I decided to start a blog in a moment of exasperation. Now that I've begun I'm at a loss for words. I mean how conceited can you get? I think the FWW article was the last straw. I can state catagorically, that no matter what transpires, we will not advertise in that magazine again. That is unless the Editor personally apologises for his transgressions. What is it they say about hell freezing over?
Seriously, we poured literally tens of thousands of advertising dollars into that mag over the years, I might add for token postage stamp coverage, yet they appeared to balk at any attempt to increase our exposure, by using our system, even as part of a project. One magazine did an excellent article a few years ago, without much bidding I might add, it covered two complete pages. That magazine is Shop Notes and guess what? Advertising is not part of the magazine format.
When I decided to go ahead I was offered all sorts of advice on how to proceed, this more noteably from a guy in Australia. Now I have a soft spot for Aussies,I was an Engineer Officer in the Merchant Navy in the sixties, and sailed with a few of them in and out of a few ports in Australia and other countries. I am a proud Scot and a proud Canadian. Can I be both? However I can tell you that if ever I was in serious trouble I'd like an Aussie at my back. What's my point? Ron the Aussie has offered me two pieces of advice both absolutely sage and brilliant, and I have absolutely no intention of heeding either one, sorry Ron.I always had trouble taking orders and/or advice. Having said that I know he's right.
I know I will have to make Dowelmax a viable part of this blog, to make it semi interesting, I mean who cares about what time I head to Starbucks each morning for my half decaf. I will seriously attempt not to make it sound like a sales pitch. After eight years of fairly hard work, investment, no financial return, misunderstanding, abuse, etc. etc., I still fervently believe in this tool, and absolutely love what I'm doing. I have no idea if there is a God up there, but if there is I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart.
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Hi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI just received the dowelmax and made my first joint with it. I have used pocket joints (Krieg) for a long time in my projects. I still like it since they are fast make and no clamping is needed. However, there are prpojects where I do not want to show the pocket holes. I looked into the festool domino system but they are way too expensive for the tool and for the tenons.
I played around with the dowelmax this morning and am quite impressed by its construction, design and ease of use. So what it is worth, your invention has made one wood worker happy this Christmas!
I haven't read the FFW article you mentioned. One of the reason why I started woodworking is that whatever I make is far stronger than the manufactured furniture out there. There is a lot more to a tool than the need to have the strongest joint in the world.
Anyway,I think I will enjoy this tool. Thanks for a great product!
Vince
Hi Jim!
ReplyDeleteI continue to use my Dowelmax regularly and love it.
I am glad that I ordered several extra bags of dowels when I bought the DM as yours are much higher quality than what I can buy locally.
My Dewalt biscuit joiner has been doing nothing but collecting sawdust since I got the Dowelmax!
One of these days I will place an order for a couple of extra drill bits and stop collars so that I can swap bits without having to re-adjust the stop collars.
By the way, I often use the DM to drill holes in the face of a board. Have you found a good way to hold the DM in position on the face of a board since the clamping screws have to be removed for this type of hole? The DM instructions on your website show the use of a wooden block to position the DM during this type of drilling, but this is a bit wobbly in practice.
All the best!---Marc in New Jersey
Marc, regarding face drilling, have you tried putting the pin in the first hole you drill as a way to stabilize the dowelmax for the following holes?
ReplyDelete—Nick
Hi Marc, I'm a bit new to this, so please forgive me for my tardiness, I had intended to respond to you in my next ramble, but that's contingent in the first bedroom dresser being finished, and it's taking longer than anticipated, in excess of 200 hours. Anyway to answer your question I personally have only used this system twice and it's been successful on both occasions. I use the check marks as always, three small clamps and a 1" x 1" batten. I also use the indexing pin, or the distance gauge. Make sure the batten is perfectly square or movement will occur. Nick's idea is excellent (ind. pin ) I often use that method when I'm concerned movement is possible. Remember if you're using the dotted/ solid line for reference, you make these lines .5" apart and not 3/8". I was working on a new design, however we're just not able to proceed with that at the present time, perhaps sometime in the future. Thanks again for your interest and sorry for the delay in responding.
ReplyDeleteRegards Jim.
January 18, 2009 6:29 PM
Hi Jim!
ReplyDeleteExcellent tool - very precise. Thanks for your efforts. Sorry to hear the FWW situation.
And in regards to the last sentence of your post - yes, there is a God up there. And He loves you from the bottom of His heart.
:-)
Cheers!
Dowelmax is one of those things that is easy to look at and speculate about, but cannot be truly appreciated until one uses it oneself.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have considered visiting woodworking shows and setting up a booth, but it might be a good idea. You could even let people try it.
One other thing. I'm not a FWW reader either. They're a bit hoity-toity for my taste. My feeling is that most FWW subscribers would probably shun Dowelmax anyway. If it isn't traditional, they don't want any part of it.
ReplyDeleteI'd also add that just because you spent money advertising with them, it doesn't obligate them to help you out. On one hand, it makes them seem less biased.
Based on your comments here, I'd like to read the article, but I don't necessarily want to help them out by buying the article or subscribing to their site. So I guess I'm stuck.
One other question. Is this always Jim posting here, or is it Mike too, posting from the same login? Just curious.
I haven't seen the FWW article--I'm more of a WOOD kinda guy. So I don't know what their problem with this tool is Right now, I'm building a couple of kitchen stools for my wife and myself, and the DM is performing flawlessly. The stools are gonna make me look like a pro when they're finished. My funds are severely limited (I'm a retired teacher),and my chiseling skills leave much to be desired, so it's hard to do a decent mortise. Dowelmax solves all my joinery problems. It's really a baaaad boy. Ya gotta love it!
ReplyDeleteHi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The
ReplyDeletewords in your article seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I'd post to
let you know. The style and design look great though!
Hope you get the problem solved soon. Kudos
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