In the past I've used Aqua Fortis with heat to color, then linseed oil followed by several coats of ting oil. With a nice 0000 rubdown in between coats. I do that with all the furniture in place...
Yep, that's the way it's done. I use a propane heater to darken the wood after the Aqua Fortis. I guess you also must have whiskered the stock too. I use boiled linseed oil thined with turpentine. A coat a day for a week, a coat a week for a month, a coat a month for a year, and a coat a year for a lifetime... that's the old adage.