Stain and assembly order

Hello Creekers,



I'm building a bookshelf and after some derailments, I'm back at it. I have the carcass assembled, and I stained all the interior surfaces before I assembled it. I have a face frame, and pedestal for the exterior. Would I be better off staining then assembling the outside, or assemble, then stain? Maybe sand, assemble, then stain? Does it matter? Am I overthinking this?



Thanks for any input.



Bill

(45e)

Stain and assembly order