I only use the turn buckles to hold the sides while I do the majority of the work. Once the sides are cut, kerfed and dished I pull them out and then I glue the top and back on. If the sides don't stay tight to the mold, I'll put a couple of wood go-bars in that come out with no fuse at all after the top and back are glued on.
As far as the mold itself, I have plenty of clearance for my sanding dishes.
The mold does separate in to two half’s. I use steel rods as index pins so the half’s go together properly. I should have taken a pic of it in two. I have another mold that doesn’t have the cutaway that I use if need be. I do have to admit that after splitting the mold to remove the body, the cutaway area can be a little tricky and an insert would be better, but it’s not that big of a deal.