just got an email from Woodpeckers that they are offering a dowelling jig as part of their “One Time Tool” program:
As with many other Woodpeckers tools the price often dampens your enthusiasm - This one sells for $640 in a systainer - and comes with 1/4 and 3/8 bushings. 5,6,8 and 10mm bushing sets will also be made - costing $60 each - so the complete package will set you back $880. Just to compare the smaller Domino joiner from Festool is currently priced starting at $895 but add-ons can push your cost over $1000 - and I have quite a bit more than that invested in my Domino XL system
Seems expensive but I’ve not seen one yet so this is my gut feeling.
I bought the Veritas Dowel Former. Basic setup for the 3/8 size is less than $23. You have to rip strips a dog’s ball hair thicker than 3/8 but then just knock them through the former.
The appeal of the Kreg setup is that it cuts plus that fit the shape of the angled hole cut for the pocket screws. I guess you could plug the hole with a regular plug then cut it off flush to the surface - but this eliminates the extra step. While the Kreg variant is new - the one from Woodworkers Supply has been around for some time - but I haven’t tried it out
And people think the imperial system is confusing… Is that thicker of thinner than a human hair? My dog was not happy when it saw those shiny metal calipers trying to get a measure down there. Must have had a bad experience with pointy metal objects when he was a puppy…
Catching up on my magazines, I saw this router plane from a company that was new to me:
The company - located in NY - seems to make some other tools as well - and have taken on the very British naming convention of calling “clamps” “cramps”
I saw that. I have to thank you! I bought it after you first posted about it and it made the process much simpler. I was using a square of plywood as a backer to prevent denting the drywall and tugging and prying with a pry bar. This tool and 2 whacks with a mallet eliminates all the fuss. The wedge is much better than a lever for removing trim imho. Thanks!
at one time Yankee spiral ratchet screwdrivers were the “cordless” screwdrivers of the jobsite and Stanley, Millers Falls or better yet North Brothers made great ones used by most carpenters. Nowadays they still find use in communities (like the Amish) where power tools are not allowed as a matter of religious belief.