Ryan
Apologies for overwhelming you.
I'll try to expound on some of my answers.
-Finish.
I had stated "Fumed". Fumed is a process that used to be used to age oak prematurely. It involves setting a piece of furniture, made from white oak, in a tent with ammonia. This gives the oak a nice "patina". Legend/lore/myth is that the process was discovered by noticing that oak boards in barns had taken on a different patina due to the concentration of ammonia from livestock urine.
I had also stated that a "wiping varnish" would be used. A wiping varnish is a type of finish, or topcoat process where a oil based clear finish is applied with a rag, or sponge. It's a very forgiving finish and easy to obtain good results. "Tru-Oil" and "Arm-R-Seal" are examples of wiping varnishes available today.
White oak and red oak are two species of oak. For your project you want white oak, not red oak. While both of these are "oak", they do not finish the same, due to the differing grain structure, unique to each species.
- Benchtop Mortiser.
The mortiser you found is good for this project. The reason I recommended an angled mortiser is for the projects you want to build 5 years from now.
Many of the Stickley/Craftsman trestle tables, lamp stands, magazine racks, footrests, etc, all have a slope to the sides. They're not square to the floor. That slope, many times for smaller objects is 1:6, meaning that for every 6" of length, or height of a side, there is 1" difference as measured from a perfect vertical, at a point 6" up from the floor. Taller pieces are 1:9. When you need to make the M&T joints, having a tilting head on a mortiser makes this easier. With the Jet you found, you would need to make an angled platform/table to control the angle. Not necessary for this current piece.
Glenn mentioned using a plunge router, and he is absolutely correct that it is a fine method to accomplish M&T joints. I did not mention it because it requires the making and use of jigs and fixtures to control the angle and position of the router bit. None the less, it is a very good way to accomplish M&T joints.
Someone mentioned Jeff Jewett's finishing book, for finishing help. I would add to that any books by Bob Flexnor and Michael Dresdner.
Bob Lang is a well known author of books on the Mission Craftsman style. His books have a lot of line drawings, and some detailed schematics for some of the Mission/Craftsman style furniture. He goes into a lot of explanation on the actual construction of these type period pieces. Very valuable resources to have on hand.
There are many books on joinery, and many you tube videos of how to accomplish them utilizing different methods. There are also many on cabinet door, and interior door construction, which is kind of what that table top is. Essentially you're making a large "door" and lying it on it's side as a table top.
Take it one step at a time. Don't get overwhelmed with the project as a whole, but break it down into steps and go slowly. It also wouldn't hurt to have some less expensive material to make mockups and test joints, before you make the "real cuts" on the white oak. Strong hint there.