feature grade black butt desk finishing

Hi everyone

I'm building my self a computer desk and come shelves out of some feature grade blackbutt timber. this is my rough paint drawing (ignore the dimensions):

Attachment 457268

i have a few questions about what i should do about finishing it, mainly with regards to the "features" of the wood. As you can see in these pics the blackbutt has a heap of shallow features in it and i'm just not sure if i should fill them or not. I like the features and want to be able to see them.


Attachment 457269


The two options i'm thinking are:

just pour epoxy over the whole thing, this will will ALL the voids, divots etc and leave me with a totally flat surface, but i'm not 100% sure i'll be able to do this as one pour over the whole thing, as i may need it in two separate pieces to get it in the room. i'm worried i may get a small lip if i try and join the two pieces later if there is a slight difference in thickness of the epoxy.

or

use a couple layers of polyurethane, i will still need to fill a few of the larger voids with epoxy but it will also still leave alot of the shallow bits unfilled.


the desk is just used as a computer desk so no writing takes places on it, so being totally smooth isn't necessary. I can see both methods being just as time consuming as each other. just unsure what might look better.

Hi,

Here are some pictures of a table I made from Black Butt a couple of years ago. The finish is Organoil Hard Burnishing Oil finished using progressive sanding disc grits. While it doesn't fill grooves or gaping slashes in the wood, it will give a very smooth and pleasant finish. You can contact me if you want further information, but please note: I am in no way connected with Organoil Australia, I just like their stuff. Here's some pics of the table top.

Black Butt table

Regards,

Rob

For the purpouse desired I would fill the major gum veins only. I have had a cofee table that I deliberately left unfilled (a few veins and nail holes) out of old house frame stuff, just to see how it will go ( is used as a dining table -extends to about a 6 seater table ,2 smokers, drinks etc. It's still Ok with just the poly on it, however filling the veins and nail holes would be recomended. This is a good 10 year run with this as well. Can always be cleaned, but needs a vac and a damp cloth. As an asside original finish was satin poly - now looks more like gloss - yes it will polish up eventualy. (could knock it back with 0000 steel wool -but doesn't worry me.
Some tint in the resin -if you get it right ends up looking like dried sap. Don't go the black bog, keep it amber and translucent -actually looks beter than clear.:U

I applied 2 coats of just the cabbots water based floor polyurethane to a scrap bit and it looks good enough for me