Ratings & Reviews for General Tools & Instruments Pro Doweling Jig Kit

Using this for hold in 3/4" must be exact

I am trying to make beer tap handles. Wood is 3/4" and I have to drill a 1/2" hold in the center, dead on. Takes a bit of practice, but this is the best tool. I just got a drill press for other reasons (for a lot more $), and I may use it. But this is a great tool.

Poor quality jig

I needed to do some very light doweling for a furniture design course I was taking. Thought this was going to work great. After the first few holes the the metal on turret started to strip out. Holes no longer true. I then noted as other reviewers have, that when you clamp the this jig down tightly the jig is no longer at 90 degrees with wood you are trying to dowel but 5 or more degrees off at any time, thus your holes are angled no matter what you do. Makes a crooked mess of wood you are tryin...

expected more from product

Hard to say since I haven't used a pro tool to compare this to. (Was definitely better than the one we ordered from Harbor freight!) Liked that the drill bits came with it. Okay for doing lower quality jobs...don't expect finesse. Wish that there wasn't as much wobble or play in it when used.

Very poor Quality jig

I am surprised that Lowes carries this product. The circular hole jig has "slop" in it, meaning it moves after tightening the spring-backed screw in the middle. That little bit of movement results in ill-fitting dowels that have enough movement to cause boards to mis-align. When using the jig, the vibration from the movement causes the set screw to loosen up which allowed the circular hole jig to move on the rails. EVEN if it was built better, you have to be careful in finding the center of the ...

Decent idea. Poor implementation.

It is just too poorly put together to drill a straight hole in anything. Every piece of it has some play in it and when you add up all of the loose tolerances it just doesn't work well. It will be going back to the store.

Very Inaccurate.

This jig has plastic parts supporting the key metal guide rods and drill guide. The first time I used it, the drill wobbled by about 1/8 inch so the holes did not line up. This is a complete fail for a jig that is supposed to be accurate. Do not waste your money on this product.

simple defect

The drill hole guide sits on a spring so if using a hand drill it can be easily tilted ruining your towel hole. Plus I brought one of the provided within an hour of use.

Great Tool

I purchased this drill jig this am and mid morning I had a chance to use it, I do not understand the negative reviews the jig was very easy to use and came with everything needed to do a neat and true cut

Okay but not that great if you are a cabinet maker

Kinda flimsy. Drills that came with the kit seems okay but the dowels were of no value

Save you money, don't buy this peice of junk

This jig looks good from the box but that's where it ends. Once you remove it from the box you will see that the clamps are made of plastic and the drill bit guide floats and moves while you are trying to use it. I used it one time and the holes it created were not straight due to the movement of the drill bit guide. The idea is that it's supposed to create holes that line up so your dowels fit snugly and your two pieces of wood mate perfectly, but the end result for me was holes that were angle...

Does not work

I read all of the reviews that said not to buy, but I thought I would try it BIG mistake. I tried to use it once. It does not hold the work piece, and vibrates when you try to drill the dowel hole. I returned it and bought a high quality dowel jig for more money Don't waste your money on this item

poor quality

Turret locking inadequate and drill guide/sleeve material shows wear after a couple of uses.

Disappointed

Like many reviewers on here, I bought this jig with high hopes of improved edge-gluing but as one user said, this jig is little better than doing it by hand. The jig allows for a high amount of wobble in the bit and the scale on the rods that help you determine thickness are hard to read without abundant work light (and I'm a young male with good eyesight!). The bits are not down-sized to allow for a snug fit of the dowels; they will literally fall out if you turn your piece over. I used my regu...

Good idea. Bad implimentation

I was going to make some wide shelves. I had to change my designs instead. The unit is solid as a tank, but, was not easy to use, unlike what the box promotes. The documentation is horrible and about as clear as mud. The index marks on the rails are virtually invisible. I could never get any two boards to align properly after using this guide. Maybe I need to use metric wood instead because it wasn't working with any American lumber! Regardless, all I wound up with was a bunch of scrap lumber. I...

The Jig is ok.

The screw holding the revolver was loose and allowed slop. Make sure to tighten the depth bolt very tight or the revolver can move while drilling. With practice I think it will work better.

Worthless Piece of Junk

The whole purpose of using a jig like this is to drill perfect holes, which this doesn't do. This is a cheaply manufactured unit that wobbles horribly while drilling, thus creating wallowed out holes that the dowel pins don't fit remotely snug into. Don't waste your money on this--you can probably do a better job freehand. Lowes should pull this garbage from their shelves.

Don't bother!!!

The plastic flexes and the knob doesn't stay put. Don't waste your money.

Worst tool ever

I can't believe how low quality this is. The actual jig is aluminum and after four holes the steel drill bit had already eaten the hole out of round. Common sense engineering says the tool needs to be harder than the drill bit. It also wobbles when you drill which helps eat at the tool. This needs to be removed from the shelf.