Review on Wolfcraft 3751405 Dowel Pro Doweling by Doug Nelson

I just finished my first project with them. I'm an aspiring carpenter who's also a frustrating perfectionist. Apologies for the incorrect terminology below. My project was a 1 x 4 shadow box frame, butt-to-back. I didn't want any visible screws or dowels with holes. I also don't have the workshop or experience to properly make complex dovetail joints. I also didn't want to spend a lot on extra wood because of bugs, even though I only used the finest pine. on a jig (it only has 3 sets of parts, of which you use 2 and one not for a specific project) so you don't accidentally drill the wrong one. Maybe this is just a rookie mistake, but I will follow this advice no matter how successful I know myself. I spent a few minutes straightening the boards, double-triple checking, tightening the clamps as they sometimes move when you tighten them, and then drilled the whole wrong dam. Patch it up with wood putty and hopefully it won't be too noticeable. If you're butt riding, the extra holes won't line up with a board, so the tape is unnecessary. What frustrated me the most was that my situation didn't allow for a second yoke, so I had to realign the boards for each of the two dowels for each joint. It was just a function of using a 3.5" wide board and that's probably why so many people recommend countersunk screws or something like that. uncentered dowels. For a 3/4" wide board you really need to use the largest 3/8" dowels. I wanted to use 1/4" dowels as the finished project had no expected loading, but misalignment would result in the dowels moving very close to the edge of the tree. Dowel sizes but this is a bit misleading as in practice it only works for one size depending on the project. The bracket may have prompted me to make a better product but it should be noted that the bracket only supports one size of dowel all given And the holes will still be at least slightly off center unless you have a board of the exact width (I assume they are in Germany). Another caveat is the hole guides. Guides when using the correct nozzles, allowing the dowels to be inserted at a slight angle, less so on the largest of the three. I think the diameter of the guides is fine, they just aren't deep enough for the smaller dowel holes. I also had to drill two holes of different depths h. (or cut the standard size dowels shorter) and ended up just marking the drill bit for depth rather than trying to move the tricky drill guide with each hole. I also didn't trust the supplied drill guide given the weak screw issue. This clamp, which moves for different configurations, also has too much play and often goes out of 90 degree alignment, so the board tends to push sideways when tightened. To fix this you need to loosen it and then gently tighten it back up while holding it straight. All while keeping your boards aligned. It can easily be redesigned to a tighter tolerance to hold it in place better and save you some headaches. I haven't had any paint build alignment issues or loose clamps. I clamped fairly tightly to prevent movement and there was no indication that the jig was bending or that it would break. Hopefully this means that the production issues noted in other reviews have been addressed. Overall, using the German manufacturer's YouTube videos is much easier than in practice. Or at least faster to use. It looks like a jig designed for someone who doesn't have a fully equipped woodworking shop, but still not very suitable for a beginner. Still 4+ stars based on the price and the fact that it allowed me to complete a project that I couldn't have done by hand. I tried and failed before buying.