I really hate it when I make woodworking mistakes because I waste time fixing something that is my own fault. Sometimes it's from rushing though a task other times I can just plain mixed up with what I am doing so even making a mistake once or twice prompts me to try and come up with a solution so maybe I can prevent it in the future ...
Making tables, regardless of the joiner is one of those times where you have similar looking items but that all fit in different areas and sometimes need to fit in a special way to sometimes take a away from defects in the wood, and always try to show it's best side.
The methodology for marking table legs and where they will fit on the finished piece is something I came up with a couple of so years ago, and it has worked exceedingly well for me, and for others according to comments and reports and they look like this of the marking either the tops or the bottoms of each leg ...
Many of us who have figured out the dowel joinery is fast, super strong and very accurate ... can still have struggles on where to drill the holes. I doesn't matter what form of joinery you use, it can be easy to mix up what where wood parts need to be joined. Using mortise and tenon doesn't solve the problem, it just takes longer to fix the mistake.
Knowing ahead of time what the ideal size for dowel joinery is ... can be huge leap forward. Honestly I don't know why I didn't do this years ago ... now I have a whole new sizing regime that I can use for specific projects and dowel placements.
As in the video, before I go too far, I have fallen in love with this Milwaukee Ultra Fine Black Marker, you can pick these up at your local Milwaukee dealer or you can order them online from the Woodworkweb - Amazon Store here - https://bit.ly/3v3wgLc
Now, by using the Dowel Planning Jig I showed how to make in the video, you can see instantly where dowels need to be made on the legs of your table projects. You may still wish to make "Face Sides" with blue masking tape like I do so you make sure you remember where the "reveal" is (if there is one). Remember, you will NOT likely be drilling in exactly the same spot as you marked, the circles are more a visual reminder of where the doweling jig needs to be place to make sure you don't end up with holes on the wrong side of the leg.
I have been finding using this method has helped me keep a clearer head of where holes need to go. I find once I get "rolling" with drilling dowel holes, it can be easy to plow right through drilling all the holes then find out you have drill one leg with holes in the wrong place.
A few minutes more in planning can save you a HUGE amount of time later on fixing or filling holes ... and if you are using mortise and tenon, you probably need to start with a whole new leg, which means mega wood waste we all want to avoid and there is no reason this method could not be used in mortise and tenon work .. it's all just PLANNING.
And there you have it another quick, easy to make jig for any or all you doweling needs, or for mortise and tenon of even floating tenons, this Planning Jig will work for all those places.
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Colin Knecht
woodworkweb
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