Mal, I first learned of the draw bore technique from a TV show on PBS (our Public TV) called the Woodwright's Shop, featuring ways of working with wood from yesteryear, and have been using it on various projects for several years now. One thing -- I find that it is a bit tricky to get the offset just right. Especially in this hard maple, it only needed 1/32" or even less of offset. (A softer wood and/or a larger joint might need as much as 1/16"; if you are building a timber frame, maybe even 1/8".) Normally I use this on a mortise and tenon joint; for the press, however, the sides are not joined until they are joined to the uprights of the frame ... so in addition to using the draw bore to achieve a good tight fit against the shoulders, I also had to use clamps to make sure the sides were snugged up.
For the dowels ... I actually made those out of some of the maple from which the project was built. I used a simple but effective technique also learned from the Woodrwright's Shop -- I drilled a piece of 1/4" thick steel with a series of holes, each 1/32" larger than the next. Cut the maple to a square just a tiny bit larger than the desired final diameter, and pound it through the holes from larger to smaller until in reaches the desired size. The finish is a bit rough, but entirely serviceable. It is also important to put a slight bevel on one side of one end to help it engage the draw bore; I made the dowel long enough that this beveled part is fully extended beyond the joint, so that when I cut it off and sand it, the dowel fully fills the hole. (I hope that made sense ...)
Incidentally, if you are interested in the Woodwright's Shop, the host, Roy Underhill, has produced several books. I don't recall the publisher, and don't know if they are still in print ... but these days, you can find anything, including used books, via the internet.
I've used a variety of useful techniques from these books / this show, even though I do most of my wood working with power tools.
