Project - Making the Pyramid Bookcase

It's a new week. One bookshelf is done and I am ready to start the other two. It should be a much  easier task. In reviewing what I did to make the first, there were two areas I can improve on. The first is cutting the 1 1/2" square uprights. If you recall, I used the hand planer to cut to exact size after I glued up the piece. This time I am using the table saw. I cut the initial stock to 1 3/4". When glued and dried, I made one cut to 1 5/8" and then turned the stock and made a second cut to 1 1/2", exactly. This was quicker and more exact.
	The second change is to how I cut the top angle. I had created a jig for the table saw which worked very well, but it dawned on me that I could use the sliding miter saw much easier. I simply set the saw to the 13o that worked on the earlier unit. Then, I clamped some blocks against the fence that will help me keep the upright at 90o to the fence.
I made the cut. I was going to clamp the leg to the blocks but found that holding it snugly against the block was very easy, and there was no room for a clamp.
	Here is the cut.  I did have to adjust the block and clamp until I got the right saw alignment. I had plenty of leg length so making trial and error cuts wasn't a problem. Once set, the rest of the legs were a breeze.
The assembly of the legs went quickly.  When they were assembled, I used a block plane to lightly chamfer the edges of the front legs.
	With all the legs done, I cut the plywood for the shelves. I am using 3/4" oak plywood that has an inner core of OSB rather than wood plys. I haven't used it before. It will be interesting to see how it works.    I switched from the rip blade to the CMT Cabinet Maker (80 tooth) blade. I want these cuts to be as crisp as possible.
My first cut will be for the 15" width of all the shelves. I purchased 2' X 4' pieces from my home center. It may not be the most economical way of doing this, but it is very convenient — and there isn't too much waste.
	With all the ply cut to the 15" width, I can now cut the four different depths. I need two of each depth, since I am making two additional units. The depths are 5 1/2", 9 1/2", 14" and 16 1/2". Since I am cutting these out of the 24" width, I cut the first and last shelves out of one piece and the second and third from another.
I am now adding veneer edging to the front of the boards. This edger is a neat tool, but not always found in the typical shop. I did a lot of white melamine display work 10 years or so ago. It got good use them. I am using it now to make a point:  the trick to successful application of hot melt (iron on) edging is not so much the heating, but the cooling. In this device, a hot air gun heats the adhesive — the cooling takes place when the board is pressed against the outfeed fence. The glue cools with pressure against the veneer — that is key to successful iron on edging.
	I can use a household iron and get the same effect. Here I follow the iron with a block of wood that presses the veneer to the board as the adhesive cools. Without this, the veneer edging will simply lift up.    The second trick is to never trim the ends or the edges until the piece has had a few minutes to cool totally. Not much to these tricks other than patience.