Getting ready to cut the 2nd set of sides I remembered an article I read in Fine Woodworking. It showed clamping down the straight edge when cutting veneer with a knife. So I gave this a try by claming a hardwood 1x2 on top of my substraight (straight edge):
This packed the veneer under the sub straight and made things much more stable. These cuts came out much cleaner:
Here are the other 4 sides ready to go:
The edges are not good enough for joining but I have a different game plan for the pieces I’ll need to join (4 way book match for the bottom).
Next is gluing up the side panels.