Thanks guys, I truly appreciate your responses. I guess the question I'm really asking is, when I put the shellac in place it should match the color of the finished piece - not the raw wood? If I'm wording this incorrectly, a slap upside the head might help!!

Also upon taking it apart, I discovered a crack running vertically behind where the top lever goes down through. I seem to recall thinned super glue as a fix - correct, or another gaffe on my part?