I disassembled the stand completely into its seven pieces to do a final sanding, first medium, then fine. After that, I applied two coats of satin Deft to each piece. Since redwood is very porous, the first coat soaked in very quickly. The second coat sealed the surface much better. After the second coat dried, I used steel wool to smooth the surface to an almost glass-like feel. A final coat of satin Deft produced the finish shown below.
(Redwood Base Satin Deft)
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I replaced the black screws in the support blocks under the center circle with plated ones. I think the silver color looks better with the natural wood finish. They now match the lag screws used on each end.
I couldn't resist painting the center circle white, as an accent.
More soon,
John (OurWorkbench)