I went ahead and surfaced the top off. I had put glue in the vcarve so I mixed up Mas TableTop Epoxy with TransTint black die. Let the epoxy sit overnight and surfaced it off. Looks great. Will post pics later. Sealed with shellac and got a coat of Spar Utethane on it. This will be a shop stool or could be a side table. Wanted to put a durable coat of finish to stand up to outside. One leg is a little tight so I need to chuck it back in the lathe and turn a few thousands off and then finish the legs. I will use TiteBond III because it is water proof.
I love it when a project can be saved. The epoxy looks great. Because the epoxy is slow set I was able to run heat gun over it repeatedly to get air bubbles out.
Just have to decide whether to glue legs on or not. If I glue them in I will have to deliver in person 3 hours away. If I leave legs unglued I can mail it and my friend can glue them in. I will do all finishing with it apart because it is easier than assembled.