Before glue up when using clear glass is it okay to stain the wood that will be seen through the glass? Any certain type of stain to use to avoid glue joint failure? Any other warnings appreciated,     Thanks in advance.

If you lightly sand the stain once applied it should be fine.Light sanding will kinda remove the dust and excess globs of stain.You may have to make two or three applactions of the stain to get the color you are looking for.bd

You shouldn't use oil base stain, but should use water or alcohol based stains.  Rit dye or most leather dyes will work fine.

Thanks bowdoc
The glue itself usually darkens the wood some but using white wood makes me want to color it some. I would be afraid of oil based stains fearing that they might cause glue failure. I also was curious about other things under the wood like logo's, writing, or even a piece of turkey feather.

Looks like Ric and I were typing at the same time.
Anyhow; that is what feared, most stains are oil based, hadn't thought about the stains you mentioned Ric; thank you.

Ric beat me to it.

Aniline dyes work well. They are alcohol based and soak in better than oil stains.  They also show up the grain better than oil stains.

Use dyes and dry the laminations in your heat box before glue up.

Definitely no turkey feathers or logos if they are stickers or decals.  Would stay away from paint but writing with something that soaks into the wood and dries might be alright.

Thanks to all of you and have a Merry Christmas.

I like the dyes that bingham's sells, they are a water based dye and you can put them on with the little sponge brushes and mix just about any degree of stain you want. Remember that they always look darker when glued up . they will look a lot like the wood does when the dye is put on and the wood is wet. I have found out that you need to put the lams between a couple of straight boards and clamp or wrap with tubing before you put in the oven or they will curl real bad when drying. It takes longer to dry but they come out usable. These dyes just mix with hot water