I've tentatively settled on a design for my next project:
I like the "ladder" sides, but it occurs to me now that they will involve a lot of repetitive work, especially as I plan to make two of these units. I figure to attach them to the stiles with dowels. That's 8 rails per side x 4 holes per rail x 2 sides x 2 units = 128 holes.
I did a test a while back using a Beadlock jig as a dowel guide. It worked pretty well; the pieces (a tee joint) were in good alignment afterwards. But I held each piece in the vise and then clamped the Beadlock jig to the piece. Doing that 64 times is unappealing.
Here's my first idea for improving that:
The black "box" is the drilling insert from the Beadlock jig. It has threaded mounting holes that I would use to affix it to the plywood base.
The darker piece of 1x2 is the work piece. I suppose I could use two toggle clamps and eliminate one of the guide blocks, but this seems more certain to me.
Does this look like an effective method? Any improvements you can suggest?