Previously, I did some experiments that managed to convince me that cross-dowel joinery was not so unforgivingly meticulous and demanding of advanced skills that it was a viable option for a piece of large furniture (bed frame) that I want to be able to disassemble for easy transport and moving.
Yesterday, I fabricated a jig and experimented more with cross-dowel joinery. It did not go well. Thankfully, all the (failed) experiments were with scrap lumber, so nothing lost.
Despite being fastidiously careful (measuring multiple times, literally taking minutes to try and centre the drill press bit over the exact middle of each X I made, clamping my work firmly when drilling, etc., I was not successful in achieving the required precision in hole placement. Holes were commonly off by 1–3 mm.
I am not sure if the above is due to my technique or the equipment (the only drill press I have noticed in the wood shop, the one near the band saw, seems janky).
While I don’t know the root cause, one thing is clear: what I am doing does not work. Which begs some questions:
• I have been attempting to make my own jig for drilling cross dowel holes. Are there any existing (preferably commerically-made) ones that I am unaware of in the shop? If so, where are they?
• What alternate techniques for joinery (accessible to an individual who is not already a skilled woodworker) could I use (remember, the joints do need to be taken apart and reassembled repeatedly)?