Here I'm dry fitting all the pieces which have 35 and 55 degree angels on them. I'm saving the smallest pieces for last because those need special attention.
 

Here I'm staining all my pieces, but I'm using lighter stain on the Alder (right) and just a little bit darker on the Cherry. I did the same thing on my headboard so I would have a nice contrast between each piece.
 

I'm using a different color stain for the chest, called Red Oak. This color is closer to what I already have in our bedroom and after testing it on a sample piece, it should match pretty good. That makes three different stains for this project.
 

I cut a piece of MDF to fit inside the recess and then added some weight as a clamp. However, see those four pieces at the bottom? Those wouldn't fit for some reason so something must have moved while I was gluing. That means I'll have to work on those pieces when the glue dries.
 

The next day I had to remove some glue and do a small amount of sanding making sure all the corners were nice and clean. Then I headed over to the miter saw to trim off a small amount from the 35 degree angle. This was no big deal fitting the remaining pieces but it was a setback. And like before, I set some weights on these pieces to dry overnight.
 

I'll be using two of these lid supports or Lid Stays made by Sugatsune. I used one of these for a toy box that I made last year but with this lid being twice as heavy I'll need two of them to handle the weight. The action on this unit is easy to open but hard to close. However, even with me adjusting these lid stays to maximum, it's just enough to keep the lid from slamming and slows it down just right.