What you turned and sanded look really nice. For some of the warmer woods, I personally might be tempted to go with appropriate sanding sealer and finish with oil and a little wax - but that's just me. I'm sure, given what you're showing, the finished pieces will be outstanding.
I seem to have settled into doing a bunch for each step. I cut a lot of blanks, drill them, sand the tubes etc. I can think about just doing that step right and move on to the next step. I am more consistent and get higher quality results. I need a quite a few so this method is my choice.