Shaker side tables

Years ago, my step-dad made me a walnut side table in a Shaker style (he made all his kids & step-kids different pieces of furniture to remember him by):

As gifts for my mother, sister, & brother-in-law I made a set of 4 tables built on the same pattern in ash:

These were finished with Tried & True Varnish Oil, which I really liked and will probably use more. Being oil-based, it pops the grain beautifully and has a really nice satin sheen. It’s also (supposedly, I guess I’ll find out) pretty durable, and being made from traditional ingredients like linseed oil and pine resin with some modern twists it does not have the “plasticy” look many polyeurethanes get, is very low VOC, and just generally more environmentally friendly and sustainable. If it does get damaged, it can also be repaired much more easily than poly finishes (which usually require stripping all the finish and re-applying to get a decent result): with this, you can just sand back the damaged bit and reapply there. I’ve used boiled linseed oil before and found it a hassle with annoyingly long cure times, so I was a bit hesitant to try another linseed-based finish. T&T does require 24 hours between coats, which is a bit long, but still better than regular boiled linseed oil usually is, and not unusually long for the kinds of wipe-on finishes hobbyists use.