Finished the assembly last night! I must admit, it looks much better with the varnish that it did without.

On closer inspection, I did notice several spots where the varnish had dripped or some run lines. However, given this was my first (without supervision) use of varnish, I'm thrilled with the results.

As I was applying the varnish, I realize I kept thinking it was like paint. I was trying to apply a thick coat. Bad idea! Although the can said to use a paint brush, next time I think I'm just going to use rags to apply the varnish (and maybe small brushes for those tight spaces/corners). I think that'll give me more control when applying it. Also, I'm going to get some cheap lights to setup as "raking lights" to help me see how the varnish is going on. (It's hard to see how and where the varnish has been applied, particularly after the first coat.)

Sunday the grill goes in!