yes with the matrail cost, your time, no one would buy. I once chased the local hardwood store for veneer to recover a singer treadle top . nobody carried veneer that wide, online I did find the the veneer BUT it would be $ 120 plus shipping for enough to do one singer treadle top, hoping you didn't mess up even one tiny cut.
I've settled on simply ( not ) re gluing all the original wood, forget the break , cracks and splitters, just glue those down. do a sand over to smooth, then flood the wood with lacquer I do mean just pour in out of the can and spread as thich as possible, good lacquer will dry in an hour. rough sand coat again. keep recoating , sand until the surface is smooth. once bone dry fine sand to what ever shine you like. lacquer can be made gloss or taken to a stain finish. it's very hard durable and as smooth as glass. the final finish is to wax that.
the out come is you have a top that fabric slides right over and doesn't snag , you can set your coffee cup on and never leaves a white ring, or toss that screw driver on with no worries of making a dent.
I know every one here talks using shellac , to me it's an evil foo in woodworking. a failure waiting to happen. we won't use water based glues , why use a finish that mosiure or water will turn gray/white.
Thats just me.
I'm long winded, a FYI, when you finishing cabinet with shellac on them, don't sand it off. Get an auto part cleaning brush, cheap plastic tub, like a rubbermaid or ?? a gallon of acetone or lacquer thinner, just wash the wood just as if is a auto part, the shellac with soften and wash of just like it was dirt. most the stains will also. it will not hurt paint or the original gluing. you'll clean a full treadle cabinet in a few hours the applique wood working come clean without damage, often the wood is as new looking as it was way back when. on a warm day this will dry in no time, then do your gluing and sanding ..
toxic fumes maybe, but must less than sanding dust from a 100 years of who know what kind of chemical put on that wood . I have made myself very Ill from sanding off cabinets, for a good 3 days will feel like I'm on drugs. I now know thats from all the chemical cleaners used over the years, like lemon pledge old English furniture polish . we have no idea what this type thing is made of .
These are just things to think about, like lead paint.