Looking good! May I suggest using Spar Varnish as the finish coats on the oak. It is far more UV resistant than polyurethane. They used spar varnish on wooden boats back in the day. My apologies if you already knew.
Also, you may want to slightly round the sharp 90° edges off the oak with a block plane and finish with light sanding. Sharp edges tend to break away when accidentally impacted. Slightly rounding the sharp edges will help to avoid future damage. Again, apologies if you already knew. I don't want to be perceived an asshole for suggesting things you may already know. Just a couple of tips my Dad taught me ~50 years ago.
Helpful tips are appreciated. Even if I knew them I tend to focus on some things and lose sight of others, and there may be other users that learn something. I was thinking about giving it the ol' shou shugi ban with linseed to help mitigate expansion, but I do like the way it looks uncharred. Guess I should do a trial piece and compare spar vs char.
Linseed oil is great stuff. Tung oil is really good too, also used on boats. IDK how it compares to linseed. Hard to beat linseed oil.
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