Rob wrote:

Hi.

Thanks for the great suggestions.

The dowels don't need to be glued at all - I don't care if they rotate
around in the sockets. Only the shelves and stretchers will be glued
into the sides.

But without some alignment tool, I just don't see how one could do the
glue-up, get all the dowels aligned, and then clamp it home. My
concern was that by the time I got all the dowels placed, the glue at
the tops and bottoms would already be dry!

BTW, solid, one-piece, 11" wide mahogany sides with a fair curve front
profile, mahogany shelves and stretchers, to be finished with shellac.
It'll stand about 5'-2".

Rob
Make an alignment tool then. Take some scrap or cheap stock and drill it to
match the ends but drill all the way through then rip it in half down the
middle and clamp the halves together on the dowles.