I used to think pocket screws were fine for face frames, but a guy at the Tacoma wood show changed my mind.

He showed me a face frame he'd made with dowels and a jig, and the joint was so much tighter and cleaner than my usual method. I tried it on a small cabinet project last weekend, using a 32mm dowel jig I borrowed, and the difference in alignment was huge. Has anyone else switched from pocket screws to dowels for face frames and stuck with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

finley_harris517d ago

Well damn, that makes me think about how everything in life has a learning curve that people don't talk about enough. @jennifer_west52 probably noticed the same thing with her first jig setup - you gotta eat some frustration before you see the payoff, same as learning to sharpen a chisel by hand or dialing in a table saw fence. It's like how I see guys get impatient with new shop tools and give up after one try, when really the secret is just grinding through the first few attempts. That dowel jig humbles you quick but once you get the feel for it the results speak for themselves.

jennifer_west521mo ago

What jig did you borrow, and was the setup time a pain?

tyler_hall91mo ago

Borrowed the same Kreg jig my neighbor has, @jennifer_west52. Yeah, the setup took forever the first time. The instructions are not great at all. Felt like I was fighting with it more than building anything. Gets easier once you do it a few times, but that first project is a real test of patience.