casket , cutting the lid

Well I had to get old faithful out to make this cut (Fred W. Wappat model A9 ) . Last report I told you I made a mistake and had to remove 2" from the length of the lid . Well that turned out to be a good thing . First I put pcs of 1/4" plywood over the cut area and lay out the cut lines , I nailed the plywood to the 2" pc that was to be removed . Then I attached temporary pcs to the sides and top on the inside . I cut one side which also cut the temporary pc inside , so I installed a new one , did the same for the other side . Finally I cut the top, removed the temporary braces and slide the top together . Did not like the gap , it was not real bad but I was not happy with it . So I put the 2 halves back together with the braces on the inside . Then I just cut down the middle of the seam . Now I have a real nice fit .I then set the lid on the bottom just to see how it would fit . Total height is 23- 1/2" .