Bride and Groom's Cake Display Table

Being that we are doing a fall wedding and like the earthy tones and such, I talked my better half into going into a shop that I will probably soon be grounded from. A wood working store that carries a nice selection of timber and found something that she fell for and stated " That is going to be for our cakes". Sooooooo now I have a $150 piece of pecan that is cut from the crotch of a tree to smooth and finish. This is a quick project. Thankfully. But will lead up to more projects similarly done for place settings as well.

First of coarse, the wood. I opted to purchase this, already dried for several months, already cut, rough piece. Would have liked to have found one myself and did the natural selection, would have been cheaper.....or maybe not.... after figuring in cost of taking the log to be cut and planed and blah blah blah.
Second you need supplies to work with:
Orbital sander was my preferred tool.
Different sanding pads, 80 thru 320 grits.
Sealer/topcoat, was suggested oil based.
Foam brushes, not pictured.
Any of these are easily purchased at any hardware store or even wallyworld.

DO NOT FORGET SAFETY EQUIPMENT
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡!!!!!!¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Safety glasses
Dust mask
latex or rubber gloves

And work in a well ventilated area while applying the finish!!!!

There are lines going across the slab from the saw they used to cut it. OK ...... I thought ( forgot I don't get paid or credit given for thinking ) this would be a quick project. 3 hours of sanding with 80 grit on the orbital. Might have been quicker if I had and used a belt sander..... but I don't get along with those things..... no seriously.... people (meaning me) get hurt.

Now that I have gotten most of the cut lines removed, on to the the 120 grit, then the 220 grit for final sand and smooth. I did a stupid and went to far and used 320 ( dang over achiever).This does not allow the coating to penetrate as well as it has caused the pores of the wood to be tighter. So back to the 220 dummy.

Now that I have finished sanding, time to protect and shine. Most wood projects I like using a water based sealant and top coat. However, around food products it is recommended to use and oil based coating. Pretty sure I could look many reasons why and give links here, but I just went with what the "experts" at the store strongly suggested. So using a sponge brush, apply a thin coat making sure to get it in the cracks and holes. No I am not filling these in with filler, I like the natural traits of the wood. This first coat does not have to be perfect. Will be sanding with 320 grit after the 1st and 2nd coats dry.

Wellllllllll, I did not take pictures while sanding between coats. On the first 2 coats I was more concerned about getting it covered and sealed even in the cracks. Also stated not to worry about it being perfect. It was a light sanding just to smooth out imperfections. Then apply thin final coat. Even applied another coat over the bark. Last will be the other side. Not going to add those steps simply because it is similar to the previous and I am not going to be as thorough because it won't be seen. Sand smooth, coat, and put some felt footies on it. Hope someone enjoyed this.
Thanks for reading!