Any tips for re-gluing the lid of a Victrola VE-230?

[Kirkwood]

Greetings all! I don't post questions here much, but in this case felt I needed the input from more experienced minds. Just bought a friend's VE-230, which is overall in nice original shape, save for the lid. As you may know, this is a very shallow lid with a broad flat expanse of top. This one has had the lid come apart at the glue seams on all 4 corners. Does the lid ONLY get glue at the corners? I ask this from experience in old house door construction, the panels aren't typically glued in but are left to float in the wood channel formed by the door rails and stiles. In this way, the panels can expand and contract without splitting. I wasn't sure if the top was glued into the sides, or left to move slightly in the channel formed by the lid sides. I can see the logic behind either method, but it would be a terrible pain to un-glue a nice, curved mahogany lid if I get this step wrong. Any ideas out there? Any tips for wedging the curved parts together while the glue sets?

By the by, this will be the second such machine I have owned. The first one came from a local auction house (in 1981) and it, too, had the corners come apart. I repaired it, enjoyed it but sold it, with heavy heart, back in 1984 when I bought my house. Now, some 30 years later, I'm glad to own such a beauty again.

[Kirkwood]

I've answered my own question. In fact, examining the pieces in daylight shows that the only glue used was at the lid side pieces, at the corners. The large center panel does, indeed, "float" in the channel formed by the sides. There may be a bit of finish that seeps into it here and there, but it's not much. Especially with this lid of this design, it would be wise not to place undue weight (from one or two tabletop phonographs or stacks of records) on top of it.