Switched from pocket screws to dowels for face frames after 8 years

I used to run pocket screws on everything until a old timer in Nashville pointed out my joints were shifting after a humid summer. Now I use a self-centering dowel jig and the alignment is way better - anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_carr2d ago

My first attempt at dowels I ended up with a face frame that looked like a funhouse mirror, totally crooked. Took me three tries and a lot of swearing to get that self-centering jig to behave. Now I wouldn't go back though, the joints actually stay put when the humidity changes.

mason_knight2d ago

Yeah but that self-centering jig only works if you remember to flip it for the second hole. I see a lot of people on YouTube just jam it in the same orientation and wonder why their panels don't line up. I did that myself on my second attempt actually, ended up with a drawer front that was off by like a quarter inch on one side. On the humidity thing though, you're right about dowels being way more stable than biscuits in my experience. The old kitchen table I built with biscuits started getting loose after one humid summer, but the dowel joints on my workbench are still tight after three years.