the wood is douglas fir, but this should work fine with other species
as well.
sand to 220.
stain with watco, let it sit for a few minutes and wipe down.
dry overnight.
mix varnish with turps. this time I used quick dry varathane, but it
works with spar, short oil varnishes, pretty much any oil base varnish.
for the first few coats mix 1:1. let it dry between coats, and if you
are getting dust nibs in the finish sand or scrape between coats. I hit
each surface with the shopvac before wiping, and that seems to keep the
dust at bay. once it starts to build go with a heavier mix, maybe about
1:3. once it builds to your satisfaction do a careful rubdown. I hit
the flat surfaces with a card scraper sharpened with no hook and a very
light touch, and then rub everything down with grey scotchbright. apply
the thinned varnish with a pad of cloth much like a shellac pad. you
have time for 2 or 3 swipes at a surface without it skinning over and
the turps makes it flow out great, then dry pretty fast once it flashes
out. after the last build coat and rubdown, thin the mix back down to
about 1:1 and give it one last coat for that wet look final surface....