I started with some black walnut and cherry scraps that I had but didn't have enough to make it the size I wanted so I ended up purchasing a 2" chunk of maple.
After deciding on a pattern, I glued up two opposite sets of alternating walnut and maple, then cut them into 1 1/2" rows and assembled them in order.
After final gluing, I hand planned the top and bottom until I was satisfied and then started sanding. I started with 40 grit on the belt sander and then 80, and then switched to 80 on the palm sander and eventually 120 grit.
For the finish, I used a 50/50 cut of varnish and thinner.
