I'm getting to the end of one of my first "proper" projects - a chess board made of american walnut with wavy maple, set in a walnut frame.
Sanding is pretty much finished - just got down to 800 grit on the board itself. The sides of the frame still need some work as I can still see table saw marks on them.
This is pretty much the stage at which my previous projects started to go wrong so I'm looking for advice on how to finish it off. My more interested in the look rather than durability as I doubt it will see more than the occasional game. The end look that I'm interested in getting to is pretty much the look once the unfinished work gets wiped down with white spirit (mineral spirits) - showing the dark of the walnut with an overall shine.
Any help appreciated!
Q2.jpgQ3.jpgQ1.jpg
(note - the shiny two pictures have simply had white spirits applied to look for flaws. The middle shot is what the work looks like now)
(note 2 - the photos are a couple of days old - the raw, uncut splines in the photo have now been finished)