I need some advice on how to finish a calendar frame I'm building. The frame is made from walnut. There will be an elliptical inlay in the arched top made from a piece of maple scrap that has some curly figure. According to Flexner's book his favorite finish for walnut is orange shellac. I'm thinking this would not be a good choice on the maple inlay. My finishing experience is limited to various versions of wipe on poly. I don't have spray equipment so I'm limited to finishes that can be brushed, wiped on, or padded. This would probably be a good project for me to experiment with new types of finishes.
I may have some walnut sapwood to deal with also. I've rough milled the walnut and managed to lay it out so no sapwood ended up on the faces, but I may have some sapwood showing on the upper edge of the arched top. I searched the pile at the lumber mill and this was the best board for sapwood. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to blend the sapwood or should I not even try being such a small area?
-Todd