Finally got around to sanding, pre-stain, and staining. I went with "Ebony" stain and so far I have 3 coats on. Right now my only concern is if I'm going to get the desired color w/o washing out the wood grain in the process. Hopefully with a little luck and if the wood co-operates I'll end up with a nice rich black & grey finish with small accents of red along some of the grain and where there's a few "knots" of it. I have a feeling I'm going to need another few coats to get the desired effect. The fact that I'm going to be leaving town either tomorrow or the next day doesn't help matters. I at least want to be done with the staining before I leave.
Oh and the steamer worked well but I lost interest when I lost concentration and accidentally burned myself