Since this cabinet is so small I ended up buying some artists brushes for oil paints.

They really helped with the application of the oil based polyurethane.

I built up several coats to get a fairly glossy finish. I decided to finish the ebony strips separately to prevent any finish build up along them.

I also took care to keep the grooves free of finish.

I let the parts set for a week to give the finish time to harden. Then it was only a matter of gluing the strips in and screwing the pieces together. 

The final step was to glue felt to the base. I masked the box.

Then I wrapped it in paper.

I used a coat of spray adhesive on the base and the felt.

Then I trimmed the felt with an Exacto knife.

After everything was done I set up my "photo booth" and took several final photos.

The project is posted here.