Dowel Spacer Jig

thingiverse

Placing dowels can be a tedious process because both dowels and holes must align perfectly, which isn't always an easy task. With this jig, you can set the distances, drill the holes, and place the dowels knowing that holes and dowels will align every time. The 3D printed pieces have two pre-drilled holes for 8mm and 6mm dowels. It also has a flat surface for placing dowels anywhere and a right angle with an 18mm face to center dowels on 18mm boards. The 3D printed pieces slide along an 8mm stainless steel shaft that I repurposed from an old printer. Using this jig is incredibly simple and can be done in two ways: A) Sequentially: Only two 3D printed blocks are required. 1. Set the distance between holes by sliding the blocks and tightening the screws. 2. Drill a hole using the first block. 3. Place a dowel in the hole, and attach the first block. 4. With the first block pinned by the dowel, drill a new hole using the second block. 5. Move the first block over the second hole, place the dowel in the second hole. 6. Drill the next hole with the first block pinned at the second hole. 7. Repeat until enough holes are made. Repeat the procedure on the other part. B) All at once: 1. Use as many blocks as you need and set the spacing between them; the spacing doesn't have to be even. 2. Clamp the jig and drill all holes at once. 3. Repeat on the other part, making sure the direction of the jig remains the same. There are two versions of the blocks: The only difference is that the second version has holes modeled for threaded inserts and is a bit sturdier. They use M3 tapered screws, 10mm and 12mm long respectively.