frankenstein's SMLE handguard

[Claven2]

Claven2,
I have a finish tip if your interested.
To keep the end grain of your Pegs and Cookies or Wedges lighter in appearance before you apply the oil or stain:
Using a artist brush apply a coat of BLO or Finish Varnish over the exposed end grain.
You can test a cut off first to see if it will be too light in color, if so you can add a bit of the oil stain to tint.

When dry, finish as you normally do.
You've only sealed off that sucking end grain that tends to pull toward the darker side.

We do this often when doing custom stairways, cabinets and built ins. Where ever 'End Grain' Pops it's ugly head.

Really nice job

Thanks. Actually I usuallly oil the finished piece with RLO twice before applying an oil based leather stain to color match. After 30 mins, I add a RLO/beeswax coat and let sit for a few hours then rub off. This takes off most of the excess surface stain, and a couple days of drying later the wax content helps it buff up.

So in this case, the end grain of the pegs was oiled before staining