The Best Dowel Jig for 2024

Anyone from professional tradesmen to DIY enthusiasts that love to make things out of wood, such as cabinets, furniture, toys, outdoor structures or hobby projects will tell you that a Dowel Jig is an essential item to have in your tool collection.

Why should I buy one of these? Well after you’ve used one you’re more likely to be asking the question, why didn’t I get one of these sooner? That’s the thing here until you actually use the Dowel Jig you don’t realize just how much easier it makes the job. And not only that but also that will give you a professional look to the finished product.

A dowel jig is a tool used to create precise and consistent holes for dowels, which are small cylindrical rods used in woodworking. Dowel jigs typically consist of a base with guide holes and a clamping mechanism, which is used to hold the workpiece in place while the holes are drilled.

The main advantage of using a dowel jig is the accuracy and consistency it provides. The jig’s guide holes ensure that the dowel holes are drilled at the correct angle and depth, which is important for ensuring a tight and secure fit. This can save time and effort compared to drilling the holes by hand, and it also helps to prevent mistakes and errors.

Another advantage of dowel jigs is their versatility. Most jigs are adjustable, allowing users to drill holes of different sizes and at different angles. This makes them suitable for a wide range of woodworking projects, from simple joints to more complex structures.

When using a dowel jig, it is important to choose the right size and type of dowel for the project. Different dowels are suitable for different applications, and using the wrong type can result in a weak or unstable joint.

Overall, dowel jigs are a valuable tool for woodworkers who want to create precise and consistent dowel holes. They offer accuracy, consistency, and versatility, making them suitable for a wide range of projects.

Definitely the best Dowel Jigs to go for are the ones that Self Centre, that’s the important thing here. What this basically means is that you don’t have to find the center of the wood, the Dowel Jig does it automatically for you. That’s why all of the Dowel Jigs we’ve reviewed here are Self Centering ones.

The Best Dowel Jigs Reviewed

Editor’s Award	Brand
The Best Large Capacity Dowel Jig	Eagle America 445-7600 Professional Wide Capacity Self-Centering Dowel Jig
Best Budget Option	Milescraft 1319 JointMate – Handheld Dowel Jig
Worthy Mention	Woodstock D4116 Doweling Jig
Best Old School Dowl Jig	Dowl-it 1000 Self-centering Doweling Jig

The Best Large Capacity Dowel Jig: Eagle America 445-7600 Professional Wide Capacity Self-Centering Dowel Jig

If you want just one Dowel Jig that’ll cover just about any project you’re working on, then we recommend you get this one.

The first thing you notice about this dowel jig is that big capacity option, most dowel jigs tend to limit you to around 2 inches capacity. What that basically means is that this Jig will let you work with wood ranging from 1/4-inch to 6-inch thick pieces. That’s so useful if you’re working on projects with differing size wood ranges, no hunting around the workshop looking for a bigger Jig.

As you can see in the picture above, this dowel jig can be used with differing wood shapes and sizes. Take the circular piece of wood in the picture as an example, not only does it grip the wood easily and tightly, sort of like a standard vise clamp, where you turn the metal bar to tighten the clamp up and then turn it the other way to loosen it off, but the important thing here to note is, that it automatically centers itself on the wood for you too.

As for the actual drilling options, this dowel jig lets you choose from the 5 most common sizes used, that’s 1/4-Inch, 5/16-Inch and 3/8-Inch it also comes with two fixed holes measuring 7/16-Inch and 1/2-Inch. As for any holes that need to be off-center, well that’s easy, just add a spacer block.

Now, this dowel jig is heavier than most of its competitors, weighing in at 3.24 pounds. The reason for this is that it can handle larger pieces of wood, up to 6-inches thick. So a bit of additional weight is a good thing in this case.

What We Like:

• Wide Capacity – gives you an amazing work range from 1/4-Inch to 6-Inch thick pieces of wood to work on, even awkwardly shaped pieces of wood are no problem.
• Self Centering – No measuring needed to find the center of the wood, this dowel jig does it automatically for you.
• Build Quality – This thing is tough, it has hardened steel guides and an anodized aluminum body, which basically gives it a corrosion-resistant covering, keeping it looking good for future projects.
• Easy To Use – Just choose the wood size from 1/4-Inch to 6-Inch, clamp on the Jig, no measuring to find the center of the wood as the Jig does this automatically for you. All you have to do then is choose the hole size you want to drill from the jig options of between 1/4-Inch, 5/16-Inch, 3/8-Inch, 7/16-Inch or 1/2-Inch.

Things to Consider:

• Wide Capacity – Will you be working on projects that need a dowel jig with such a wide capacity? if so then this is the dowel jig for you.
• Wood Shape – Do you sometimes use circular or irregular shaped wood? this dowel jig will handle that for you, and automatically find the center of it too.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Best Budget Option: Milescraft 1319 JointMate – Handheld Dowel Jig

If you’re looking for a budget dowel jig, well then perhaps it’s a tool that you won’t be using very often, so you’re thinking I don’t want to spend too much money for just occasional usage. Yes, that makes perfect sense, of course, after all, it’s your hard-earned money that you’re spending here.

So let’s see what the Milescraft 1319 JointMate – Handheld Dowel Jig has to offer you in terms of functionality. Well as it says in the title it’s a handheld dowel jig, so obviously you are using one hand to hold this dowel jig firmly in place while the other hand is using your drill to drill one of the 3 metal bushed hole options, those being 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″ for your corner, edge or surface joints.

This dowel jig is a self-centering jig, and as we’ve said all through these reviews, self-centering dowel jigs help speed up the work process. That’s because the center of the workpiece is automatically found for you rather than you having to mess around measuring, trying to find the center.

It also has an adjustable fence which helps you to get precise dowel alignment, and that, of course, means maximum joint strength in your work projects. That’s something that we all try to achieve, and if you can achieve that, then you’ll get that professional-looking finish to your projects.

What We Like:

• Simplicity – No clamping onto the work project, just hold in place with your hand.
• Self-centering – Automatically finds center for you.
• Adjustable fence – Helps to get precise dowel alignment.

Things to Consider:

• Construction – Made mostly of plastic, but does has metal bushings.
• Price – This is cheap, so if you’re only using a dowel jig occasionally and you don’t want to spend much money, then this is a good choice for you.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Worthy Mention: Woodstock D4116 Doweling Jig

With so many options out there to choose from, though in principle they all do the same job of basically providing you with various sized hole options for your dowels. Obviously some Dowel Jig’s do this job better than others. So what we’re doing here is saving you the time of sifting through all the technical stuff and providing you with reviews of the ones that we think are good enough to warrant serious consideration.

The first thing you notice about this Dowel Jig is just how well-engineered it looks. The Aluminum casing incorporates the vice plates, (that’s the part that holds the wood tightly in place) and clamping screw, along with the engraved hole measurements for the various drilling options.

Mounted in between the clamping plates is the 5 option drill guide section. This is where you have the threaded drill guide options of 1/4-Inch, 3/8-Inch, and 5/16-Inch, and also the non-threaded drill guide options of 7/16-Inch and 1/2-Inch. Supplied with this Dowel Jig are two of each, 1/4-Inch, 3/8-Inch, and 5/16-Inch hardened steel bushings and when installed in the Jig makes it possible to drill two holes without having to re-position the Jig.

Weighing in at a nice weight of 2.51 pounds, this contender from Woodstock can handle stock up to 2-Inches thick, this is usually more than enough capacity for most projects.

And remember what we said before, all the Dowel Jigs reviewed here are self-centering. There’s no messing around trying to measure for center, especially if the wood you’re working with is circular or irregularly shaped.

This really does help speed things up and makes the job a whole lot easier and more efficient for you.

Maintenance wise there’s not much to do here, just periodically wipe away any dust and debris from the vise screw and the threads of the drill guides, then apply a thin coat of light machine oil to ensure smooth operation. And that’s just about all you need to do to keep this Dowel Jig in tip-top condition.

What We Like:

• Self Centering – Automatically finds the center of the wood for you.
• Multiple Drilling – It’s possible to drill two holes in parallel without having to re-position the jig.
• Drilling options – 5 drilling options ranging from 1/4-Inch, 3/8-Inch, 5/16-Inch, 7/16-Inch, and 1/2-Inch
• Construction – Aluminum casing and hardened steel bushings will keep this Dowel Jig performing well on every job.
• Maintenance – Very little to do here, just wipe away any dust or debris from the vise screw and the threads of the drill guides. Then apply a thin coat of light machine oil to the vise screw and the threads of the drill guides and that’s it, job done.

Things to Consider:

• Capacity – Limited to working on wood up to 2 inches in size.
• Price – Not the cheapest, but then again you are getting a quality product here.

Check the latest price on Amazon.

Best Old School Dowl Jig: Dowl-it 1000 Self-centering Doweling Jig

At first glance, you may think it looks just the same as the Woodstock D4116 in the previous review and in a way it does.

Yes, it has the same Aluminum outer casing that incorporates the vise screw and clamping plates. Maybe you’re thinking it looks about the same size, also probably similar weight too, well yes. This one also accepts standard and irregular shaped wood up to 2 inches and weighs in at 2.35 pounds compared to 2.51 pounds of the Woodstock D4116, but that’s not the big difference here. So just what is the difference?

Top marks if you spotted it. Yup, the central hardened steel section has an extra drill hole. So of course what this means is that it gives you an extra drilling option. You still get the standard sizes of hole, 1/4”, 5/16”, 3/8”, 7/16” and 1/2” but you get an additional hole size option of 3/16”, so that should pretty much cover all project requirements.

Also worth noting here is that you don’t use bushings as in the previous models reviewed, you just drill using the appropriate hole and drill bit, so no extra parts to mess with or lose. And just to remind you, this is a self-centering dowel jig so no additional time wasted with you trying to find the center of the wood, this does it automatically for you.

What We Like:

• Made in the US – Made in the US since 1949.
• Extra Drilling Option – All the standard hole size options that are usually found on Dowel Jigs, 1/4”, 5/16”, 3/8”, 7/16”, 1/2” but with an additional hole size option of 3/16” too.
• Construction – Aluminum clamping plates with hardened steel center drilling block.
• Design – Proven design not changed since first produced in 1949.

Things to Consider:

• Usage – If you have plenty of woodworking projects lined up, then this would be a really good buy for you. With having the extra drill hole you shouldn’t have any problems choosing the correct dowel hole size that would best suit the project you’re working on.
• Price – Not the cheapest Dowel Jig about, but it does boast a design history dating back to 1949, so you know you’re getting a great product for the price.

Check the latest price on Amazon.