doing something wrong and abandon the project. 😂 Thanks for the kind words, Jabulani, I appreciate it!
First off love the things you make and share! I noticed you often use T-Nuts. I was wondering what you thoughts were on Threaded Inserts? IMHO I like them and think they give a cleaner look. I am wondering if you could take a moment to share your thoughts on the two options.
Honestly, that was my first choice. But I stockpile t-nuts like the world is going to run out of handles, so I just stuck with those. I do like adding a screw to the top usually, but felt like the bolt was helping to secure the t-nut down, which isn’t always the case. Thanks for the compliment man, I love sharing ideas with others.
www.amazon.com/Round-Spacer-Aluminum-Finish-Length/dp/B00FG9Z1LS/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=%2310+x+5%2F16%22+x+1%22+Aluminum+Spacers&qid=1561946663&s=gateway&sr=8-3 I was able to buy them at a local store individually, but that’s the size I found. They’re aluminum spacers and they do come in a variety of sizes. When I get back to my shop (I’m a hundred miles away right now) I’ll write up an instructable with much more information.
