I was finally ready to apply the varnish finish, when I realized I still had some loose ends to deal with. There is always more. Sorry, I know the suspense is killing everyone. That large crack? It has a few larg splinters which I can try to glue down, and many small hairy slivers that should be cleaned up.
I think it was clever to use rock climbing camming devices to apply outward pressure on the splinters to hold them in place while gluing.
I clipped and pulled out most of the fine slivers, and blew out all the sawdust and chips with compressed air.