So I decided to build a CD tower 54x16x8 out of oak veneered plywood,
edge-banding side fronts with solid oak. Since I seem to have a
tendency to complicate my life, I decided to dado the groves for
shelves - all seven of them on both sides. Silly, I know, but too late
now. Anyway, after agonizing over how to line everything up and clean
up the glue before it dried, it turned out all right, everything seems
to be lined up and flat.

When assembling the case, I realized that I wasn't able to fit in the
shelves into grooves on both sides, and align and clamp everything
together in time before the glue dries up. So I first glued the
shelves into one side ensuring they were fully seated in the grooves.
I didn't apply any clamping fearing it may screw up the squareness.
After drying, I sank this structure into the second side (what a
pain!), and then clampled it all together. I know the concern is that
clamping could break the joinery from the first gluing, but when I
checked everyting in the end, it all looked strong.

My first question: Do you guys have situations like this, and how do
you go about assembling the case.

I also had a problem with the veneer chipping off the plywood for
every crosscut - miter saw, table saw, circ saw, all the same.

Hence, my second question: Other then applying the masking tape for
every cut, which I found to be quite messy when dealing with many
cuts, do you guys know any other way? Yes, I ensured the blade was
sharp, and I brought it to full speed.

Many thanks.