# cam dowel jig



## chippy1970

Has anyone got photo's of a homemade cam dowel jig for drilling the 15mm and 8mm holes. I have pretty much got a design ie just like the Hafele one but my idea is to drill the 8mm hole with a lip and spur bit thru the jig then have a hole the right size on the top of the jig for my router guide bush to sit in and plunge the 15mm hole.

Has anyone made anything similar ? I was wondering whether to make it in metal somehow so its hard wearing rather than wood. 

Any engineering types out there who could help ?????

Chris


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## xy mosian

Chris, I really would like to try and help, but I do not fully understand just what you are trying to achieve. Could you elaborate for me. For instance which 15mm and 8mm holes are you talking about?

xy


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## mailee

I think he means the holes in the panel where the cams fit and the smaller holes in the edges for the pins to enter the cams.


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## xy mosian

From that may I assume we are talking about panels to be used in flat pack furniture? Suddenly everthing is a little clearer. Thanks mailee.
xy


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## chippy1970

You hit the nail on the head.

Sorry I thought most people knew what cam dowels were. Yeah they are for connecting panels together I thought its about time I went over to this method for my cupboards that I make. I normally build mdf boxes in my workshop then transport to site and fit. In some cases it makes more sense to make it a flat pack.In this case I have a job coming up just to fit some sliding doors with conti board shelves inside so I was thinking of making the conti board stuff up so I can just whack it all together on the day with cam and doels to save time.


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## Eric The Viking

Can't help with the jig, but I bought a Wealden 15mm cutter (T1415M) for that purpose. They do a range of 2-flute with a third blade middle-bottom, so that you can plunge-cut. 

It leaves a nice square-bottomed clean finish, but using it as an ad-hoc rebater on Contiboard will wreck it (DAMHIK!). That thin laminate is really tough on blades, and mine now has notches in it. Of course a craftsman would groove for a proper panel at the back, and not just rebate it, but it was a bit of a bodge (per B+Q's original cupboard I was making shallower!). 

From memory, I think I used an ordinary dowel jig for the 8mm holes (I've got a Wolfcraft one that does 6,8,10), but I didn't have many to do. 

Can you use a shop-made router base+fence:

A plywood or MDF base with a glued-on block (fence) with 8mm pilot hole -- clamp flat on workpiece, plunge-cut the 15mm hole, then run a drill through the fence to meet it? 

It doesn't get round having to drill the pilot for the peg in the other piece. I used one of those clamp-on-the-drill guides, with an improvised depth stop. Mine isn't the Axy one, but pretty similar. 

If I had a lot to do, it's easy to fit a fence to those drill guides.


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## chippy1970

Eric The Viking":2u2uq24y said:


> Can't help with the jig, but I bought a Wealden 15mm cutter (T1415M) for that purpose. They do a range of 2-flute with a third blade middle-bottom, so that you can plunge-cut.
> 
> It leaves a nice square-bottomed clean finish, but using it as an ad-hoc rebater on Contiboard will wreck it (DAMHIK!). That thin laminate is really tough on blades, and mine now has notches in it. Of course a craftsman would groove for a proper panel at the back, and not just rebate it, but it was a bit of a bodge (per B+Q's original cupboard I was making shallower!).
> 
> From memory, I think I used an ordinary dowel jig for the 8mm holes (I've got a Wolfcraft one that does 6,8,10), but I didn't have many to do.
> 
> Can you use a shop-made router base+fence:
> 
> A plywood or MDF base with a glued-on block (fence) with 8mm pilot hole -- clamp flat on workpiece, plunge-cut the 15mm hole, then run a drill through the fence to meet it?
> 
> It doesn't get round having to drill the pilot for the peg in the other piece. I used one of those clamp-on-the-drill guides, with an improvised depth stop. Mine isn't the Axy one, but pretty similar.
> 
> If I had a lot to do, it's easy to fit a fence to those drill guides.




Great minds think alike  I ordered an 8mm brad point drill and a 15mm (8mm shank) two flute cutter on Friday from Wealdens arrived Saturday morning usual great service.

I have the same Wolfcraft dowel jig you have by the sounds of it. Your idea of the mdf/ply base for routing the 15mm then drill the 8mm is exactly my idea too I just wondered if a metal jig would be better, trouble is I have no real acurate way to drill metal (no pillar drill). I think I will use an offcut of plastic for the top bit and use sone hardwood as the stock of the fence (where the 8mm hole goes) that should work.

The guide bushes I have for my little Festool router are 17mm (too small) and 27mm but I dont have a 27mm drill for that so I might have to get a slightly smaller guide bush.


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## skinee

a


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## xy mosian

If you were to turn that jig around, having lined up the shelf/bottom of the cabinet on the side, it could be used to plunge cut a suitable hole for the dowel. The advantage being that the 8mm dowel holes would again be the reference.

xy


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## chippy1970

I made a jig yesterday out of and offcut of lexan and some oak. I found some small metal spacers that are 8mm internal so I drilled a straight hole thru the oak then hammered the tubes in to make it slightly more hard wearing. You just drop the router guide bush into a 30mm hole in the lexan then plunge a 14mm deep hole then drill with an 8mm brad bit thru the side until it appears in the 15mm hole simple.


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## xy mosian

I have a lot of experience of drilling through metal bushes in a manufacturing environment. 5200 holes per shift on each of six production lines. Unless the drill bit is stationary as you put it into and remove it from the bush, then you will quickly blunt it. Another problem which occurred frequently was build-up of swarf within the flutes of the bit causing overheating, and sometimes jamming. If you are doing a great number of these then another solution might be a good idea. Preferably one which keeps rotating drill bits away from metal sleeves.

As a first thought. A horizontal boring table with the drill hieght set corectly to centre the drilled hole in the panel. Add a fence with a couple of stops for side to side positioning. Swarf jamming in the flutes may still be a problem and it might be worth looking at rapid spiral drills.

Use the jig you have made with an 8mm peg in the sleeve to reference the pre-drilled dowel hole for plunge cutting the hole for the cam.

HTH xy


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## chippy1970

xy mosian":3ocu43yp said:


> Use the jig you have made with an 8mm peg in the sleeve to reference the pre-drilled dowel hole for plunge cutting the hole for the cam.
> 
> HTH xy



That was one idea I had anyway , drill the 8mm hole then use a peg in the hole to locate it to do the 15mm hole. I think it will be fine for what I need it for, I cant see how it will blunt the drill as the cutting surfaces do not come in contact with the metal bushes, its the tip of the drill that does the cutting. Idealy I would buy a proper hardened bush like the ones fitted in my kreg jig and my dowel jig.

EDIT : Just noticed you did say "unless its stationary" well yeah thats how I do it I would never put a running drill into a bush thats asking for trouble.


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## xy mosian

chippy1970":2d8w1wmq said:


> EDIT : Just noticed you did say "unless its stationary" well yeah thats how I do it I would never put a running drill into a bush thats asking for trouble.



Spot on Chippy, sounds as if you have it all covered.  

xy


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