🛠️ Milescraft 1311 Joint Pro: All Steel Self-Clamping Doweling Jig with Guide Bushings (1/4 in., 5/16 in., and 3/8 in.) - Professional Quality Review

They work great and the instructions are very clear. One star off because the screws holding the smaller clamp together were junk. I removed the heads without effort. I also carved the cast aluminum of the smaller jig. Both of these problems are easily solved with a thread repair kit and a visit to the hardware store for quality fasteners. The fasteners used in the drilling jig are of good quality. There are no problems with them, nor with the threads they screw into. The attached picture shows

When trying to use this device I immediately noticed two problems, one related to the use of narrow wood and the other to general alignment. The drill guide extends from the side guides that level the wood about 1/16" to 1/8". Thus, to drill the ends of a narrow workpiece (less than 2 inches), the wood is positioned at an angle, half on the drill guide and half on a guide. This is an odd design as simply placing the drill guide and guide flush would allow any width of wood to be drilled at a…

Disappointing - comes in a kit for 3/4" lumber but can be supplied with spacers for other thicknesses. Update: Includes installation for 1" thick lumber. Since this jig didn't easily center the dowels, I wouldn't waste my money. I thought I'd buy precision, convenience, and easy movement of the fixture. As I needed a jig for a specific job In 5 minutes I have several of these in the store. I feel cheated and cheated because nowhere on the Milescraft website has this centering problem resolved…

I needed this tool for a project the day after it was delivered. I opened the box and noticed that some of the screw heads were twisted, like someone screwed them in and scratched the edges of the screw heads. I was wondering if I received a "refurbished" item and not a new one. But I kept going because the project had a deadline. When I loosened the screws to use the 5/16" hole, I was surprised at how tight they were. So tight I had to clamp them in a vise to hold 2 screws. and the third was…

Thoughtful design, good quality but note that it is a bit more difficult to use than it may appear on the video - you will need to remove/replace screws/hexes to fit different parts/types of joints to reconfigure. But it's not that important. The reason for the generous 4 stars is that I have trouble with dowel holes that are too big (the pins are too loose although they are fine when glued). I don't know why, or it's because my drill bit isn't 100% straight, but I can say that soaking the…

At first I thought I would really like this lure. Although it has a few downsides. First, the plastic handles probably won't last long. I think given the cost, a little more engineering could have been added to this part of the contraption. The rest of the aluminum parts are well finished. They overdid it with factory assembly. I struggled to loosen the set screws on the tensioner and ended up stripping off two of them. Luckily I have a striking tool from my car days that I can use to loosen…

I first watched some YouTube videos demonstrating this product. What attracted me was the ability to drill holes for both boards at the same time. After a few uses here is my experience with this jig: 1) The accuracy of this jig is VERY dependent on your ability to level the boards from above. each other. Of course, the larger the pieces, the more difficult it is to align them. For example, if you are off by a degree, it will be very noticeable in your final product. They also balance the…

I have never used dowels to join panels before as precise drilling was required. For a project I bought to make 25mm thick MDF cabinets I needed hidden fasteners and didn't have to fill in where screws were used while using very precise joints. I first experimented with a very expensive pocket hole tool that tended to pull the joints out of alignment. - something I found very difficult to avoid after a little internet searching. So I bit the bullet and bought this device. I also had to look for