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I must confess that after having the opportunity
to review the
Dowelmax Doweling System,
my affinity for dowel joinery has been revived, so when I came across the
Miller Dowel System, naturally I had to give it a go!
As
you can see from the photos above, and to the right, the Miller Dowel is
certainly not like any other dowel stock on the market. Just the shape of
the dowel itself entices interest. Let's first take a quick look at what
the Miller Dowel Company claim are the advantages of their product:
- Simple - fast and easy to use
- Strong - solid, longer lasting
joints
- Economical - minimal tools
required
- Versatile - use in any
woodworking project
- Unique - the only natural
fastener designed for insertion from the outside
- Excellent results - an
appealing and durable alternative to metal fastener
Source - Miller Dowel Co. Website
I think the above stated advantages make
great categories to base this review upon and will give us a good idea as
to whether the Miller Dowel system can live up to its hype. Before we
begin though, let me quickly explain the system. The Miller Dowel system
is basically comprised of only 2 components - a special stepped drill bit
to match the dowel profile, and the special milled dowels themselves.
These are essentially, the only 2 parts you need to construct the joint.
Is it Simple to Use?
Simplicity counts for a lot of points in the woodworking arena, simply
because it works for both the consumer and the manufacturer, assuming the
product has a valid purpose and it successfully meets the tasks it claims
it can do. Simplicity to a woodworker means much less frustration, easier
learning curve and faster projects. To the manufacturer it represents a
great marketing angle and less 'high-maintenance' customers following a
sale.
The Miller Dowel system is certainly relatively simple
to use. In a basic example, making a doweled butt joint is performed in
the following manner, and this is how we achieved it in our tests:
- Take your stock and ensure the butt joint will seat
nicely together, by either jointing the board or sanding the end grain
of a mating piece etc, preferably both!
- Align the pieces and clamp them in the position you
would like the joint to assume. Now, you can also glue the joint first
and wait for the glue to dry if you do not wish to use clamps, or they
are inconvenient for the joint you are constructing.
- Next take you drill with the special Miller stepped
drill bit inserted and drill through your first piece and into the
second piece, stopping at your pre-set depth stop bit or marker. Since
the pieces are clamped in their desired final position, the hole we have
drilled should match up perfectly for the dowel, assuming there was no
movement of the clamp/joint during drilling. For some applications, it
may be better and more accurate to use the stepped bit in a drill press
for greater accuracy if possible to do so.
- Next we take the specially designed Miller dowel
itself and put a coat of glue around the middle two fluted/ribbed
sections of the dowel and insert the dowel into our drilled hole. We
found that we could push the dowel in about 80% of the way (which is
a little more than the 75% figure Miller states).
- After this you need a hammer/mallet to drive the
dowel in further before cutting off any of the dowel head still
protruding from the surface with a
flush cutting saw
And that's about
all you need to do to secure one dowel in your project.
An interesting
marketing stance that Miller Dowel Co. takes is the claim that this is
only a three step process (drill , add glue and insert dowel). In theory it is, but
in reality, I guess they don't count the initial clamping procedure, which
is a fundamental step to ensure accuracy in using the system. So
essentially, it is a four step process, perhaps even five if you count flush cutting any
remaining portion of the dowel head as another. So let's not be swayed on
that particular piece of marketing blurb.
Is it Strong?
Well, I can't say I have all the gear to do detailed laboratory
testing on the strength of a joint joined using the Miller Dowel. Miller
claim the system "compares favorably" to that of a nailed or screwed
joint. Certainly after constructing several joints using the Miller
Dowels, we found them very tough to break with shearing pressure from just
our hands, but we wouldn't expect them to break with such a relatively
light force. A step stool we did construct with Miller Dowels supported
the weight of a 200lb frame without failing so we can assume it has quite
a fair degree of strength as a joinery option. The design and size of the
Dowel stock lends itself to providing more strength than a standard
shorter dowel, assuming a good glue is used on the dowel and joint as
well. There is certainly plenty of surface area to bond to with the Miller
Dowel. The ribbed and stepped design decreases the chance of glue being squeezed/pushed to
the bottom of the drilled hole as the dowel in inserted and driven home.
Even after you knock the dowels home with a wooden mallet, you can feel
how the joint is clamped tight, even without glue. It takes a great deal
of pressure to force the non-glued joint apart. With glue added to the mix,
the joint certainly becomes very strong indeed.
Two factors that
lend themselves to producing the strength in the joint are;
a) The
stepped drill bit creates a hole that is actually slightly longer than the
length of the Miller Dowels. This means that when the dowel is inserted,
it will not "bottom-out" and allows a small area for any excess glue to
seat.
b) As a result of the first fact (a), the head of the miller dowel
is designed to be the first section of the dowel that "bottoms out" in the
joint. As a result, and when driving the dowel in, the head seats firmly
in its stepped area and the hammering action itself, along with the head
of the dowel, creates a clamping action on the joint as you drive it down.
This action provides further strength and results in a very 'tight' joint.
As an all-wood
joint, there would be less potential for some of the joint-weakening
problems associated with metal-type fasteners, which can include rust, rot
of wood surrounding fastener and splitting of grain. Of course, all-wood
joints are not foolproof either and have their share of degradation
problems over time.
Is it
Economical?
Well, in the sense that very few tools are needed to use the system,
it is somewhat economical. Given that most woodworkers will already own
these tools (drill, hammer and clamps) then the claim, unfortunately,
doesn't seem to last the distance. The economics of it all get thrown out
the window once the price of the dowels are taken into consideration. In
comparison to standard round fluted dowels, Miller Dowels were up to four
times as expensive per dowel when we price-matched at various online
woodworking retailers. It's certainly easy to see how the Miller Dowels
would cost more to manufacture because of their design and size, but in a
competitive market with hundreds of products that claim to make joinery
simpler and easier (and most do), price considerations play a major role
in a woodworker's purchasing consideration. This is not to say that other
fastening systems like the Kreg pocket hole system are absolutely
brilliant in the economics department either with their custom drill bits
and wooden pocket hole plugs which command a high price, however, for
woodworkers who are going to employ a particular system for any lengthy
period, then the cost of the fastener itself (screw or dowel) becomes
rather important. This is the component of the joint you will consume most
of during the process, so that component must be priced reasonably for the
system to be cost effective over the long term.
One perceivable
advantage of the Miller Dowel system over using screws is that their is no
need to plug up countersunk screws which saves you the expense of buying
plug cutting bits. The Miller Dowel eliminates this step and one less step
needed in any process is often a good move forward if their are no, or
very few problematic consequences to contend with as a result.
Is it
Versatile?
Yes, it certainly is. Whether you are building new joints for
furniture, windows, doors or cabinets for example, the Miller Dowel system
certainly has a place. It is even better for strengthening existing joints
in the above and any other item that is suitable for strengthening with
the Miller Dowels. For example, my little ones have a small table/chair
set they use for virtually everything and one of the leg joints to the top
rail had worked itself loose a touch (simple two-dowel construction). I
didn't want to pull the joint apart completely for re-gluing as it would
have possibly compromised the adjacent leg joint, so it was a perfect
candidate for a Miller Dowel solution. We fixed it up very quickly by
adding a Miller Dowel into the equation and hence restoring the joint back
to it original strength (and a little more) using this method without
having to dismantle the table.
One thing the
Miller Dowel system cannot do is join thin pieces of stock, but of course,
normal dowels have this limitation as well in most instances, as do many
other fastening systems, so no point deductions for that, but it is
important to note.
The Miller
Dowels come in two varieties which are termed either 1x or 2x
which basically reflects the diameter of the dowels themselves. 1x dowels
are suitable for working with material up to 1" thick, while the 2x dowels
can handle boards up to 1-3/4" in thickness. You could use them for even
thicker material my adding two rows of dowels if appropriate for the
project.
Because you are
using a drill bit, which drills holes in both pieces of wood to be joined,
you can drill the hole at any angle, and assuming your material does not
move during this process, you should have dowel holes that work perfectly
for the dowel stock. Dowels inserted on angles can often provide much more
strength than dowels inserted at ninety degrees for particular joints. Of
course, you need to have at least a portion of the top head (thickest end)
of the dowel inserted into the drilled hole to ensure you do not have a
situation where there is a large and unsightly gap on the surface of your
joint after flush cutting the head.
Is it Unique?
"The only natural fastener
designed for insertion from the outside."
Something inside me tells me this probably cannot be 100% true, but then
again, I haven't come across a commercially available product that springs
to mind to counter this claim. Perhaps you the reader know of another
natural fastener designed for insertion from the outside? If so, email us
and let us know. I suppose you could say spline-type joints are an example
if you cut your own splines out of natural material, but a little
different from dowel-joints in many aspects. Plus, you don't really insert
those "from the outside" as such. I'd imagine creating a mortise for these
from the outside of the joint only would be a difficult and time consuming
task. So until someone can tell me otherwise, or I can remember myself at
this present time - almost midnight - I'll stick with Miller's claim and
award them a few points for innovation in this area. So, it is certainly
unique in this instance, and the shape of the dowels themselves are
nothing short of unique in look, but this method/style of joinery
(dowel-type joints) are certainly nothing new, so we'll take it overall as
'marketing hype' in the general sense of the term.
Does it give Excellent results?
In my experience with the Miller Dowels, I would have to say the
results are very satisfactory. If you like the through-joint type look,
then you will warm to the Miller Dowel system. Time will tell of course as
to the durability of the joints we created, and if this website is still
around in 10 years time (and we hope it will be), we may be able to
provide you with an update on how our joints are fairing at that time, but
for the moment we are quite satisfied the Miller Dowel system is achieving
what it claims to do.
The Miller Dowel system offers a variety of types of
dowel stock from several different species of wood including Birch
(standard stock), Red Oak, Cherry, Ash, Walnut and Beech. The variety matches
common materials available for woodworking in the USA. Or, you can choose
to highlight the dowel joints by selecting a contrasting-colored dowel to
exacerbate the look of the joint. Naturally, if you live outside the USA
and don't have easy access to these species of woods, then your only
option to attain a matching color to 'hide' your dowel joints is through
careful staining/color-matching later on when it comes to finishing the
piece.
Conclusion
Ok, the system itself, its design and method would indicate it
achieves its intended goal of producing a strong joint that is relatively
simple to produce. The cost factor of the dowels is a major consideration,
particularly if you are located outside the USA. Availability may also be
a limiting factor. Regular dowel stock or fluted dowels can be bought just
about anywhere. Miller Dowels are harder to find in general, particularly
if you don't favor ordering them from an online retailer. I'm 50/50 on the
Miller Dowel System. If you are looking to try something different and you
can grab the goods locally and don't mind the slightly higher price tag
for the consumable components, then take a dive and see how you like (or
dislike) the system. I can only tell you my experience and thoughts, often
the best review is to give them a try yourself! If you live outside the
USA in an area where availability and cost becomes more of an issue, then
you may want to consider other options and do some cost comparisons with
other methods of joinery before you lay your money (or credit card) on the
table.
Click Below to Order Online
Miller Dowel Starter Kit
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Miller Dowel Photos
All photos copyright onlinetoolreviews.com. Use without prior
written permission prohibited
A Miller Dowel starter pack containing "1x" Birch dowels and the
stepped drill bit.
Various wood species available for the dowels including Beech,
Walnut, Cherry and Birch
The unique stepped Miller Dowel.
Not your ordinary 'run of the mill' dowel shape.
You can see the ribbed shape better on this walnut dowel. It is
designed to hold the glue while being forced into place.
Stepped dowels need a stepped drill bit, and here it is!
The stepped drill bit eliminates slipping in the drill chuck due to its
flat milled surfaces on the shank
After clamping and drilling, we are left with 2 stepped holes in the
edge piece...
...and the other stepped half of our drilling procedure in the end of our
face piece.
Using hand/thumb pressure, we were able to push the dowels in a good
distance.
Driving the dowels home with
a wooden mallet
Down as far as they will go. Now where did I put that flush cut saw?
Trimming the heads
A nice, tight and flush joint we
have created in a relatively short period of time
Look how the end grain of those dowels really soak up the oil finish
and 'pop out' to give a decorative and stylish effect.
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