The simplest method of getting the marks right is to cut a template out of
thin card and apply it to the two ends in turn, using the base of each as
the adjusting line. Fret-saw the holes, cutting just inside the lines to
allow for truing up with a coarse file.

[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Perspective view of bookstand.]

The shelves a and b are 15 inches long, exclusive of the lugs c, c, c, c,
and 4-1/2 and 4-3/4 inches wide respectively. As will be seen from Fig. 8,
b overlaps a. Both have their top edges rounded off to prevent injury to
book bindings, but their bottom edges are left square.

As the neatness of the stand will depend largely on a and b fitting closely
against the sides, their ends should be cut out and trued carefully,
special attention being paid to keeping the shoulders between and outside
the lugs in a straight line. The wedge holes in c, c, c, c measure 1/2 by
1/4 inch, and are arranged to be partly covered by the sides, so that the
wedges cannot touch their inner ends. (See Fig. 9.) This ensures the
shelves being tightly drawn up against the sides when the wedges are driven
home.

[Illustration: Fig. 8.--End elevation of bookstand.]

The wedges should be cut on a very slight taper of not more than half an
inch in the foot run, in order to keep their grip. Prepare a strip as thick
as the smaller dimension of the holes, 3/8 inch wide at one end, and 7/8
inch wide at the other. Assemble the parts and push the piece through a
hole until it gets a good hold, mark it across half an inch above the hole,
and cut it off. Then plane the strip down parallel to the edge that follows
the grain until the end will project half an inch beyond the lug next